St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-17


proceeded. The 3.2-inch breeze loading
held gun meets with general approval in
service, and the firing service Of the eight
ana ten-ineh type guns manufactured at
Waterviiet have given excellent results. both
ns regards accuracy and range, and have sat
lsfactorlly demonstrated the capability OF
the gun factory TO turn oCt modern high
power ritied steel guns equal TO the very
eallher and The other ten-lneh
wire-wound steel gun. both breech
leaders and twelve-inch Is. L.
steel mortar are now under construction at
the gun factory. 1t IS 10 be remembered
that the work SO far done has all been ac-
complished in shop improvised from an
old timber storehouse and with limited
equipment and that the experience gained
by both officers and operatives viii probably
lead to valuable results i'll the new gun
factory.
nder the present contract about thirteen
tWelYe-lnch caSt-lrOn mOrtarS hOOped with
steel can De furnished per annum. and as
there are other plants in the country be-
sides that OF the present contractors which
are capable OF turning out these mortars, it
IS only necessary that sufficient sums be
appropriated for the manufacture of about
nifty mOrtarS year, ana the production of
mortarS Will keep pace with that of guns and
the construction OF emplaeements. No fear
! need be Entertained that the plant for this
! work Will not be in existence when needed.
The manufacture OF the forgings for
! S-ineh, 10-ineh and I2-ineh reechIoading
UilNer
| the appTo prlauon of 81 300, goo made in the
! act of Sept. 22. 1883. is proceeding salts
| factorily and II is expected that the contract
| viii be completed by November, 1898 The
( sum appropriated viii procure about sixty
| one guns OF the callberS mentioned. 10 fact,
] the art or modern gunmaking is now well
/ iuaugurated in this country. The carriages
for the and 10inch guns Will be of the dis
! appearing type. Several designs of this type
| are now under manufacture or consideration.
| The l2inch guns Will be mounted on plat
| forms, which viii be raised into position
! for firing by an elevator. ana then low
| cred out of reach OF the enemys fire 10 be
! reloaded and aimed, except here the posi-
/ ton Is at such an elevation as TO make this
/ unnecessary for the protection OF the gun
| ners. A design for such platform and ele-
| vator has been approved and one is now
! under construction. The l6-inch guns, if
any are made, will doubtless be mounted in
| turrets.
Northern Frontier.
By our agreement of 1917 with Great
Britain each party is restricted TO a single
! armed vessel on Lakes Ontario and Cham
| plain and two on the upper lakes. Since
! then the great West has become an empire
CT production and population. with its great
| cities centers of wealth. commerce, and
| transportation, built on the straight shores OF
| the broad lakes and defenseless against naval
| attack The Welland canal and The SIX canals
along the ST. Lawrence between Lake On
| tario and Montreal have been constructed
y
est of the St Lawrence canals have nine
feet depth of water and locks 200 feet long
and 10 feet wide, sufficient for the passage Of
over fifty OF the armed vessels of the British
navy. Measures have already been COM
menced to enlarge the smaller canals so that
none VIII have less than fourteen feet depth
or water, which would admit the passage Of
as many more of d heavier armament One
Of these canals, the Beauharnois, I "A miles
long Is wholly on the right (south) bank of
the st. Lawrence. Another IS within rifle
shot OF islands belonging 10 Us. The board
of IOrtifca lions and other defeuSes under
the act of March 3, 1885, composed of army
and navy officers and OF civilians of which
my predecessor was president, made a full
and very able report in regard TO this situa-
ton. and recommended considerable works
of defense for the lake ports.
In the absence of any preparation on our
part the lake cities might in the event of
war with the power holding The highway of
I the ST Lawrence, be in a more d5fenSelesS
condition even than the seaboard cities. Al
though we can not under the agreement,
build armed vessels on the lakes TO over
match on those waters the force that might
be brought against us. 90 not think it neces-
sary TO undertake any elaborate system of
defenses as proposed. With land forces
properly disposed, We could doubtless ward
off any danger from this source and hence |
| fully approve the suggestion of Gen. Scho-
field who. or this subject saws:
The military policy OF the United States in
that direction will not, it is believed. in any
! COlCelViiDlS event. require SUCl defense on
that frontier. II is proposed to maintain at
| appropriate points, which have been care
FULLY selected. suitable garrisOns of regular
troops OF all arms as nuclei for the concen-
tratlon Of such forces, regular ana volunteer,
as any emergency may require in that direc-
ton The wisdom of providing. without I'M
necessary delay. for the additional accommo-
| dations required for these permanent garri-
sons. will it Is believed, be manifest to all.
Proper preparations are not measures OF
provocation. but rather of prevention and
for the continued preservation of peace.
DesertIOns.
The number of assertions from the army
for the twelve months ending Sept 3 is
2.0S6, as against ., 70 for The same period
last year. decrease OF q per cent This re
suit is due to such improvements in the
service as could be accom- plished under ex
listing legislation. The act of congress en-
titled AN act to prevent desertionS. and fol
other purposes approved June IS. 1890
was PASSED too late TO have had much effec
up to this date Because of the time re
oUiied to work out Its details. the genera
orders to carry 1t into operation were no
} issued till July 20, and could hardly become
fully effective at once The figures how
; ever for August and September were sos a!
compared with 4o9 for the same months las
| year and > 10 the year before, decrease o.
SO and 40 per cent.
That act embodies the more conservative
and practical suggestions which have beer
made for lessening this evil. 1t provided 70
of 81 Der month from a soldiers pay for tht
: ! first year This is a pledge for his HONORABLE,
) | service, but as it and interest are to be paiC
: | the man if he serves honestly and faithful,
Z | until the date of his discharge, it is reall'
r also provident feature for the soldier him
7 | self Enlistments are to continue to be mad
I | for five years. but after one years service
2 soldier is permitted, III time of peace to pu
/ chase his discharge for a prescribed sum
I varying with the time he has served. an,
based upon a reimbursement of the govern
ment for the actual expense of recruiting
: and transporting q new man TO take hi
s place. At the end of three years of faithful
service he is entitled to a free discharge if b
desires it. II also increases the vegetabl
. ration. and finally authorizes the arrest o
Z deserters by civil officers. The act proceed
upon the theory that by making it possible [
0 quit the service in an honorable way ther
: viii be fewer attempts to do so dishOnOrably
. by offering possible and reasonable escap
i from life that has become source OF di:
: content The discomfort itself may thereby b
; diminished.
y Although desertions are already greatly II
d. ID. so long as they continue IN any cor
l sit .ble numbers they mutt have a bad e.
. | feet upon the morale OF the army. and enta
4 a large and needless expense The practices
y solution of this somewhat vexed questio
- assumes three phases: First. how to max
2 the service more desirable: second. how
: remove the artificial restraints which,
y binding man inhexihlv to long serve
q which has become distasteful to him. ma
$. how to make the punishment for the erin
e of desertion so certain, that if more worth
q motives fail men may be warned by its fea
IL As to the second and third there is now Iegi
p latiop enough, at least with our present e.
:. perience. With respect TO the first there is,
!: think. need of more
u My experience so far confirms an observ
IN ton which 1 made one year ago that I'll
a. pith of the whole question is to make Il
" service worth seeking, and then enough GOO
le men will seek it and be glad to stay in it
Z; So far as this is question of thoughtful al
"a consderate treatment of the men it has tn
III far ana will continue to engage my earne
IL attention. and in it I have had the hear
OF and intelligent cooperation of the officers
q, the army. But there is a fundamental d
ficultT The pay of second Lieutenant
<. SII6.67 per month. that of first sergea
OF only S22, and, unfortunately, this diff
10 ence in pay largely regulates t
e. actual distance between their re
e. tive positions. That distance is t
ey great The individual elements of the arr
a. are separated by too large gap. for the be
a interest CT either. The pay of a non-eo
eu missioned officer is but little more than