New-York tribune., 1891-05-17
NATIONAL GUARD AFFAIRS.
POOR AMMUNITION AT CREEDMooR-wHERE
DOES THE RESPONSIBILITY REsTi


POOR AMMUNITION AT CREEDM0oR-WHERE
DOES THE RESPONSIBILITY REST
Not little adverse criticism has been caused By
the poor ammunition which has been furnished by
the state authorities free practice days at Greed
moor. No one has come forward to explain why ID
is necessary for the to such poor cartridges
No complaint has been made that the appropriation
inadequate TO furnish good material. Heretofore
the ammunition supplied Creedmoor has been Of
cellent quality and there does not appear TO be any
good reason why IL should not continue TO be so.
The cartridges which the Ordnance Department
has given TO the regiments this year are evidently
old and have been in some ones hands for long
time. The shells covered with verdigas, and the
bullets are covered with midew. large percentage
OF the shells burst IN the when they fired.
Owing the excellent breech in the Remington guns,
the greatest amount Of damage is caused by the
escaping gas and the terrible conclusion which the
explosion OF the shell produces. 1t is enough 10
deafen the who Is holding the gun, becides
sometimes affecting his eyesiglt.
Outside OF these Irritating consequences, the
bursting shells cause small amount Of vexaton by
becoming fastened in the breech Of the rifles. The
shells ordinarily removed by mechanical arrange
ment I'm the breech Of the gun which catches to the
rim at the base Of the she'll When the she'll explodes
however, this rim is blown of and nothing remains
by which TO catch hold Of the shell TO remove it, In
exploding also the she'll swells and becomes firmly
fastened in the gun When this happens 1t is difficult
matter TO remove the she'll at all and vexaious delays
are caused in performing the operation Good steady
nerves which Of the chief requisites Of good
shot, are entirely upset by these irritating circum
stances and the members Of the different regiments
have complained bitterly that such state of affairs
should exist. Whatever excuse the Ordnance Depart
ment may have TO offer for this condition Of affairs, 1t
ought certainly TO remedy the defect at once. The
standing OF many of the regiments may be seriously
affected unless this poor ammunition is taken away
and good cartridges put in It's place. There is alb
solutely excuse for continuing the Of these
old shells. Although the cost Of ammunition is
siderable tem it is small in comparison with some Of
the other expenses Of the National Guard.
ExCaptain Leo, Of the 22d Regiment has appealed to
the General Term of the supreme Court in his ett mpt to
require Colonel Camp to replace his tie rolls
of the regiment. The Court of Appeals also has under
consideration the original application for writ Of
certioran TO review the action OF the Governor in dis
banding Captain Leo's company. Captain Leo's
present application is based mainly upon the decision
Of the Geeral Term in the certiOar proceedings In
its decision in that the Court used the following
language:
L" But 1t is urged that the statute was a violation
OF the state Constitution, and that It removes the
relater Leo from his office and status officer Of
the militia. contrary TO Article IL, section Of the
Constitution Of the state Of New-York which provides
that no commissioned officer shall be removed from
office unless by the Senate, the recommendation Of
the Governor, stating the ground on which such re
moval is recommended, or by decision Of a court
martial pursuant to law 1t is clear that this pro
vision has not been transressed The relator has not
been removed from his Office, but simply relieved Of
his command distinction recognized by all military
authorities and acted upon ny the President of the
United States continuously In Ills supervision Of the
Regular Army of The United States"
Since this opinion was delivered by the Gereral
Term Captain Leo has been dropped entirely from
the rolls and he is no longer even on the super
numerary list. As the courts decision was based
largely upon the fact, It asserted, that Captain
Leo had not been removed from Office the latter
thinks now, when he has in fact been removed. that
the court. TO be consistent must order his relnstate
ment When the case came before Judge Jarrett he
evidently did not think that any importance should
be attached to Captain Leos contentious lie promptly
denied the motion for mandamus and IT Is from
this order of Justice Barrtts that the appeal to the
General Term is taken.
The following appointments have been made in the
ood Regiment: John r. Smith, sergeant in Company
II Frank Richter, corporal In Company II William
Roberts, corporal in Company II: J. W. D. Melghan,
sergeant in Company II; William II. Gllnlllan,
poral in Company A; Benjamin p. ROuzone, CORPORAL
in Company c William 5 Conrow, sergeant in Com
pany G. The following have been reduced to the
pany A; Quartermastcr- Sergeant A. o. Haubod. Com
pany II Corporal Z. F. HaubOld. Company II. Private
ID. a. Truda, Company A; Private John b. Maura.
Company A: Private Frank " McKiness. Company
D. Corporal II. L. Carpenter Company II and Pri
vate Seymour Samuels. Company II. have been hon
oraby discharged.
Colonel IIeman Dowd, Of the 10th Regiment, has
the following circular letter to the members Of his
command:
The Colonel commanding desires to call the attention
OF regiment the Creedmoor season OF ls9l The
very showing made rife practice By this CON-
nand leads him hope that still greater efforts
will be excel Il this not only in the attend
ance on the regular days. but by individual work in
matches and practice and improvement In scores.
He Is eso anxious that winning regmental team shall
be put in the field this year and that both State and
brigade prizes may be secured for the 18Th. The
number OF good the regiment at the present time
and the enthusiasm Of the several companies shown in
the Rker trophy and other amory matches lead him to
believe that both prizes can be won
He desires also to call attention 70 the two handsome
trophles now owned By the egment-one presented by
Major John for competition in the armory range
and one by COmmissary Butt the making the
highest average percentage at Creedmoor during the CON-
ing season. Both trophies are among the handsomest
OF ever offered for shooting 10 any regiment
in the National Guard.
to the regiment by Commssay Butt During the shooting
season Of 1891 any non-cOmmlssoned officer or private
serving his first OF enlistment shall receive % toward
the expense OF practice. II ne make score
emitting him sharEshooter's badge, S. N Y. S5
Will added for score VI 80 or upward. provided ne
has never made It before.
Private Charles W. Nichols has been elected cor
poral IN Company F. 9TH Regiment. The following
gures of the INSPECTIONS Of the 7th Regiment 1or the
last yn wears Will form Instructive reading for every