Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-05
MAKING GREAT GUNS
The Army and Navy Possess Separate
Plants for the Purpose.
VA4ERVLlER And WASHINGTON
A Proposition to Combine Them
Now Being Considered.
OPINIONS OF OFFICERS

Officers of the army and navy are seri-
ously considering a proposition for a COM
bnation of the ordnance plans of the two
branches of the service. The government
expends vast sums for ordnance material.
Work of this character Is now carried on
at two establishments. The plant for ma
val ordnance is at the Washington navy
yard and the great guns for the army are
made at Watervliet N. Y. Assistant Sec
rotary McAdoo favors the new scheme, the
main object of which is to hasten the
completion of the ordnance for coast de-
lenses, which is said to be far behindhand.
The gun factory here has turned out guns
as high as thirteen inches in caliber, every
one Of which has been fully tested.
Work at Both Factories.
So far the army has made no gun larger
than the twelve-inch. and has completed
only few of these, but plant is now
being installed at WatervHet, with which
the biggest gun ever attempted In the
United States-a sixteen-inch-is to be
made. This gun will be att tempted simply to
show how far great gun Building can be Ear
ried on. 1t has been decided by the naval
ordnance experts that no rifles larger than
thirteen-inch should be mounted on naval
vessels, and it is exceedingly doubtful if
the Notifications board will approve of
the army should agree to permit the navy
to build some of its guns the work of coast
defenses would be greatly advanced and
guns turned out as fast as required. The
Watervliet factory, 1t Is admitted, will have
all that 1t can possibly attend to for sew
eral years in manufacturing heavy ord
nance Cor the army, while the work of the
Washington gun factory is far advanced
and every gun for the battleshipS yet on
the ways Is completed.
The capacity of the Washington gun
foundry is almost unlimited and guns suf
ficient to last the navy for six years can
easily be manufactured in one year. The
shops have been virtually closed, however,
by the failure of Congress to make suff1-
cient appropriations for maintenance, and
the authorities have been powerless to pre-
vent he attraction Of skilled labor, edu-
Gated at government expense, to private
establishments, such as the steel and gun
fCundries in New England, New York and
Pennsylvania. The original appropriations
for monster gun shop at Washington
years were devoted to gathering a costly
plant, including lathes, furnaces, travelling
CT anes, steam railroad and the complete
plant necessary to the assembling and fin
ishing of great guns. The tools were pur-
chased ard installed at great cost to the
government and today most of them are
idle, and the great gun shop Is deserted
save for a few men, who are actually lost
amid the mass of silent machinery. The
gun shops at Watervliet have been equally
well equipped at as great cost, and many
of the tools at Washington have been du-
plicated at the army gun factory, so called.
The Economy of One Great Plant.
The purpose of each establishment are
akin, the difference being mainly that the
product Of the Watervliet arsenal Is des-
tined for the land troops ard the coast de-
lenses, while tho output of the naval gun
shops is intended for the men-of-war. The
character Of the work performed or plan
ned at the two places is similar.
1t is now suggested that it may be in the
interest of economical administration to
operate one factory, which shall assemble
guns for both the army and navy, instead
of running two distinct establishments with
a surplus of power and labor which could
be profitably utilized in a combined fac
tory.
The proposition will probably come be-
fore Congress at It's next session. Its ia
vorable consideration would eventually
lead to the abandonment of either the
Washington or the Watervlet gun foun-
dry. Such result Is not likely, however,
inasmuch as the absolute abandonment of
either would mean the sale at great loss
of considerable valuable machinery.