Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-27
THE WAR DEPARTMENT
COL Lamont Reports 1t in Good
Shape.
BIG GINS FOR THE HARBORS,
The owed Traverse Disappearing Carriages
70 are now Under Construction.
3 AL EXPENDITURES ARE CUT DOWN
! And Two Millions of Dollars Appropriately
to War Department Turned Back
Into the Treasury-The
Standing Army.
BIG GINS FOR THE HARBORS.
AL EXPENDITURES ARE CUT DOWN

Washington, Nov. 26.-Secretary La
mont's report of the conditions of the
| war department for 1896 shows that the
total expenditures aggregated nearly
$52,o0O,O00, and an unexpended balance
| OF nearly $2,0000O0 turned back into the
| treasury at the end of the fiscal wear
For the three years of Col Lamont's adj
| ministration the surplus has amounted to
| more than $5,000000
On July 3, 1898, of our modern defense
but one high-power gun was mounted.
BY the 1st of July next, we will have in
position seventy high-power breech-
loading guns and ninety-five breech-
loading mortars of modern design, and
by the following July, on the completion
| or work already under way or provided
| for, 12S guns and 1853 mortars. A battery
| or two or three of these guns takes the
place of the former pretentious fort, and
is vastly more effective. An eight-inch
gun weighs fourteen and half tons. Is
z4A Ieet long, requires powder charge
or 10 pounds and throws a projectile
weighing 300 pounds about nine miles.
A ten-inch gun, weighing thirty TONS Is
30R feet long, requires a powder charge
of 250 pounds and throws a projectile Of
575 pounds about twelve miles. A twelve
inch gun weighs fifty-seven tons, is 40
feet long, requires powder charge of
250 pounds and throws a 1,000-pound pro-
jectile thirteen miles. A twelve-inch
mortar weighs 120 tons, Is 10 feet long.
requires powder charge of los pounds,
and throws filled projectile weighing
800 pounds over five miles,
Those under consideration are distrib-
uted along the ports of Portland, Me-:
Portsmouth, N. H; Boston, Narragan-
sett bay, western entrance to Long Is
land sound, eastern and southern en-
trance to New York, Philadelphia Ball
timore, Washington, Hampton Roads
Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Key
West, Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans,
Galveston San Diego, San Francisco, the
| mouth of the Columbia river and Puget
sound
The total amount appropriated for sea-
coast donations, including cost of site for
fortificatfons and armament since the
adoption OF the present scheme, Is &c.,
| $4,000, of which more than one-thirf
was carried by the act passed at the last
| session of congress.
Before the end of the present year we
shall have eleven 12-inch, forty-two 10
| inch, eight 8-inch, six rapid firing guns
| and liz mortar emplacements.
by July next there should be COM
| pleted fourteen 12-inch, fortysix 10-inch,
ten S-inch and twelve rapid firing guns
and liz mortar emplacements, and by the
close of the coming year this will be in
creased to twenty-one 12-inch, sixty-four
1O-inch, twenty-five 8-inch and sixteen
rapid nre guns and 156 mortar emplace-
ments
In the belief that the problem of salts.
factory disappearing gun carriages had
been solver the appropriations commit
tee were informed that when the previous
session or the present congress meets 1t
Will be decided to spend no more money
for gun life batteries, thus saving $2O,-
900, 900.
The construction of these carriages in
as large number as the appropriation
81.
taken by five government carriage fac
tories at the Watertown arsenal and un-
der contract. A still more difficult prob
lem was the designing of a disappearing
all round fire carriage for the 12-inch
breach loading rifles not liable to get out
| of order and easy to be handled by the
average soldier. The technical difficult
| ties involved may, perhaps. be better ap-
| preciated when 1t is considered that a
| similar case would be that of a fifty ton
| locomotive and tender running at speed
| of twenty miles an hour, which is re-
| quired to be brought to a stop from this
| speed within distance of sixteen feet,
or one-third of it's length. yet so easily
| and gently that al the end of the mo-
tion there shall not be the slightest jar.
Both these problems, 1t is believed
have been satisfactorily solved. One
twelve-inch, all around, traverse disap-
pearing carriage is now under construc-
ton and eight and ten-inch carriage e
similar design are about to be COM
menced
The armament of the troops with the
new magazine arms was completed in
May and the armory Is turning out 1875
rifles, or carbineS, per day under the ap.
| preparation made last year. All the am
munition for small arms now made is
supplied with smokeless powder of
American manufacture of satisfactory
quality.
The total expenditures for river and
harbor improvements ordered by con-
gress during the year ending June 80.
1896, including those of Mississippi and
Missouri river was $17,390,000 and includ-
ing the amounts appropriated by the act
of June 3, 1896, there was available for
expenditure on rivers and harbors July J.,
| $26, 020, 900.
The Mississippi river commission has
| decided to discontinue the plan to i'm
| prove the river by bank protection and TO
| adopt the plan of grading channels In
| shoal places and maintaining with state
| and local county cooperation an effec-
| tive levee. The army consists of 25.420
| officers and men or 2S4 below the legal
maximum. The effective field strength
| on Oct. 81 was 1882.
The completion already of some de-
| fenses and the approaching completion
| of other modern batteries render neces-
sary a larger force of artillerists, but no
other increase of the army Is asked for.
The plan of sea coast defense involves
100 distinct batteries In over twenty har-
bors and force must gradually be sup
piled to take care of guns and fortifica-
tons as they are completed and main-
tain them in a state of efficient defense.
OLD MINES WILL BE OPENED UP.
Chicago Nov. ga special from
Houghton, Mich, says: The Isle Royallo
Portage, Huron and Sheldon and CO.
lumbian mines on Friday will be trans,
ferred to German capitalists represented
hv Nathan A T,aopoll of Chicago for.