The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-19
ESTIMATES OF
APPROPRIATIONS
Increase Of Money Needed for Coast
F0rtificati0ns.
ARMAMENT ALREADY COMPLETED
Secretary Lamont Gives Some Inter.
csting Figures Concerning the Long
Range Guns That Protect Our
COasts..Success OF Tests Of Breech.
loading Cannon.

Washington, Oct. 1S.-Secretary La
mont will tomorrow transmit TO the
secretary of the treasury his est-
mates of appropriations required ny
the war department for the next nscal
year. The aggregate Is S529I563s. Ihe
estimates for fortifications and sea
coast defense have been increased $l5.-
S24, 4,29S In connection with his esti-
mate Secretary Lamont has made pub
lie the following statement OF the con-
dition of this work.
On July /, 1893, but one modern gun
had been placed in position. On July
i. 1887. we shall have completed de-
fenses with armament as follows:
Thirteen 12-inch, thirty-seven 10
inch. eight S-nch and four rapid fire
gun and eighty Pinch mortars
These guns and m rtars are of --meri-
can design and American manufac-
ture. more powerful. caliber for cali
Der, than any carried on shipboard.
The extreme range Of an S-inch gun Is
nine and one-half miles; of Il 10-inch
gun eleven ami one-half miles, and of
Il 12-inch gun thirteen miles.
The Pinch breech loading mortar
shootsa projectile Weighing 1000 pounds
and attains range of five miles for
the cast iron mortar and of six miles
for the all steel mortar
From the earliest model of the
S-inch breech loading rifle ten shots
were fired at a target 5000 yards. or
nearly one and three-fourth miles dis
tant. The centers of all the shot holes
struck within a circle of six and one
half feet diameter, while the energy
developed by the projectile was greater
than that ever before attained by any
gun of the same caliber. Subsequent
ly, with q gun Of the same caliber
manufactured at the government gun
factory. four out of five shots fired at
range of one mile, struck within q
rectangle Of twenty inches by twenty
one inches. OF eight shots fired at a
range Of 5000 yards. six struck with
In an area of eighteen inches by forty
eight inches.
The l2-inch breach loading mortar
was fired at range of 2,464 yards at
target which represented the deck of
the United States cruiser Philadel-
phia lying broadside on, across which
at right angles. was the deck of the
same ship lying bow ON. Five shots
were fired at this target with an eleva
tion of sixty degrees. In the broadside
target there We're five hits In the five
shots; in the bow on target there We're
three hits in the five shots. All the
shots struck within rectangle of eight
yards by twenty-seven yards.
Seventeen out of the twenty-One 12-
inch emnlacements, fifty out of sixty
six 10-inch emplacements; twenty out
OF twenty-five S-inch emplacements;
fourteen ont of the sixteen rapid fire
gun emplacements and ninety-two out
Of one hundred and tifty-sx 12-inch
mortar emplacements have been en-
tirely provided for during the last four
years. and that during the same time
Il large mart of these previously pro-
vided for have been prepared to receive
their armament.
THE EMPLACEMENT.
An "emDlacement" is not merely the
masonary platform upon which a gun
with its carriage is mounted. but all
that part of fortiiication which Is
necessary for the installation, protec-
ton, and service of the gun Thus, in
a work designed for four 10-nch guns,
assuming the site to be uniform, the
emplacement of one of the four guns
represents one-fourth the cost of all
the parapets, platforms, trayerses.
magazines, bomb rooms, shot and pow
der rooms. etc. necessary for the quick
work. For this favorable showing
much is due to the liberality of congress
at it's recent session. The number of
rmplaoements provided by the act of
June .. 1896. is just fifty in excess of the
total provided by all preceding appro-
priatiOnS.
The progress In armament has been
equally satisfactory. During the calen-
oar Year. 1893, there had been completed
at the army gun factory, the West
Foint foundry. and the Bethlehem Iron
works. total of thirty-four S-inch.
twenty lO-inch and nine 12-inch guns,
and forty-three l2-inch mortars. Sub
sequentiy. Dut prior to the Notifications
act OF June q. 1893, these totals We're
raised to siNty-One S-inch, fifty-six TO-
inch. twenty-one Pinch guns and
eighty Finch mortars were completed,
While there were tWenty-seyen S-inch.
thirty-five lO-inch and twenty-nine 1e-
inch guns In process of construction.
The appropriation of June 6, 1896.
While leaving the above completed to-
tails unchanged, 1t has raised the totals
In process of construction to twenty.
seven S-inch. fifty-six 1O-inch. fiftv d.
inch, ten 6-pounder raised fire guns.
and siXty-six l2-inch all-steel mortars.
Prior to 1893, the all important uues-
ton or modern carriages for the new
guns was in a backward state of solu-
tion. The great problem of disappear
ing carriages. for which our new forti-
fications are largely designed, was only
peSiiiiiihS W Dt conceived. "A 1D-inch
carriage which should endure the tre
mendous shock due to the balllstic force
necessary to propel 100O-pound projec-
tile at velocity Of 1000 feet per second
lowering its gun to secure position for
loading. and returning 1t to its firing
position without injury was believed
by few to be within the limits of the
possible.
During the year 1894, however, pro-
gress on the type carriages was such as
to permit contracts to be made to sup
ply the department with four
lO-inch disappearing carriages. and the
construction of ten more was undertake
en- at the government carriage factory.
BY the time new appropriation can
become available all the details of every
type cartilage will have been fully de-
termined. With sufficient money there
fore. the limit to future rapidity of pro-
gress in coast defense is the combined
annual capacity of public and private
plants to supply ordinance material.