Evening star., 1896-11-27
SECRETARY LAMONT
Annual Report Of the Operations Of
the War Department.
IMPROVEMENT IN COAST DEFENSES
Important Matters of Local Inter-
est Touched Upon.
TIL E MEMORIAL BRIDGE

Secretary Lamont's report of the opera
| tions Of the War Department for 1896 shows
total expenditures aggregating $51. sos. DDS,
Of which $13, ,J05 OGS was for pay of the
army, 81, ,466, 2S6 for subsistence, 81, S,2SS
for regular quartermasters supplies, $780,
726 for barracks and quarters. 2.321. 127
for army transportation, H.31O.294 for
clothing, 81 .ss4 for ordnance. s., SCI. AGA
for seacoast denfenses. $l7s44. $50 for river
and harbor improvement, 81, 133 1S1 for ma
tioral soldiers homes and 81 ,436 795 for
salaries and contingencies in the war Office
at Washington.
Much of the report is devoted to de-
tailed exhibit Of the work accomplished
and now under way on the coast defenses
as ordered in 1885.
On the 1st of july 1893. of. our modern
defense, but one high power gun was
mourted. By the 1st of July next we will
nave in position seventy high power breech-
loadirg guns and sixty-ive breech-loai j.
ing mortars of modern design, and by
the following July, on completion of work
already under way or provided for, IDS
guns and 153 mo tars. A battery of two
or three OF these guns takes the place of
| the former pretentious fort and is vastly
| more effective.
DcAchseB VnOeF consideration.
The defenses now under consideration
| are distributed among the ports of Port
| land, Me-; Portsmouth, N. H.; Boston, Mar
ragsn nsett Bay, eastern entrance to Long
| Island sound, eastern and southern en-
trarces to New York, Philadelphia, Bal
tlmCr Washington, Hampton Roads Will
mirgton. Charles ton, Savannah, Key West
PENSACOLA, Mobile, New Orleans Calves
ION, san Diego, San Francisco. the mouth
OF the Columbia river and Puget sound
All OF the emplacements have been located
win view to carrying out the project of
the Endicott board on fortifications or
sanlzed under the act of Congress of
board of engineers.
Ihe total amount appropriated for coast
ae1enses, Including cost of sites, fortifica-
IONS ana armament, since the adoption of
which $3.35O,OOO. or more than one-third
was carried by the act passed at the last
session Of Congress.
In allotting this money the department
was guided by desire to protect as many
OF the seaports as practicable against ma
rauding attacks of isolated cruisers as
wei as to provide more efficient defense
TOT the important places, and also to utilize
10 tne pest advantage the guns for which
carriages could be most speedily furnished
disappearing Gun Carriages.
A very large proportion Of emplacements
are intended to receive guns mounted on
disappearing carriages. OF the 4sl high
power guns to be emplaced, 1t is proposed
to mount only about 4S on the non-dis-
appearing principle.
BY June 30, 1893, there should be l3l
gun carriages for the 12S emplacements
that Will be then ready, and 153 mortar
carriages for the 156 emplacements.
The total number Of guns completed to
date since the first appropriation are sixty
one S-inch, ffty-six 1O-inch, twenty-one L.
inch and eighty mortars.
With the money already provided there
will be completed by June 30. 1897, II S-inch
guns. 81 1O-inch guns. AZ 12-inch guns, Ss
l2-inch mortars. and by June 30, 1888, as
6-inch guns 1913 1O-inch guns, 90 l2-inch
guns. 146 12-inch mortars. Leaving at
tion 3 s-inch guns. % i0-inch guns, 81 L.
inch guns.
The completion of the several component
parts-the emplacement carriage and gun
means the substantial completion of the
finished modern fortifcation, the work OF
assembling requiring but little time.
Next Years Estimates.
The estimates of the department for the
next fiscal year aggregate SO, 49,, 26S. With
this appropriated provision will have been
made for
The armament of troops with the new
magazine arms was completed in May and
the armory is turning out 135 rifles or car
riages per day under the appropriation
made last year. All the ammunition for
smokeless powder of American manufac-
ture and of satisfactory quality.
The total expenditure for river and har-
bor improvements ordered by Congress dur
ing the year ending June 80, 1885, includ-
ing those of the Mississippi and Missouri
river commissions, were $11, 1,o39. s3l.51. In
cluding the amounts appropriated by the
act OF June 3, 1896. there was available
for nn riVerS ha
l $26,U20,9 ,914. 30
Secretary Lamont renews his previous
recommendation that the infantry be re-
organized on the general idea of three
light and mobile battalions of four COM
panies each to the regiment instead of the
cumbersome ten-company formation adopt
ed a century ago, and abandoned by other
nations since the development Of modern
magazine rifles, and he quotes Gen. Sher-
man, Gen. Sheridan and Lieut.. Gen. Scho-
| field in support of the necessity of this re-
organization Of the infantry.
The Post Exchange.
The pest exchange, the general co-opera-
tive store maintained without expense to
the government at nearly all military sta
tions, by the enlisted men, in which are
kept for sale most Of the commodities that
are in demand at military posts, is now
generally approved. The receipts last year
from all sources were more than one and a
about $350,0OO.
The thirty-f1ve army officers assigned to
duty with the National Guard of the states
| report steady improvement in the militia.
Camps of instruction were held in thirty
one states, and in several instances regular
troops were encamped with the militia.
The National Guard aggregated Ill, ,3S7 Off
GERS and men, of whom 4,716 are in the ar
tillery arm, and 1896 in the cavalry. To
maintain this force the states appropriate
81, $50, 900, and the federal government $780,
COO Investigation this year has shown
serious deficiencies in the arms and equip
ment of the militia. When the states fur
nish the armories and defray all expenses
Incidental to keeping their forces in train
ing. Secretary Lamont suggests that the
United States should provide them with the
implements which they will need i'm active
service-arms and field eQuipment-as the
| supply on hand is totally inadequate for
serious and prolonged field operations.
He recommends that the Springfield rifle
caliber As be issued to state troops that
the states be allowed to return to the War
Department obsolete arms and equipments
to be sold, and the proceeds credited to the
states, and that the states he allowed to
purchase from the department supplies at
| regulation prices.