Rock Island Argus., 1897-06-04

force here at Rock Island arenal for
years, but the employment of just
such force is precisely what the
chief of ordinances has in mind and
will carry out if he is permitted the
necessary appropriations by con-
gress. The msnufactory has been
established here. It has Jagged, on
some account or other, but the pros
poets are excellent that it will be
pushed by Commsndant Blunt from
this time on with all the energy that
he can extract from the sum
of money allowed him for the work.
II congress will vote the department.
the money it will roll out the ord
nance at these shops fast enough"
win Mako Rifse, Too.
But Capt. Blunt, an expertin the
knowledge and use of the rife and
revolver, was not ordered here alto
gether for the purpose of making
carriages for cannon. Rock Island
arsenal consists of 10 mammoth
buildings, each big enough to hold
l 900 workmen and their machinery.
These are arranged in two rows, of
five buildings each, the rows facing
each other across Main avenue of the
arsenal. The shops OF one row were
designed for arsenal uses. where ord
nance and accouterme ents are to be
made and stored, and those of the
other and opposite row we're de-
signed for an armory, to be devoted
to the manufacture of rifles, revol-
vers and the ammunition used in
each.
This joint use Of the post has
been on The mind of Gen. Flagler
ever since the days of Gen. Rodman,
the first commandaut of the post.
The coming Of Capt. Blunt to this
command is eloquent Of suggestion
that the opening of the armory shops
to the use for which they were orig
inally planned is not far off. Moth
ing has ever been done toward
equipping those shops as an armory,
and not much toward fitting them
up rs an arsenal"
Some attention is paid the substi-
tuition tof the Krag-Jurgensen OF
United States magazine rifles for the
Springfield rifle, which latter is be-
Ing distributed among the state mi
litia. and the Krag-Jurgensen arm
is the one Gen. Flagler wants to see
manufactured 1T Rock Island arsenal
and which he is making prepars'
| tions to have manufactured here al
soon IS he gets the necessary per
mission and cash. Then would
| come the item of ammunition. A
million rifles would take q mou ntsir
Of powder and ball. One Of the big
shops of tho armory row was de
signed for making ammunition, and i
is the hope of Gen. Flagler to be ahls
to transfer enough Of the ammuni
tion factory now at Frankfort arse
nal, Philadelphia, to this shop tt
make a nucleus for the organization
Of big shop here.AA Even in time o
peace the demand for ammunition i;
not small. United States cartridge
are being shot away by the car load
The national guard uses them in 10!
lots in it's practice and the soldiers
Of the regular army are practicin,
ali the time.
Government Millions Invested Here.
"The government has an invest
ment Of $12, Geo 900 in Rock IslanC
arsenal and its surroundings anc
accessories. It is putting NOR,
money into them all the time. Th,
design of the war department. wher
Maj. Kingsbury broke ground fol
storehouse A. the first building o.
the plant erected, has been only in
the smallest degree carried out
Rock Island arsenal is not and neve,
has been the great central arsena1
and armory Of the United States, &C.
cessible to all its borders and inter
nal points by river and rail and de-
Tended from foreign foes by at least
thousand miles of soil. 1t is little
more than silent city of massive
deserted buildings compared with
the bustling factory it was designed
to be-"