The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-10-27

ing June 80 deals with something more
than statistics. He recommends more
extended consolidation of indel endent
post offices, as provided by law, and sug-
gests that expenses might be further re-
duced by merging or abolishing several
heads of divisions and other officials re-
ceiving the higher salaries. The special
letter and collection boxes operated in
Baltimore in connection with public
street car service are, in his opinion, a
success and Congress will be asked to
provide for the extension of the systsm.
The other experiment--rural free delivery
has been tested in twenty-nine states
and over forty four different routes. The
results for the most part have been salts
factory, SO much SO as to suggest the
feasibility Of making rural delivery a per-
manent feature of postal administration
mot Immediately nor in all districts at
once, but in some graduated form regu-
lated by the present experiments.
The urgent necessity of an increase in
the Ecountry's force of artillerymen,
which Gen Miles alludes TO in his an
nual report is made the subject of an ar
ticle by Gen Geo. W. Wingate, President
of the National Guard Association, in
the November number of the Journal of
the Military Service Institu ton of the
United States. Gen. Wingate, Awho is
not connected. with the army treats the
matter solely from the standpoint of COM
mon sense and patriotism. He
points out that unless we have skilled
men to man the guns that we have been
placing in our sea coast defences they will
be practically of no use, and that the skill
required can only be obtained by long
and careful training. The modern heavy
gun has great range and great efficiency
provided it is aimed right. But of course
unless it hits the mark 1t is fired in vain
1t must therefore be aimed with great
precision. The gunner who manages 1t
must be able to calculate very quickly
and very accurately the degree of eleva-
ton to be given to the gun and the al
Iowance for wind and other forces which
may tend to defect the ball from its path
The problem is complicated one, but
upon its quick and accurate solution
depends the efficiency of the gun. 1t is
idle to expect solution from men with
out special aptitude for the business de-
Veloped by long and careful training.
Wars, when they come, are likely to come
quickly. Very little time is likely to in
tervene between declaration of war and
the commencement o.. hostilities, and I'M
less we have trained our artillery men
before hand our big guns will be Of COM
paratively little use, SO badly aimed will
they be. The defence of Copenhagen
against Nelson's fleet failed largely be-
cause the men who manned the guns be-
ing unframed practically wasted their
shot and shell.
The entire artillery force of the United
| States at the present time numbers about
| 1890, including ten batteries Of light ar
ti1lery. AS our coast defences when COM
pleted will contain at least 1000 guns our
present force of artillerymen is not large
enough to furnish two men to gun,
and to make 1t effective each gun must
have two at least. AS not much more than
fifty per cent of the men enlisted are
likely to make good gunners our force
| must be increased to at least $500 mon
to furnishssnen enough sto give two men
to each gun. This is Gen. Wingate's
conclusion and it appears irrefutable.
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