Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-11-12
THE L. S. ARNENALS.
How tncie Sam Would Equip His
army and Navy I'm Case Of War.

army and Navy In Case of War.
When the papers are filled with ac-
counts Of disputes OF this country with
foreign powers over the independence
OF Cuba, the projections of the seals
or the Venezuelan boundary, the sober
minded citizen asks the question,
"How would the government prepare
itself to carry on the conflict if war
should be declared?"
In the first place our army is pecu-
liarly organized. The total number
of regular soldiers is limited to $4,000.
The number of thoroughly trained
officers is large in proportion to the
number of privates. For this reason
the army could in very short space
OF time be increased to many times its
normal size and still be under perfect
control. The total number of men
available for carrying arms is estimat.
ed at IL 600, 600, and no nation of the
world has ever been made up of peo-
pie OF such versatility as our own.
They naturally adapt themselves to
meet all emergencies and overcome all
obstacles that may arise.
The question of the equipment of
large army is one that naturally has
occupied the attention of the War De-
partment, and scattered over the coun-
try are numerous establishments, each
equipped for doing its own particular
part in the general plan.
In the first place at the Watervliet
Arsenal near Troy, New York, the
Government has finely equipped
plant for the manufacture of the larg-
est coast defense cannon and mortars.
1t has turned out % inch mortars in
large numbers, and now has under
construction q cannon designed to
throw a shell 16 inches in diameter
and weighing more than a ton. The
factory can easily turn out forty large
coast defense and fifty large field guns
in a year. In this arsenal the guns
are. simply put together, the separate
tubes, jackets, ETC., being furnished by
the Bethlehem Iron Works and by the
Carnegie Company of Pittsburg.
In the arsenal at Watertown, Mass,
are made the carriages for the heavy
army cannon as we'll as cast-iron pro-
jectiles for the field, siege and sea
coast service, with the exception of
the scrapnel. The government does
not make its own high-power shells
for piercing armor. These are sup
piled by private parties who manufac-
ture the shells under their own pa.
tents. At the Watertown arsenal is
done the testing of the strength of ma
terial used in different lines of manu-.
facture.
At Rock Island, ILL.,, there is a plant
for the manufacture of the machine
gun carriages, field gun carriages, linn
bers, caissons, battery wagons and
forges for guns from to 5 inches bore
and for Z inch howitzers.
The magazine rifles with which the
soldiers are armed are made at Spring
field, Mass. The War Department
has recently adopted a new form of
small arm, invented abroad but con-
fessedly the best submitted for COM
petition. The contract, however, re-
quires the rifles to be manufactured in
this country.
At the Frankford Arsenal, in the
city of Philadelphia, is a plant for
manufacturing small cartridges. The
number made is only 5000 per day,
but there is sufficient machinery to
instantly increase the output to $780,
GOO or more in case of emergency.
Maxim and Gatling rapid firing guns
are purchased outright from their in
ventors.
Heavy cannon for the navy are
made at the Washington Navy Yard.
The testing ground at Sandy Hook,
N. Y, is used to test cannon for the
army and that at Indian Head, on the
Potomac, for the navy. Scattered
throughout the country are numerous
depots for the storage of munitions of
war, so that the invasions of one sec.
ton would not seriously cripple the
government.
Powder is purchased from private
manufacturers by contract and at the
arsenal located at Benicia, Cal, are
special forms of apparatus for testing
the different styles used.
It will thus be seen that in case of
war the government has at command
a formidable fighting machine capable
of immediate and indefinite expansion.