The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-01-12
COSTLY CHANGES.
Enormous Losses Caused in Keeping
Armies Up to Date.

From the Philadelphia Press.)
In no private business and in no other
branch of the government service are
such enormous CLOSES possible as in the
army and navy.
When a new gun or new system of
fertilization is devised the old is aban-
doned forever, and the value which it
represented is n total loss.
The British navy, Tot long ago, de-
clared obsolete a certain type of torpedo.
In doing so it discarded torpedoes which
had cost it about $50, 600, pounds or
$3.50, 600.
The costliest change which the govern
Inent of the United States ever made was
when it discarded the muzzle loading rlIe
for the breech-loaoer. and the smootn51
bore cannon for the rif1ed gun at the emu
of the Civil war. The heavy ordnance
discarded at that time represented an IL u
vestment of many millions-lt Woulu 10
difficult to say just how much. 1he uIs
carded muskets were about 1nillto1t 80 CO.
half in number, and their cost nau pe c1s
from, $12 to $18. At an average, s 9a o SNv
they were worth orlglnaIiy, one.
Of this SUM about one-Inlru VI ~
quarter was recovered by tho SAFE oI Uise
guns to other nations in time Oh M"t, ~
the actuaI loss to the government was
s15. 600. 900. These guns, 1t Is true, hS 1..
heen used in the war, ana pre so
the government had got 81 10, 00o, Ooo worm
Of ssrvjce ont of them; but they were IN
good condition and might have been USED
hy our little standing army OF o,O0o men
for half a century if the style had not
changed. ,-44,o ,,,ono
than the old style musket. liz was re-
placed by a magazine gun OF small
L., ~ Tho old OUnS
were not discarded when the new ones
came in. They are ''as good as gold,
saws General FIagler, the chief OF ordl-
nance of the army. They were put
through the arlnory, where all worn parts
were replaced, and 80 per cent OF them 1l
were restored to prime condltlon. Ihey
will be kept in reserve for use in time OF
troubIo The officers of the government
will not even say how many OF them
there are, for fear foreign nations shoula
base on their information an estimate OF
cur fighting resources. ~,
Some of the old heavy ordnance still
has uses, but most of it has been sold Tor
old iron or given away. Three hunoreo
and seyenty-eight guns have been given
away. principally to Grand Army posts;
also 1879 gun carriages, and about 5000
shells. 80
sean good service, and, besides, its origi-
nal cost was comparatively small. an
old eight-inch smooth-bore cost about
$500, while on eight-inch modern rifle
gun costs $4,000. There is an amazing
difference in the efficiency of the two,
however, The old smooth-bore was
fifty. six FOUNDER and used ten and one
half pounds of powder. The modern gun
of the same caliber is 300-pounder, and
uses I35 pounds of powder.
When the navy department adopted
new rifle recently, it turned the old
rifles over to the naval militia. There
were moreithan 5000 of them, and they
were worth about $751; 900. Even II there
had been no militia to equip, the loss by
this change would have been compara-
lively small There are ten thousand of
the new rifles, including those for sthe
Marine corps, and theyscost about Sl75,
600.
At the end of the war the navy depart
ment did not forthwith tumble overheard
the old;cast-iron cannon and substitute
The modern-built-up gun. The change
has been gradual, and some OF the old
guns are still in use on orr shipssof war.
Nor were the wooden ships of the old
navy discarded, except as they woreiout.
The ships of the new navy are of the
very latest design, and cost $500 to
So. 60, 900 each. 1t is not likely that con-
ditions will arise which will render them
entirely obsolete. AS for our four-inch to
thirteen-inch guns. which cost the gov
eminent from $500 to $4,000 each, the
only changes likely to occur are in their
mechanism, and these are small compared
with the total cost of the gun. Still any
day some genius may come to the front
with wholly new construction which
wi In leave millions of dollars worth of
heavy ordnance practically useless on our
hands