The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-08-26
sonE FIGURES ON Die WAR


sno oomc Oh the SupplloS Uoo0s
Now that the war IL over some per-
sons would like to know how many bull
let's were fired during the conflict. but
since that cannet be ascertaillsd. Il Is
striking enough to consider that the
2770oo men now composing the army of
the United States carry in their GAR
fridge belts more than 27.oo0.Oo0 rifle
balls. At all events they would carry
that many IL all OF them were armed
with the new magasine rife, commonly
known as the Krag-Jorgensen. 100
cartridges being allowed to each man.
Before long all Of Uncle Sans soldiers
will be provided with this weapon in
stead OF the archaic" Springfield.
Thus equipped. the 277.ooo men now
enlisted would carry 372 tons OF bull
let's at their waists; and this makes
reckoning OF only the leaden balls. and
not OF the cartridges containing them
Each of the cartridges is a bit over
three inches long. and IL all Of those
contained In the belts Of the soldiers
were placed end to end they would
stretch 1866 miles. Just think of the
destructive power represented by that
line of cartridges
The barrel OF one OF these regulation
rifles is 80 inches long. II all Of them
the 277,O0o-were placed end to end, 80
as to make a continuous tube. the latter
would extend 1S1 miles. or just about
the distance from Washington TO Phila-
delphia. But to render the thing more
striking, consider the fact that the new
rifle will kill a man at 4400 yards. This
makes total effective range OF 692:500
miles for 2T7,000 rifles. Accordingly. II
txx,v -nIA 4toes 49, he hull hl
combined, three sharpshooters on the
earth would be able to shoot far enough
TO kill three men on the moon.
Each soldiers uniform, with the cape
overccat, requires eleven and a quarter
square yards of material. Hence II ap-
pears that the cloth used for making
war costumes for the 277. 900 men in the
army. If spread out. would cover just
about GA acres, or little over square
mile. At $1S65 a suit, an outfit OF uni
forms for all the troops of the United
States costs the government $5,l66,O50,
enough to build, furnish and arm the
biggest and finest kind of q battleship,
such as the Oregon.
Most OF the volunteers in the war
have received only one blanket apiece
from Uncle Sam, though the usual al
lowancc is two. These blankets are OF
exceptionally fine material, costing
1888 apiece. To provide every man
of 1922, ,410, and these 277,O00 blankets
would cover 244 acres of ground. They
are seven feet long by five and half
feet wide, and 1t Is agreed by both OFF,
GERS and men In the service that better
poker can be played on them than on
any other kind Of cloth.
To make an army shirt of fiannel re-
Quires three square yards Of stun, and
the government pays s1.95 for the fin
ished garment. Thus 1t Is easily calcu-
lated that such shirts for all the troops
would come to q total of $540. .000, and the
material for them would spread over
172 acres. More interesting is the fact
that S4.625 calves would be required
to furnish leather for the shoes OF all
the regiments, and this would take no
account of the soles and heels. which
would have to be supplied by &C, 233
cows. The rubber cloaks for the army.
called ''ponchos,' would cost $390,570,
and would cover 143 acres.
One acre OF good land yields a75
pounds of cotton. which can be woven
into lat half tents Of the shelter" kind
used in the field. Each two soldiers
have a tent between them, one carrying
the right half and the other the left
half. Such a tent costs $3.97 complete,
with jointed pole, etc, the total expense
Of sheltering the entire army under
canvas being $549,845 Spread out, the
canvas needed would cover 272 acres.
each half tent having AZ yards Of ma
terial. To produce the cotton for max
ing all this tentage would need 1889
acres. or nearly three square miles.
An ordinary canteen holds two
quarts. With ell these receptacle3
filled, the present army of .77,000 men
carries 3644 hogsheads of water. This.
in fact, Is about equivalent to the daily
requirement or water for the troops.
The quantity would last ono man more
than seven hundred and sixty years.
Each man has a tin cup that holds
pint and half. II all of them were
filled they would contain 2.S3 hogs
heads. But soldiers are thirsty people,
and their belt capacity Is wonderful.
Forty-nine inches long, by the way, Is
the average cartridge belt, and 2I7,000
of them put end to end would stretch
214 miles.
One Of the most interesting ques-
tions in relation to the fighting
problem Is that of transportation. II is
impossible to ascertain, even approx
mately how many miles were traversed
by the army as a whole, or by the aver
age soldier. However, 1t may be said
that the average enlisted man during
the present war did not travel less than
zoo miles. If 1t be supposed that the
journey taken by the average enlisted
man was 200 miles, 1t will appear that
the total number of miles traversed
was IS, 400, 900. This total represents
more than half the distance from the
earth to the sun. and paid ticket on
that basis would entitle an individual
soldier to 115 round trips to the moon.
The war department says that 1t costs
rs cents day to maintain a soldier.
This, OF course, means simply the regu-
lar rations. Transportation OF provi-
sions means an extra expense. and so 1t
is reckoned that a lighting man re-
quires % cents a day for his mainten-
ance. Now, at this rate, the govern
ment is obliged to pay s60,940 a day for
food for the 277.000 men enlisted. Each
man is entitled to an allowance OF 20
ounces of fresh meat day, which
means a total Of 346,250 pounds
for the entire army. or -four the
allowance Is eighteen ounces. amount
ing to 1889 barrels a day for the whole
army. Reckoning things on the same
basis. the army as at present constitu-
ted: requires 1871 barrels OF potatoes
daily, and for the same perio6 27,700
pounds of coffee. Al, $50 pounds OF sugar.
11,279 pounds OF salt. 5639 pounds OF
an Il. 90