The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-11-14
The Suggestive Report Of the
Chief ofthe Department.
IT WAS WELL ADMINISTERED.
mo R.oomnspdatiou. Gonoral FIaslsr
Mskss TO the Secretary Of war ln Regard
70 the Improvements Of the serviss-Tho
Cosst pUfsnssS Dealt with in DO.aIl-
Ths Matter OssmOEslors Powder

OF war. It shows that there were ex-
pended during the fiscal year ending
June 80. 1899, s7,sls, ,7s5. ana that there
still remains Of the appropriations made
for the ordnance bureau, SlS7sS,0ss.
This large sum is derived from the ap-
propriatIons for the Ascal gear which
were made FOR war purposes amounting
TO S2l,5Ol,5s2.
Regarding the equipment OF volun-
teers, the general thinks It would be as
well to have the government equip them
Instead OF their bringing their state
arms into service, saying that 1t could
be done as quickly owing to the cOndl-
tion Of the arms OF state troops.
He speaks in terms of praise Of the
manner in which work has been per-
formed at arsenals and ordnance fac
tories in the rush that was made In
putting the country on q footing for
war with Spain. AS to the equipment
of an army he says:
80 long as the principal dependence
in this country in time Of war Is q
large volunteer force, newly levied, It Is
impractlcable to keep on hand large
supplies of cavalry, artillery and horse
equipments, as these In the course o. a
few gears Will not only deterioTate, but
will have to be materially modified to
keep pace with improvements. The ma
1os part of such material can, by taking
advantage Of the resources Of Rock Is
land and the other arsenals and the
numerous private establishments capa-
bic OF producing It, be supplied as rap
Idly as troops can be raised, mustered
into the service and prepared for the
campaign. There should, however, be on
hand field and Siege artillery with car
riages and portion Of the harness re-
quired for Ave hundred thousand men.
Such guns and carriages cannot be
turned out In large numbers until
about six months after Initiating the
work"
For equlpplng an army with sup
ply OF small arms he thinks there should
be a supply OF 100000 on hand Of any
new arm and the arsenals kept in a
condition SO as to produce $500 per day.
Coast Oafemses.
An interesting feature OF the report Is
that which treats OF coast defense. The
general says: Attention is especially
invited to the experience OF the last few
months in attempting to provide
quickly coast defense. 1t is believed
to be impractlcabie and we will al
ways be forced in any emergency to
rely upon what has been provided in
time of peace. I think 1t fair to state,
though not in the way of complaint,
that this has been urged upon Congress
each year for the past ten years.
"The situation ls very simple, A plan
has been adopted for providing a COM
plete coast defense. With the present
facilities OF the department this work
can be carried on economically and in
the most efficient manner In such
way as TO complete the present plan in
about seven years. Estimates ought to
be submitted each year for so much OF
the work as the facilities for Its produc-
ton will permit. II rests with Congress
to determine how much Of the work can
be provided for each year consistently
with the resources of the country. But
the work cannot progress faster than
the appropriations provide for.
ut Is probable that there must be
added 10 the plans and estimates for
the coast defense some provision for
the defense OF the added possessions"
General FlaEler does not claim for the
45.calibre Springfield rife an equality
with the. new thlrty-calibre magazine
rife Of the army, but says that It Is a
very good arm and possesses many
merits. This feature has heretofore
been commented upon in discussion OF
small arms used during the war. The
machinery for the manufacture Of small
arm ammunition was none the best, yet
the department turned out 9O,O0O,0OO
rounds for the war. For years past the
report states the appropriations for
equipments Of infantry, cavalry, artll-
lery and horse, have been barely suffi-
Client to meet the consumption OF the
regular army and although there were
buildings there was not machinery with
which to manufacture these supplies, II
was not possible to fill acquisitions for
the volunteer troops when made.
Details are given OF what was done to
rapidly increase the coast defense1
when the War began. He calls atten-
tendon TO the fact that Congress has
never appropriated what was asked for
powder and projectiles and in conse-
duence the supply at the beginning of
the war was inadequate and he gives
some instances Of the work done by the
department to make good the deficiency,
SmokeIeES Powder
The following statement 10 made as to
powder: "For several years this de-
partment has been experimenting on
smokeless powders for sea coast guns,
and had completed the determination
Of the specifications and requirements
for the smokeless powders for nearly all
the seacoast guns and mortars. Some OF
the powder manufacturers that had
been engaged in the production Of these
experimental powders had small plants
for their production. 1t was irnpossl-
BILE. however, to produce the powders
fast enough to meet the emergency and
In some cases experience In their use
was necessary for adapting them TO all
the requirements OF the service. All the
companies, however, we're ready at
once to take up tho manufacture OF the
carbon powders and as the requirements
for this were simpler, they could ex-
pand their plant for this production
more rapidly aud for time this de-
partment therefore devoted all It's en-
ergies to procuring sufficient supply
of the carbon powders. Later, and as
fast as possible. the manufacture was
changed 20 smOkeless powders,
ut should be stated, however. that
smokeless powder only was manufac-
tured fer field and siege artillery. The
fact that the field and siege artillery
r,.nn 4 IrN he ON nlnnnd Mns not hRlnrInlnnh