The herald., 1898-03-12
'ALGER WILL NOT WAIT
.,,R ALLOTMENT OF THE FUND
PROVIDED
CANNON FOR COAST DEFENSE
Alrer Gives Orders for the Immediate
Securing Of the Needed Rapid
Fire Guns
A..oe,ated press Special wire


Ter chief of ordnance, to make arrange
ments at once for procuring large
number Of rapid firing guns for seacoast
defenses. This action Is taken without
awaiting for the allotment among the
! various bureaus of the War and Navy
Departments of the $50,000,000 voted for
the national defense. The secretary
felt that there was no reason for fur
ther delaying the necessary steps for
the procurement of these guns, as it was
felt there would be no trouble in arriv-
ing at an equitable adjustment Of the
money available. Ever since the bat
tleship Maine was wrecked in Havana
harbor, the ordnance department has
been Fastening the delivery of guns al
ready finished and making arrange
ments for the supply Of such additional
ones as the officials felt warranted In
ordering without the additional funds
which have since been put at their dis
posal. The Ordnance Bureau will then
secure rapid fire guns that can be pro-
cured within a. reasonable time and
they viii be shipped to the seacoast
fortifications as rapidly as possible.
'' They consist of what Is known as the
auxiliary defense for the fortifcations
and are material assistance to the big
guns which necessarily are slower of
movement and firing. They would also
be of valuable assistance in keeping
the enemy's ships from placing sub
marine mines and other obscured means
of defense by maintaining a constant
fire over the places. The contract for
the carriages of these rapid fire guns
has been authorized and they will be at
the Notifications as soon as completed.
The carriages can be made and delivered
much quicker than the guns, so that ex-
pedition in the manufacture of the latter
is what the officers of the Ordnance
Bureau are after. Quite number of
establishments in the United States
have responded to the departments in
quiries as to whether they can assist in
making these guns. They include the
Army Gun Factory, the Bethlehem Iron
Works, the briggs Ordnance company
and the American Ordnance company.
The guns are mounted without much
trouble so that haste in their manufac-
ture Is essential in the present crisis
1t Is now stated by the ordnance Of
ficials that directions have been given to
the various arsenals and armories con-
trolled by the government to increase
the working force to the fullest practi-
cable extent with view to hurrying
the completion of existing projects.
Likewise, all firms having contracts to
supply the government with ordnance
have been required to work night and
day in order to finish the work in hand
90 hoiv xxr3tt n
view to increased orders. AS to small
arms and extra ammunition, orders have
been already placed with the Union
Metallic Cartridge Company of Bridge
port, Conn.,, and the Winchester Arms
Company, of New York. The negotia-
tions for the supply of large numbers of
small arms. army equipments and ac-
coutrements are now in progress. The
bureau officials have not yet indicated
the exact number which will be ordered,
but that the aggregate will be large is
shown by the fact that the manufactur-
ers have been given the cue to make all
they can.
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore harbor,
will be selected as the headquarters of
one of the new regiments of artillery,
instead of Fort Wadsworth, N. Y, as
was originally proposed. This change,
It is said, is due to representations that
have been made to the Secretary of War
that both the new regiments should not
be located in New York. but one should
go further south. The selection of Fort
Slocum as the headquarters of one of
the regiments will not be altered.
>, General Greeley. chief signal officer.
has been given authority by the Secre-
tary of War to proceed without regard
to ordinary restrictions in establishing
rapid telegraphic connections between
the seacoast fortifications. 1t will not
be necessary, therefore. to invite pro-
posals for furnishing supplies and to
follow the ordinary and slow methods of
procuring the telegraphic material and
doing the work. This rather extraordi-
nary authorization was conferred upon
General Greeley, after forcible presen-
tation by him to the Secretary of War
of the demand for modern methods and
apparatus.
Lieut. Stone, the representative of the
Carnegie Steel Company, was at the
Navy Department today in conference
with the officials respecting the naval
work in progress.
The officers Of the Navigation Bureau
were very busy translating cipher mes
sages today, 1t was said that all of
these had come in overnight and pre-
sumably they related to the purchase
of ships abroad.
Before,leaving for the cabinet meeting,
Secretary Long said that he had re-
ceived no report thus far from the
Court Of Inquiry, nor had he ordered
the. fleet In China to the Philippines. as
was rumored, here today.
The Secretary spent q good deal of
time today in consultation with Assis-
tant-Secretary Roosevelt and Captain
Bradford, Chief Of the Bureau Of Equip
hent, concerning the supply Of coal to
the vessels now cruising to the south of
Cuba.
The gunboats Wilmington and An
napolis reported to the Navy Depart
.ment overnight from the Caribbean
Sea. The former sailed from st. Lucia
for Barbados, and the latter from La
Guayra for Curacao. The torpedo fio-
tilla at Key West will soon be rein
forced by two fine boats which have been
under repairs. The Commandant of the
Mare Island Navy Yard reported that
the cruiser Mohican sailed today with
her cargo Of ammunition, which she will
transship at Honolulu to the Baltimore,
for the Asiatic squadron.
The naval officers, who are endeavor-
ing to effect the purchase Of
ships abroad, have encountered
an obstacle that promises to
give some trouble. This Is found in