The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-14
THE BUREAU OF ORDNANCE.
Annual Report of Gen. ID. w. FlagIer-
 Some Interesting Facts

some Interesting Facts.
 Washington, Nov. 13.-General D. W. Flagler, chief of the bureau of ord- nance, has made his annual report to the secretary of war. It shows that there were expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, $7,34S, ,795, and that there still remains of the appro- priations made for the ordnance bu- reau s19, 359. This large sum is de- rived from the appropriations which were made for war purposes amounting to $21, ,50459 Regarding the equipment Of volunteers the general thinks it would be as well to have the govern ment equip them instead of their bring ing their state arms into service saving that it could be done as quickly owing to the condition of the arms of state troops He speaks in terms of praise of the manner in which work has been performed at arsenals and ordnance factories as in the rush that was made in putting the country on a footing for war with Spain. As to the equipment of the army he says:
 So long as the principal dependence iE this country in time of war is a large volunteer force, newly levied, it is impracticable to keep on hand large supplies of cavalry, artillery and horse equipments, as these in the course of few years will not only deteriorate but will have to be materially modified to keep pace with improvements. The major part of such material can. by taking advantage of the resources of Rock Island and the other arsenaIs and the numerous private establish
 lishments capable of producing, be supplied as rapidly as troops can be raised, mustered into the service and
 prepared for campaign. There should,
 however be on hand field and siege artillery with carriages and a portion of the harness required for 500,00O men. Such guns and carriages cannot be turned out in large numbers until about six months after initiating the
 work
 For equipping the army with a 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 2500 per day. An interesting feature of the report is that which treats of coast de- fense. He says: Attention is espec-
 ialiy invited to the experience of the last few months in attempting to pro- vide quickly a coast defence. It is be- lieved to be impracticable and we will always be forced in any emergency to
 rely upon what has been provided in time of peace I think it fair to state that though not in the way of com plaint that this has been urged upon i congress each year for the nast ten years A plan has been adopted pro- viding a complete coast defense. With the present facilities of the department this work can be carried on economical ly and in the most efficient manner in such a way as to complete the present 1 plan in about seven years. Estimates ought to be submitted each year for so much work as the facilities for it's pro-
 duction will permit. It rests with con- gress to determine how much of the work can be provided for each year. | The work cannot progress faster than the appropriations provide for. It is | probable that there must be added to plans and estimates for the coast de
 fense some provision for the defense of ! added possessions"
 | General Flagler does not claim for | the .45 calibre Springfield rifle an equal l ity with the new 30 calibre magazine rifle of the army, but says that it is a
 very good arm and possesses many i merits. The feature has heretofore been I commented upon in discussion of small arms used during the war. The ma chinery for the making of small arm