Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-02-20
ARMORY ECHOES.
Some of. the Boys Anticipate An
Emergency Call.
WHIST AND BASKET BALL.
Interest in the Latter Game
Seems to Be Dying.
Changes in the Sixth Likely to Follow the
Resignation of Col. Parsons-Recent
Changes in the Militia.

|
Maine has been fruitful topic of con-
versation among the militiamen the
past week, and with some Of them there
! is a feeling that the routine of their
daily life may be affected by the occur
renee, The Idea of war with Spain
is hardly entertained, but they all re
member the local sensation at the time
of the Homestead strike, and believe
| last weeks incident will offer another
! opportunity for the sounding Of the mi
| litia call in this city. At the time of
the Homestead strike, there were many
ludicrous incidents connected with the
assembling of the militia Many of the
men expected orders to move to Penn
| sylvania, and went to the armory pre-
| pared for a journey. Others took the
! call in matter-of-fact way. and en-
! joyed their fun at the other fellows ex-
| pense when they made their appearance.
| Some of the men are keeping close
watch upon the officers of the compa-
MES, and when two of them are seen
| conyersing, a runlor is started that ar
rangements are being made for the mi
| litia call Of Is blows to be sounded. The
uneasy may as we'll rest comfortably, as
none of the officers has considered the
militia call, and it is not likely again
| to be sounded for fun.
| The order introduced into the legisla-
| ture by Representative Fredericks Of
Methuen, Friday, was read with consid-
cradle interest in this city, especially
by members of Battery B. Represent
alive Fredericks severely condemned
! the guns used by the light artillery,
! claiming they were Of an almost obso-
| lete pattern and that the men would
\ not know how to manage one Of the
modern guns if called upon. The re-
marks apply well to the armament of
! Battery B. The guns are wrought iron,
! three-inch rified guns, Misunderstanding.
| They are first-class guns, of their kind,
and would prove effective in quelling a
riot But they are unquestionably 30
years behind the times. The chief
trouble with them is the difficulty of
/ getting ammunition. Last summer the
! non-commissioned officers of Battery B
were to go to Fort Warren with one of
| their guns for target practice, but am
munition could not be provided, and the
! trip was given up. The modern gun is
a breech-loading, rapid-fire rifle, and is
as unlike the old guns supplied to Bat
terry B as can we'll be imagined.
The worst feature Of the old guns,
aside from the difficulty of getting
ammunition, is the carriages. These
are old and rickety, and when one of
/ the guns is run out on the floor of the
armory the wheels creak in a most
alarming manner They are strong
enough to carry the guns back and
/ forth to camp, and could even stand the
racking of an emergency trip to Bos-
ton; but in actual service they would
not stand up very long.
The matter Of expense is probably
L.
not baen long ago equipped with the
! modern rifles. The cost of equipping a
Pbattery of four guns of the modern
| kind has been estimated at about $14,-
000 which would make the expense of
equipping the four light batteries of the
state very great
The military whist tournament opened
last week with a game between the
! Wellington Rifles and Battery B. The
team from the latter command won the
game by score of 81 to SO. AS the
number of points scored in the tourna-
ment will determine the ownership of
the trophy, the Welhngtons will have
a chance to overcome the 11-point lead.
Two games are scheduled for this week
the Light Infantry and Wellingtons
play Monday night, and the City Guards
and Battery B meet Friday night. The
City Guards tournament ended last
week, Hobbs and Jones winning first
place Capt. Barrett and Lieut.. Tisdell
secured second place, but only after a
play-off with Corps. Poland and ALI
son. The prizes for the tournament
have not yet been selected, but the com
\ mittee will attend to the matter as soon
as the company is through with its
show at the theatre
The basket ball question remains as
it did week ago The conditions laid
down by the adjutant general do not
meet with favor among the basket ball
men, and it is noticeable that their en-
thusiasm has cooled since the notice
was received. Capt. Barrett announced
a week ago that a meeting Of the Off
GERS would be held to consider the cues
ton, but yesterday he said no meeting
had been held, and he did not know
when one would be called
AT the meeting of the City Guards,
Thursday night, Corp. Ralph L. Allison
was elected a member of the standing
committee in place OF Corp. H. B. Bond,
resigned. Fred G. Gagnon, formerly
bugler in Battery B. was admitted to
the company, and will soon be appoint
ed company musician. Two applica-
tions for membership were received.
Lieut.. Edison, mastering officer of the
second regiment, Is expected in this
city in short time. and will muster
these recruits into the company. This
VIII give the Guards its full compile
ment Of men. After the drill the com
pany held its last rehearsal for its part
In 'Shenandoah A full rehearsal of
the play will take place at the theatre
this afternoon
The officers Of the local companies are
preparing for the seasons target prac-
tiee, and last week 5000 empty shells
were sent to the state arsenal to be re-
filed
Monday night the Emmett Guards will
noid forth at the arnory with their
friends at the conlpanyie social The
drill shed will beEtaStefully' decorated
Tor the occasion, and the music, which
promises to be one of the features. will
be furnished by Bicknell's orchestra
Inc announcement by Col. Henry Par
sons, commander of the 9Th regiment.
that ne intends resigning his command,
was surprise to many acquaintance
IN this city. The fierce opposition to the
colonel last year, when the militia inyes-
tlgatlon was before the legislature led
many to think he would be forced out.
out the colonel was too strong for his
opponents and, as he remarked "he
would not retire in the face of the
enemy" The feeling against the COM
mander has ended. and all the officers
are in sympathy with him. With har-
mony in his official family the colonel
decided to give the attention to his bust
ness interests they demand. With the
passing of Col. Parsons, another veteran
of the war goes from the militia He en-
tered the service as I'd lieutenant in Co.
H. 14Sth New York regiment, in 1862. He
became list lieutenant Oct. s, 1858; cap
tain, Dec. a. 1864, and was breveted
mn ffJe