The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-05-25
POWDER.
AND SHELL.
Army and Navy Depart
mentS Will Have All
Needed in a Few
Weeks.

Washington, May 2l-With all the re.
sources at the governments disposal fol
furnishing powder and shell, the naval
authorities find the supply on hand is NOT
| yet sufficient to form safe reserve, and
| even should the fleets not use up much
immediately It will be fully two weeks be-
| fore the department will feel comfortable
over the q uantity Of both powder and pi o.
jectiles 1t has on hand.
Every factory In the country capabl Q OF
manufacturing the powder and shell suit :
able for tho navy has been working full
time for upward Of five weeks, and had
such staft not been made every squad
ron now at sea might have been crippled,
at least temporarily, for want Of an AIDE.
quate supply. There Is no apprehension
that, whatever may DO the extent of tho
war or however fierce and protracted some
of the naval engagements may be, tue
government will always be in o position
to meet every demand for ammunition,
but the experts arc asking more than that
and desire to lay up a large reserve supply
which they can use, should by any chance,
all the powder factories be blown up or
disabled and all the projec,ile shops be
rendered helpless for few weeks.
The present Outpour of powder amounts
to about 5000 pounds day, of which
1900 Is furnished by the DUPONT Com
pany and the remainder by a concern on
the Pacific coast, which has fitted out the
Charleston and provided most of the pow-
der for Admiral Dewey's fleet at Manila
This powder includes some of the smoke.
less variety as well; so limited is the guam
tity that SO far it has been impossible to fit
out more than three ships with full maya
zines Of 1t. Even at the present rate of
deliveries the entire fleet could not be sup.
piled in four months.
Every pound Of powder as fast rs manu-
featured, Is turned over to the leading GOV
eminent magazines and from them sent
south in such quantities as may be de-
manded by tho ships The casual bonn
bardment OF the Cuban towns and tho con-
tinued firing on San Juan consumed thou.
sands OF pounds of the best powder made
IN this country, and mors OF it was burn
cd probably in the latter engagement then
tho entire navy has expended in salutiug
purposes since the civil war. The capacity !
Of eve;y factory is now worked to the full |
limit, and it is not conceived to be possible |
TO increase the output very much. Still,
oven at the present rate, it would take the |
product Of several days to supply the |
amount used by Admiral SIMPSONS !
squadron III his recent San Juan lombard
ment
Captain ONeil, the ordnance chief,
states that not only will the navy In two
weeks have all the powder that 1t may
possibly require, but II reserve supply ca
pablo of meeting every demand for sever
al weeks. The same, he says, will DO true
OF projectiles. At present 5000 projec-
tiles of the heaviest Tyre ure completed
daily and shipped to naval stations for
vessels. On hand arc thous-
hnds of all classes, and especially of tho
smaller kind, of which ten times as many
arc used in actual battle. Every branch
Ct ordnance seems to be amply fortified
Tor any emergency, and especially Is this
rue of guns and small arms.