The times., 1899-10-14

The annual report of Maj. Gen. Wesley
Merritt commanding the Department of
the East was made public yesterday by the
Secretary of War. General Merritt calls
attention to the ineficiency of the coast ar
tillery, criticises the work OF the supply
department upon which the artillery is de-
pendent and refers to the severe criticisms
of the Quartermaster's and Ordnance De-
partments in the report of Major Story,
which he transmits. General Merritt says:
Il have no specific recommendations to
make regarding any one place. / know the
officers to be intelligent, Industrious, and
jealous in their efforts to improve the
efficiency of their commands. That the
coast artillery is not today in efficient
condition is due to causes over which
artillery officers have no control nor can
these impediments be reached by the de-
partEent commander. Some require ac-
tion of the Secretary of War and others
can be remedied only by Congress. The
needs of the artillery are most ably pre-
sented in the report of the department ar
tiIlery inspector. / do not feel myself
called upon 10 urge the specific remedies
which he proposes, but / certainly coin
eide with the opinion he expresses that the
artillery is in need of remedial legislation.
l deem it my duty to call attention to the
defects and then leave the question OF how
they shall be removed TO the lawmaking
authorities and their advisers.
Our cavalry and infantry today are or
| ganiZed On a modern basis, are sp.endidly
I 81 ,-h -=rr tor
| supplies Of food, clothing and ammunition,
contain within themselves the Clements OF
4 complete efficiency. This is not true of tle
| artillery; the officers are well educated ami
| jealous, but their efforts are cramped by
| an imperfect organization, and response
! bility for the efficiency or the inefficiency
of their arm lies. not as it should, with
themselves, but very largely in other quar-
| tiers. Either through defects of law or
| their own ineffieieney the supply depart
ments upon which the artillery is wholly
dependent have frequently failed TO 10y
| ally and energetically serve its interests
/ The fact that the Engineer Department,
| working under the same laws, has, under
its present chief given the artillery 10
cause for complaint, would seem 10 indi-
cate that something is wrong besides the
| law.
This condition gives rise TO the often
expressed desire of the artillery for chief
OF that arm who would see that it is sup
| piled with what it needs TO be effective;
/ but ! personally have very grave doubts
| as 10 this being the most suitable remedy.
as it may result only in adding another
/ bureau to the War Department, which IL
I may be as difficult 10 make efficient as
some of those already in existence. I de-
sire TO call especial attention to the fol-
lowing points in the report of the artillery
! inspector:
The failure Of the Quartermaster's De-
4 partment to make timely provision for
housing the garrisons at new artillery
+ posts; the necessity for providing at artil-
/ lery posts a permanent post non-com-
missioned staff of specialists, namely, cleo
/ trician and observer sergeants; the recon-
mendation that the strength of the coast
artillery be fixed at the number of off,
GERS and men required 10 fully man the
| guns.
1T is also observed that the artillery
| should be inspected by artillery officers,
] and the fact that the department COM
mander's artillery inspector has no power
| 10 inspect is a patent absurdity and one
| which / urge may be disposed of at an
early date The means of making any arm
of the service all it should be- should rest
with the general commanding the geo
graphical department in which the arm OF
the service IS stationed.
Major Story, the artillery inspector of
| the Department of the East, quotes from
! the report OF Captain Crozier on his in
spection Of the fortifcations of the At
lantic Coast, as fellows: 1t cannot be
said that the artillery defence is, or has
| been recently. IN any but an inefficient
state" He then remarks upon the almost
utter absence of inspection Of the coast
fortifications and recommends that the ar
tillery inspections be conducted by artil-
lery officers.
Referring to the question of range and
position finders about which Colonel Frank
made complaint, Major Story says: 1t may
be said that not one of the twelve-inch
mortar batteries is properly equipped with
/ position finders for war service. Some
mortar batteries even have no equipment
for position finding. yet twelve-ineh NOR
tars form one-half Of our armament of
guns CT heavy ealibre" He calls attention
TO an order CT the Secretary of War divid-
ing the responsibility for the installation
OF the range and position finders between
/ War Department bureaus. Three bureaus
are TO furnish certain materials. He SAYS:
The correspondence in this Office shows
that the Chief of Engineers has not cnly
been willing TO do all that devolves upon
him in this connection, but time and time
again has made suggestions and recon-
mendations TO expedite the work The
Chief Signal Officer and the Chief of Ord
nance always express a willingness to do
all that is required, yet the work lags to
such an extent that not a single artillery
command in the United States is prop
erly equipped. The lack of sufficient force,
properly trained, to care for the modern
armament and to man our new forts is
serious menace 10 artillery efficiency
He charges that in the spring of 1893
artillery troops were ordered to take sta
tion at several posts. and although forti-
fcations for these posts were for one or
more years under construction, yet in no
case did the Quartermaster General an
ticipate the arrival of troops by the build
ing of quarters, barracks, and storehouses,
and though the stations mentioned were
occupied in the spring, 1t was not until
late in the autumn that even the so-called
Temporary shelter" was provided.