Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-06-02
WAR Is EXPENSIVE.
WHAT 1T COSTS TOFlRe THEE GGUNs
OF WAR VESSELS.

WHAT IT COSTS TOFlRe THE 3 GGUNs
OF WAR VESSELS
Thirteen Inch Guns on the Greg on Require
over a Ton of Powder for a Single Charge
Some Astonishing Figures and Compar
isons.
1t is only by going into details OF
what the snews Of war actually cost
that one understands how this gov.
eminent has been spending S1,00o,00C
q day, or thcrcabouts, during all the
weeks of fighting and preparation fol
fighting. Thousands of tons of gun
powder, for instance, have been bought
at prices ranging from 81 a poun0
downward. ten of gunpOWde1
seems goodly quantity until one
learns that it would not even suffice
for single discharge of the fouI
thirtccn-inch guns on the Oregon
These four guns eat up powder at the
rate of twenty-t'vo tons an hour
$4,000 an hour. If the powder cost
ST pound-and some of the BON
bardmcntS have tasted many hours
! am assuming that these four guns
keep up Il steady nring at their max
imum rate of one shot in three min
utes, and, that being the case, the
heaviest item in Che expenses is still
to be counted, for each one of these
1,10O-pOund projcctilcs costs $500
which gives $1,000 every time the -four
guns go off, or $4,000 for an hours
firing.
But there are other guns on the
Oregon, many 9th 4 guns, and to find
/ bpt pit of - h1
tlcship will cost we must take all
these into consideration. y single shot
from one of the elght-inch guns costs
5000. and there are eight Of these, SC
that single round from them costs
81 900. But their fire is much more
rapid that that of the thirteen-inch
guns each one can be discharged once
in n minute. or sixty times in an hour
which would give $4,000 for an hour
firing by them all, assuming it be kept
up continuously.
Then there are five five-nch guns
and round from the five costs about
5000. But again the ire increases
very much in II pidity, so that we
may count 240 rounds an hour, or 9
| cost of SiS.OUO.
| Thus. for these three classes OF
| guns alone. we have an expense pei
/ hour during continuous firing of $21G,
| 600. or moro than the Presidents
salary for his whole four years. Ii
may bc that such continuous firing OF
all the guns would never take place
/ in actual practice but the figures ma!
stand for purposes of illustration
And. Of course. nothing has yet beer
said of the many guns of smaller
/ calibcr which are Oh the Oregon; Their,
are the SiX-pounderS. which throw on
a shot each five seconds: there are tn,
thrcc-p Founders. tie One-pounders. the
/ iifty-Scven millimctcr rifles. the thirty
seven millimeter revolving cannon
and the wonderful machine guns
which discharge eighty onc-inch pro
jcctiloS minute, or $500 projectile
an hour.
just how many thousands of dollar
! per hour must be added to our est
mate for the consumption of thcs
guns is n matter of expert calculation
but il is evidently well within tn,
truth to assume that the Oregon coul,
fire away 81 .OOO.OUU worth of powde
and proiectiles in single day : fight
ing. using only the hours of daylight
And each one of the other big battle
ships could do the same. And still
we have not taken into account al
the cruisers and other fighting craft
each one of which would be blazing
away. we may ne sure. and using NJ
money according to her best capacity
Let us now consider the cost of am
munition used by Il regiment of in
fantry in an hours fighting. This i
matter of easy calculation, since
is known that the Krag-Jorgensel
cartridges cost S1S Il thousand. 1t
merely necessary to estimate hoy
many cartridges would be used. As
suming a full regiment. of LOCO mel
and allowing each man to shoot one
in five seconds, which is slower tina
they often shoot, We will have lively
thousand Shots fired every minute. q
100000 shot, in IN hour. which nun
her Of cigtr.l.., -. M the rate jus
mcrtioucd. vii. cost S12,9GO. An
that II an estimate for Il single reg
mcnt firing for Il single hour. Wha
ii would cost for "a whole army TO tir
for Il whole day and then 20 on firm
for many days. is again Il matter fo
expert calculation. BUt il is easy {
see how this would eat into the mi
lions of dollars.