The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-11
Guns FOR COAST DEFENSE
ORDNANCE BOARD WILL PUSH
SHIELDS ON R&PID-FIRE
TYPE
OFFICERS DON'T LIKE THEM
Agent of the Department Claims to
HIVE Secured Complete Plans
of New French Field
Artillery.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10-The board of
ordnance and Notifications held an i'm
portant meeting today and decided that
the rapid fire guns of the SeacOast de-
lenses should be supplied with shields.
fhis action must be approved by the sec
rotary of war before 1t becomes operative.
The ordnance officers, the engineers and
some artillery officers don't approve of
shields. This is a continuation of the
contest between the ordnance officers and
engineers on the one hand and the ma
jority of the members of the board OF
ordnance and Notifications on the other,
relative to disappearing gun carriages.
In connection with the action today
there developed an interesting feature
of the progress of the board relative to
field artillery 1t appears that an agent
Of the department has come into possess
sion of what he asserts are accurate
plans for the new French field gun and
these he offers to place at the disposal
of the board il he is permitted to under
take the construction of a sample gun
from the plans at the cost Of the govern
ment. In his report he says: Through
personal friends in Paris. / was fortunate
enough to secure confidential information
of such an accurate technical character
as to convince me that I am now in
formed as to every essential element OF
construction involved and with this
knowledge am able to not only make
working drawing Of the equipment as it
now is in service, but if given an oppOr-
tunity [ could construct q gun and car
Tiage of service efficiency equal to the
French material. I would like to be Civ
en- the opportunity to Superintend the
construction at the works of one of the
largest responsible manufacturers of ord
nance of q complete service model Of
non-recOiling French field carriage. en-
bodying all the information gained, it be-
ing definitely understood that I give alb
solutely to the war department all rights
in the improvements of principles of
construction employed and that the man.
ufacturing company will keep the same
confidential, turning over to the depart
ment all drawing, pattern, etc, when the
work is completed. The cost of such
construction will not exceed two thous-
and dollars $4,000, and the carriage
could be gotten in condition for service
test within sixty days, recommended by
the board of ordnance and fertilization
for the preparation of field material for
test.
FOREIGN ARTILLERY
'Since 1896 the French government has
expended $I0,000,000 on her new field artiI-
l"rY The Russian government has al
ready secuted the necessary financial
credit for re-orsanizing and re-equipping
its field artillery tor the extent of 1000
ElN-GNn batteries. 10 92 completed DY the
end of 1893, and involving a total expendi
ture of approximately $5.000.000. The Ger
man government, although it has already
expended over S30,0Oj,00G on the Krupp
field guns introduced to the service in
7l96 have decided TO change and improve
this equipment at an expenditure which
probably will amount to Sl50GG,(C0 more,
changing the pattern'of the carriage very
radically. The English government al
ready have under construction about 500
ticld guns of the newest type. Sweden
has just arranged with & German firm for
the manufacture of forty-siX complete
SiX-sun batteries, involving an expense OF
nearly 81 100000. Turkey has within the
past three months given an order to
krupp for over 200 of his latest field
guns at an approximate cost of $500, Co.,
While an English firm has already partly
completed ar order for 120 guns received
short while q go from Spain.
I refer to the above facts simply to EN-.
phasize the Importance that modern rapid
fire field artillery is assuming in the war
preparations Of The world"
The board decided TO avail itself Of the
opportunity to build the test gun ard
made a recommendation to that effect to
thc secretary. Of war.