St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-10-27
WEAPONS COST A FORTUNE.
4 Great Deal OF the Expense of Mod
ern War Is Due to Expen-
Siye Guns.

1t is said that in the bombardment
of Alexandria. between a. m. and
4:3o p. M, the British fleet in a some
what vigorous fashion deposited 3,165
shells upon Egyptian soil and about
500 Egyptians were killed. This was
undoubtedly good shooting in view OF
the fact that it took the Germans
when besieging Mezieres in 1870 at the
rate of three and one-half shells q
minute, 10000 large projectiles to XIII
head-and that the Beers in the
earlier stage of the present war
dumped 2,680 shells into Lady smith
and killed only eight persons.
In the Crimean war the total mum
Der of conbatants was 400 500. and
they fired 89,000,00o shots. with tbs
result that 51,945 soldiers were killed
in battle and 66.3e7 died from thei,
wounds; therefore, to all intents ant
purposes, 1882 bullets found bill
let and 88,Ss1, ,65s were wasted.
In the Franeo-German war, wher
the weapons used were of superio
quality, especially as regards preci
sion, the victorious host OF German
fred off 100000 small arm cart
ridges and 500. 900 rounds of artillery
with the result that 77,o0O Frencl
troops were killed outright or die.
from their wounds. The wastage
therefore. on theoGerman side amount
ed to 30,2s6,00O shot and shell, an,
that on the side of the French woult
amount to quite as much. The ordi
nary man will now have an inlSlinl
where money goes in war time.
It is unfortunate, in view Of TIL
fact that after the battle of Modde
river the trenches in some place
were knee deep in cartridge eases
that cartridges are not very expen
sive, costing the royal laboratory, i,
the case of .3o3-inch cordite cartridge
with bullet for small arms, about $2f
a thousand to make-a price some
what suggestive of stock-taking sale
and alarming sacrifices. In this en-
gagement one battalion of grenadier
fred $4,000 cartridges (say s1.oA
WORTHY and battalion of the Cold
streams 1875, 900; wholesale value, So,
$40.
In 1898 the royal laboratory made
among many other things, 6s.979. .6Dt
of these cartridges, which, if placed
end to end. would extend from Wool
wich half way to the Cape, in addi
ton to 1,049,T12 other cordite cart
ridges intended for the Webley pisto
and costing nearly $12 a thousand tx
manufacture.
Gordite, by the way, which comes in
handy as an explosive in so many
ways, costs from 33 cents a pound
not much, perhaps, by the pound, but
the price mounts up when 945,5d
pounds are manufactured in the year
as at Waltham abbey.
GunpoWder varies in price accord
ing to quality in a marvellous manner.
One quality, Of which little is manu-.
factured at Waltham, costs nearly 81
hundred pounds, while picrie Isl
quoted at about $95 hundred
pounds; but powder at IS cents o.
pounds is generally use. Gun cotton
in two and one-half pound slabs
measuring 61sx61sx1A inches, costs
so cents pound, and when by its aid
''long TOMS are disabled it is cheap
at the price.
With regard to other weapons, .3o3-
inch Maxims are quoted at about S425
without extras. by the royal small
arms factory at Enfield, while a handy
Gardner-Gatling chamber gun runs tc
about 1922 when taking a quantity
The 63.712 Lee-EnfeId rifles turned
out at the same factory cost s13.6
each; 8s,s53 sword bayonets, $1.T
each Lances cost s6 each, without
their flags, which run to II cents
each, and cavalry swords entailed ar
expenditure of over 81.
One interesting item in respect tt
the panoply of war refers to the cost
of the cuirass. The backs are priced
at $12.25, the fronts at S14.25 each;
but in addition to these there are
rivets for the shoulder straps at Il
cents a hundred, shoulder straps al
ten shillings 3a4 pence each, and va
rious studs and washers to be bought
ere the. life guardsman receives his
gorgeous steeel oyercoat, which
leaves behind him when his "transpor
is on the tide"