The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-16
10 ABlNIlllFT. SMILING
WAR DEPARTMENT HAS GIVEN
THE MATTER SERIOUS CON-
SHERATON OF LATE
maj. RAYS TIMELY ACTION
Lack of Rife Range Facilities Led
to the Proposition, but the
Plan VIII Probably
Re Dropped

Fort Smelling viii either have to be
abandoned or rifle range must be e
cured IN close proximity to the barracks.
according to statements of men stand ng
nigh III the war department at Washin =
ton, and the chances are now ten t. one
that tbs range will ulateriaize before
Two months have passed Maj Ray, now
III command at the fort, was seen yeste.
Gay relative to the proposed impro E.
nlents on the reservation by a reporter
for the G o e and he said:
One thing that Will be news to every
body, even to many of those living ne e,
is the fact that rifle range vii soon be
part and parcel Of the fort l have ad
surveyors here all Of today and tn
have been busy laying out the ground
beneath the bluff just back of the guard
mouse. There is ample space for the
range there, and i'll such a place g
shooting would result in no accidents.
Few people realize how important the
acquisition Of range viii be to people
in the neighborhood of the fort, and in
the Twin Cities for that matter. I have
seen Congressman Stevens several mes
lately and he informed me that the war
department was seriously thinking of
abandoning the fort for the reason that
there was no place for d range reac it. |
1t viii be remembered that the fort has
had two ranges in past years, but these
SSAi1 40 IOIl5CI D0 Us III because OIL D y
petual fnjunctiOns against them. Many
accidents occurred. One civilian wa
killed and others were wounded 7. e
first range was on the north end of the
reservation, and the second on the
Bloomington road. When 1 first learned
that there was danger of the abandon
ment of the fort 1 determined to disco, er /
some place for range, and 1 think l
have done it. The surveyors think the
nl9ca hack Of bo is a rio
pie never go there and plenty OF room IS
available. Ny estimates will be ready
in a few days, when they win be s. mt to
Washington. Officials there will und0ubt-
edly see the feasibility of my plan, an
then the only objection to Fort Smelling
viii be gone.
There are other things shall ask of
the department. I want the military con-
victs removed from the other prisoners
in the guardhouse, because they have a
bad influence upon the other soldiers.
There are twenty three convicts and Il ne
other prisoners. Most of the convicts are
deserters and came originally from other
places. [ shall ask the department to
make prison again out Of the old prison,
which has been standing near the bridge
ever since the war days 1t has not been
in use for years and it is worth using"
Relative to the range it might be stated,
by the way of explanation, that the only
place for the soldier to shoot now is at
Frontenac, which is fifty miles away.
The range will be 1000 yards, and VII
cost about $1,000
Maj. Ray has just had the entire range
fenced in at a cost OF $500. He has also
cleared away the shacks and buildings
near the old fort and the bastions, and
only the relics worth preserving can now
be. seen.
Congressman Stevens will ask for IN
appropriation of 100000 for improvements
at the fort at the next session of con-
gress 1t will, in all probability, lie
comp arative easy thing to get the money
after it has been determined upon to keep
the fort and the riffs range has been
built. It is the intention to build ware
house near the corral and spur track
on the St Paul road leading to this. 1t
is also proposed to build beautiful arches
over the road leading to st. Paul and the
road to the neghboring city. These i'm
provements with a few other minor
things, will take the entire appropria-
ton.