New-York tribune., 1902-08-05
AN ARMY CONTROVERSY.
ALARM OYER WEAKNESS OF
COAST DEFENCES-
MUCH BAD FEELING CAT-SED-CONFLICT
BETWEEN FRIENDS AND OPPO-
NENTS OF GENERAL MILES.
Try TELEGRAPH To THE raBrxE.I

Try TELEGRAPH THE TRTBCNE.I
Washington. Aug 1.-THE annual summer
alarm about the weakness of the army coast de-
fences has been a fruitful subject of discus
sion at the War Department for several days.
with the usual result Of stirring I'D much bad
blood between the staff bureaus. which divide
the responsibility mounting the heavy arma-
rnent of forts on the one hand. and the artillery
corps which fires the big weapons. on the other,
resulting in Il sharp drawing of the customary
line of army controversy between the fr1enos
and opponents of the lieutenant general com
randing- The old conflict of fighting ofhcers
against the Ordnance Bureau is at the bottom
Of the sensational allegations circulated last
week as to the unpreparedness of the forts to
resist attack, and the wOful condition OF weak
ness prevalent in the whole establishment Of ma
tionaI defence
DISAPPEARING CARRIAGE FIGHT.
The disclosures are the direct result Of the
fight in Congress throughout the last session
arainst the confirmation of General Crozier as
chief of ordnance and against the disappearing
gun carriage which he perfected General Cro-
zier won that fight, but Congress IN the Forun-
ton act provided that board of army and
navy officers should report before next session
on the performance of disappearing carriages
in actual practice before any further appropria-
tions were made. This board. which las nothing
do with the COnGI1On VI tilS SOoSN N~NN-A~~~'
or efficiency of the forts, but is confined I'd
cornpar ring the merits Of old fashioned gun car
riages and the more modern contrfvances Tor
handling the big weapons. has visited se'ereA
forts and after trying some OF the guns naS
nost,oned its decisive tests until after the army
and navy manquvres a month hence Ihls
postponernent, while due chiefly to the necessary
participation OF its members In the maneeuVleSs
was 20 some extent brought about by the IN
rive
in turn was caused by the unfamiEar1ty with
some of the gun carriages manifested by the
officers and soldiers charged with operating
them their lack Of proficiency in dr1lL' anu rne
beIisf that conclusive results could not De
reached until few weeks more practice with
the mechanism could be had by the gun crews
in charge GeneraIizations were found tnposs1-
b1a bv the members of the board. and for that
reason no sweeping conclusions could be made
IT,, e7,ns on disappearing carriag ges were fired.
n which seven functfoned admirably in every
particular. while three developed imperfections
due partlv to unskilled and clumsy ranipula-
-ion obscure defects in minor mechanism or a
combination of both
DEFEAT OF ROOTS STAFF PLAN
These troubles we're not confined to the juris-
diction Of any single branch OF the military es-
| tabIshn1est but served TO emphasize the eviis
of divided responsibility, which Secretary Root
1abored 10 eradicate by his general staff propo-
sition which was defeated in the Senate oy the
opposition Of General Miles Before big gun
can be fired absolute harmony and cooperation
must be secured on the part Of the engineers
who make a base for the gun. the ordnance Of
hcers who build and mount II and furnish the
powder the signal officers who aim IT and the
artiueryrnan who loads, elevates and hres IT,
Too many cooks spoil the broth most erec1vely
IN shooting off the 10 and IL inch rifles. especially
when all four Of them are responsible TO dinerent
heads in Washington. and none are subordinate
10 any OF the others at the actual Dreecn Oh the
vveapon The system is exactly the reverse OF
thar which prevails in the navy far gun
firing goes. and naval officers declare that with
such elaborate cooperation depending on con-
fctfng experts no gun would ever be hred from
a warship on the high seas. where the target
shifts constantly with the motion of the vessel
MANY GUNS NOT READY FOR SERVICE
The troubles are not new. General Crozier,
after an exhaustive tour Of inspection last year,
made an elaborate report on the Imperative de-
rnands of the service, the necessity Tor money
TO give men experience with the weapons
through drill and target practice. and simplicity
and efficiency of organization Congress, IN
the press of what it regarded as more inpor--
tant business ignored the recommendations,
and another year must pass with half or the
guns in the fortifcatiOns simply protected so
far as possible from rust. instead OF being oc-
casiouaIly tested under the conditions of war
The other half efficiently manned. and
might be relied upon to-day to fulfil al the
offices for which they were designed Mors
artiIlerymen, with better pay and greater ex-
perience are urgently needed. and convincing
arguments on the subject are likely to be forth
coming when Secretary Root makes MS annuaI
rennrt to the President 1t Will be shown, for
instance that modern ordnance cannot be made
efHcient by such simple operating devices as
met the requirements of the old low powered
Dieces of twenty-five years ago, and that skilled
men 10 manipulate the new mechanism cannot
ba induced TO leave lucrative employment IN the
machine shops for an army private's wage. IL
can he shown that remarkably high percentages
Of efficiency have been obtained in special cases
II rarsistent COncentra ton of such skilled ef1orr
as T1us1 be praCtised generally on every gun IN
ALI the forts to produce the results the country
moods and expects from the coast detence sys-
rem, Finally there will be convincing PROOF
that remarkable progress has been made, IN
sTita of the scattered responsibility and con-
eictinr elements which are inseparabie from
existinp statutory restrictions on rational army
6eyeIonment that slight modification by ieg1sia-
tion will do away with the prime causes OF
tronb1e and that every gun can be relied upon
to produce its calculated offensive erect atser
q few months of intelligent attention.