New-York tribune., 1906-10-08
ARMY AND NAVY NEWS.
rFrom The Tribune Bureau.

Washington October !.
DULL TIMES AT ARSENAL.-The big plant at
the arsenal Watervlet. N Y. is idle TO greater
extent and for longer period than the authorities
desire. The result is the loss to the government
of the services OF body of workmen who have
been trained in the sort Of ordnance construction m
effort will be made at the next session OF Congress
niant always in operation This is the most i'm
portant consideration. in the opinion or the army
ment OF the arsenals it is realized that ii the
establishment at Watervliet Is to nave any I use az
operation. Decrease in shop work made necessary
the agt nine months, and this constitutes loss Of
skilled wOrkmen who cannot be easily replaced me
need OF more shop work will be presented 20 Con-
gress a measure OF maintaining the avallaoiIlty
of costly government plant. Ihere h are 60 o'tSs t
smith shop and new barrack huilding-and these
FcenT hyg PeeR 3stsd tSe the necessity for
more work to keep the plant IN ogeTa1n and 70 10
seek work elsewhere and be unavailable in time of
rush work is emphasized
IF CUBANs SHOULD FTGHT-should there be
trouble in Cuba the army is prepared TO depend
upon wireless communication The signal corps
company which goes the island under Captain
c. s. Gibbs. with Lieutenants W. A. Kent. W. A
Covington and E AbRott Of the signal ab fSgps corps
twelve sets of wireless apparatus and be ready TO
use them if the temporary telephone and tele-
Be the case but the signal corps men-150 in num-
ber Of whom % come from Fort Wood-wl1 go
ton established The telephone will play
in Cuba than in any Of the operations ever under
taken anywhere by our army; This does does "a, away
sending messages, and IL also takes from the
abSu an9 gp and n fhc Telephone
now be laid anywhere in as short period as
position and moved rapidly as the troops. II
Is not proposed TO use the military balloon IN
than anything else The military view Of that
means of observation
INADEQUATE CONTINGENT FUNDS.-The
Navy Department will be obliged TO put in a def
cheney appropriation when Congress meets next
December TO obtain contingent fund. which has
been exhausted this year thus early by unusual
demands upon it. The Bureau Of Yards and
to Pensacola this week. and could have used an
additional $4,000 but the total appropriation under
that bureau for contingencies amounted originally
20 only $4,000, and of this sum S0oO had already
fnd it difHcuit to obtain an adequate contingent
fund from Congress, and 1t takes more or less
% o. session nsst 70 the faof ths the bureaus did not
expeRd all OF the ooG oT Tud To fh M er 6
ment with the result that from now until Con-
gress meets there will be no emergency fund upon
which to draw for unforeseen accidents. Another
big storm which struck navy yard would ind
the department without the means of repairing the
damage For this reason early action will be
necessary in obtaining additional amount when
Congress convenes.
TO ABANDON TWO FORTs-The artillery
corps will soon abandon two forts-Fremont. in
North Carolina and historic McHenry. in Balti-
more Harbor. The former post is in the vicinity
of Port Royal. where the Navy Department
had a station and dockyard. now going TO decay.
A neghborhood station Hilton head, was given
up four five years ago, and at that time
dynamite gun in which no one had much faith
and which was destined 20 be discarded
perimental type. left its carriage. with all
its mechanism intact 1t still stands in the aban-
doned fort relic Of mistaken energy and mis-
appNed appropriations. Now the artillery defenceS
NJ fremont are 10 be put out OF commission and
the movable ordnance will he left in TIE care
OF one OF the old ordnance serseants. Should the
battery be needed elsewhere II be moved in
time Of emergency but with the removal CT the
naval station from Port Royal the Taft board.
which was engaged IN revising the scheme of
defence recommended that Fort Fremont be given
nm There is no modern ordnance at Fort Nc
Henry and its abandonment does not mean much
to the artillery system, as the protection or balti5
takes the shape of high power rifles
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