Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-30
Big Sale of Old Ordnance.

On the Sth Droximo there will be sale
at the various arsenals and at the bureau
of ordnance, War Department. of a large
amount of ordnance material and a large
number of Calling, Lowell and Hotchklss
guns. with their carriages. equipments
and ammunition The catalogue of ma
terial embraces many thousands or sneils'
shrapnel and canister 10000 rife car
tridges. loaded with smokeless powder;
Springfield rifles and upward OF Soo.Ooe
rife cartridges. In the lot at the san
Antonio and Renicia arsenals are car
tridges that have been stored there since
1S.D-the old fashioned powder cartridges
that the soldier had TO bite off before ne
rammed them down in his gun. The
mountain machine and revolving cannon
embraced in the sale have IN previous
sales been bought by leading dealers 1or
d price around $3.50. These obsolete
pieces of ordnance find ready sale TO the
sister republics and intending revolution
lists in South America and Central Amer
lea. Several dealers made fortunes py
buying for about 81 apiece in 1880 obsolete
rifles, which they soon sold to the CUBAN
revolutionistS for sd piece
Ten More Destroyers in Prospect.
The new torpedo boat destroyers, bids
for ten of which will be opened at the
Navy Department next Tuesday, are to
be about twenty feet longer than those
now in service and will be equipped with
the latest torpedo tubes. According 10
the terms of the advertisement tor bids
not more than three of these vessels may
be built by any one contractor The 1aSt-
est three tornedo-boat deStroyerS now IN
the service are the Worden, Whipple and
TruXton which made the lS.UWHmlle TRIP
TO the Pacific coast at the same time as
the Atlantic battleship fleet. and reached
their destination in fine shape
Not Entitled to Subsistence.
The controller of the treasury has de-
cded that the appropriation for the
militia OF the District of Columbia does
not authorize an allowance or payment
for subsistence of the officers of the Naval
Battalion or a communication of the same,
nor is there any law which authorizes
such payment.
Paint for Warships.
Experiments with various kinds of
paints suitable for use. on The bottoms
of ships of war have been conducted at
the various navy yards for more than d
year. A number OF the navy yard tugs
have been used in the tests. including the
Narkeeta stationed at New York. The
experiments have been under the direc-
tion of the naval constructors There
has been more or less trouble all along
with the rival manufacturers and it is
hoped by the government manufacture OF
painn to avoid opportunities from per-
sistent contractors. Already the pros
pect of getting an official paint and the
free competition permitted recently have
served to reduce the price of that mate
rial. of which large amount is bought
yearly by the Navy Department.
Gray Blankets for Navy.
A contract for 5O.GC0 gray blankets for
the navy has been awarded to II. I.
Kent of Philadelphia. There were thir-
teen bidders. The blankets are for use
of the enlisted men and are said to be
superior to those now In use. The de-
liveries will begin within thirty days and
the whole contract must be fulfilled within
a period of eight months.
Sequel of Norfolk Riot.
One of the results OF the recent dis
tlIrbance between United States sailors
attached to the receiving ship Franklin
and certain negro. farmers near Norfolk,
will be the trial by naval court-martial
of Waldron P. Simmons. chief boat
swain's mate who was officer of the day
at the seamen'S camp at the time of the
trouble He is charged with leaving
his station without leave and also with
carelessness in the execution of orders.
Ii is alleged that Simmons, having been
ordered 10 send another officer to investi-
gate the trouble. went himself. accompa-
MED by a large number Of armed men.