The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-09

saving of so much time to them in
travelling to and from town.
A Musical Clerk.
The Leilehua officers possess a very
fine piano in their coy mess hall and
they have discovered in E. S. Gee.
clerk to Major Ray, the Army pay
master, a musical acquisition whom it
is pleasure to hear play the piano.
Mr.. Gee is known through out the
Army posts where he has accompanied
Major Ray on pay excursions, as
musician of fine taste.
Southerners in Control.
''Southern men are now in practical
control of the War Department for the
first time since 1907 remarked
high official of the department recently.
"To elucidate,', said he, "Secretary
Dickinson is from Tennessee, Gen. Bell,
chief of staff, is from Kentucky; Gen.
Wotherspoon. assistant chief of staff
and president of the Army War Col
lege, is from the District of Columbia;
Inspector General Darlington is from
South Carolina, Surgeon General Tor
ney is from Maryland, Gen. Marshall,
chief of engineers, is from Kentucky;
Gen. Murray, chief of the Coast Artil-
lery Corps, is from Missouri, and Adjt.
Gen. Ainsworth, although a native of
Vermont, has lived the best part of his
life south of Mason and Dixon s line,
so that he may be properly included
in this list of southern army officials.
The only bureau officers not in the
above list are Judge Advocate Davis,
Quartermaster General Aleshire, Com
missary General Sharp, Paymaster Gen
eral Whipple, Chief of Ordnance Gro
zier and Chief Signal Officer Allen, all
of whom are from western or northern
states. Tt thus appears that there are
eight southerners, including the Secre-
tary, as against six citizens of all other
sections of the United States.'
When Civilian Dress May Be Worn.
By an order issued by Gen. Wood,
commanding the Department of the
East, civilian dress in the case of of
ficers and soldiers in that department
will hereafter be restricted to evening
social functions, to athletics and to
visits beyond the limits of the military
reservation. Post commanders are in
structed that it is their daily duty to
prescribe the dress for the day, to re-
quire uniformity throughout their posts
and to cause the orders regulating the
wearing of uniforms to be complied
with in manner to carry out strictly
their meaning and spirit.
Storage of Reserve Ammunition.
The chief of ordnance of the Army
has completed a plan for storying re-
serve ammunition for coast fortiiea-
tions. This will undoubtedly require
special appropriation by Congress to
furnish buildings OF the required type
to contain sufficient quantity of shell
and powder, which may be drawn on
by coast artillerists in time OF
emergency. At present the storage
places for coast defense ammunition
would be used. 1t is proposed to es-
tablish three storehouses at various
places along the Atlantic and Pacific
coasts where facilities of transfer and
conditions of safety are favorable.
To Cripple Balloons and Aeroplanes.
The ordnance department of our
Army, as well as the military authori-
ties of other governments, has taken
up the subject of offensive and defen-
sive weapons for use against aerial
craft Designs are now being made IN
the office of the chief of ordnance of
the Army for gun which shall De par
ticularly adapted for use against aero
planes and lirigible- balloons, but the
policy is to keep the matter as secret
as possible.
Plans for New Destroyers.
The Navy Department designers are
engaged on the plans and specifications
| for the FIVE torpedo boat destroyers
provided for in this years naval ap-
preparation act. They will be of type
| similar in all respects to those author
lied by Congress last year. 1t has
been decided that the most efficient