Tombstone epitaph. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-current, 1918-04-14

candidates. consisting largely Of en-
listed men. have been In attendance.
Corps q Enelneers.
At the beginning Of the war the en-
gineer troops consisted Of three regi-
ment& Of pioneer engineers. with
trains. one mounted company. one en-
gineer detachment at West Point. The
aggregate strength was approximate
ly AIS officers and enlisted men. At
present the aggregate authorized
strength Is over 100000. with an act
ual strength Of approximately 10000.
OF the special engineer units re-
cruited for service on railways and in
cation. many are already in France
and others are awaiting recruitment
to full strength in order to be ready
for overseas service. The first en-
gineer troops. LOO strong. to be sent
abroad. arrived in France abou. three
months after war was declared. Since
that time the number has been greatly
augmented. These troops have been
constantly engaged in general en-
cheering work. including the con-
struction Of railways. docks. wharves.
cantonments. and hospitals for the use
Of the American expeditionary forces.
They have. in some instances. In the
performance Of their duties. engaged
in active combat with the enemy.
Ordnance Department.
Since the outbreak Of war the
commissioned personnel Of the ord
nance department has expanded from
81 officers. operating with yearly ap-
propriations Of about $4,000. 900 and
with manufacture largely confined to
government arsenals. to 5000 officers
In this country and abroad. fransacting
an unprecedented war program for the
supply of ordnance. the total direct
appropriations and contract authorize
lions for one year having been "a
I56, sos 1s5.
The ordnance storage properties
embrace separate warehouse buildings
and miles Of railroad siding. all com
pretended within the depot premises,
which are inclosed by electrically
charged wire barriers and lighted and
patrolled with unremittinR vigilance
One Of these depots, now under con-
structiOn. will include 100 separate
buildings and so miles Of railroad spe-
cially built to serve the depot's needs
The supply division Of the ordnance
department handles material amount
ing to approximately 10000 carloads a
month.
While building the foundation for
greater production. the ordnance de-
partment has provided /. 100000 rifles !:
has brought the rate Of rife production
up to 5000 per week. SUFFICIENT to
equip three army divisions secured
chine guns; brought the rate Of pro-
duction Of machine guns from 10000
to 225.O00 per year; increased the rate
Of production Of 3h Inch to 9-inch cali
Der guns from 1900 to 1900 per year !:
and has arranged for the manufacture
Of some $4,000 motortrucks and trac-
tors for hauling heavy guns and am
munition. which are being delivered
almost as fast as they can be shipped.
One billion rounds Of ammunition
has been purchased for the training
Of troops In the cantonments alone.
An idea Of the extent Of the ord
nance program may be gained from
the following few items Of purchase !:
Twenty-three million hand grenades.
725.000 automatic pistols. 10000 re-
volvers. 100000 projectiles for all
calibers Of heavy artillery. 427. 246. 900
pounds Of explosives. 10000 machine
guns. and 2.4S4. 900 rifles.
The ordnance problem. however. is
no less one Of quality than Of quantity
production. The American soldier Is
being provided with weapons which
give him an additional safeguard 10
life and a further guaranty Of victory.
Achievements Of the ordnance de-
partment include the Browning ma
chine rife. model Of 1918. and the
Browning machine gun. heavy type,
model of 1918. production Of the for
mer now being on q quantity basis by
machine process. while similar produc-
ton Of the heavier type is imminent.
The heavy Browning machine gun,
water cooled. In q government test
6reA 2o.eoe shots ia IS minutes and
16 seconds without malfunction.
ouartermaster Corps.
The magnitude Of the work Of the
quartermaster corps Is indicated by
the operation Of the subsistence diyi.
sion. which is charged with the re.
sponsibility Of seeing that food sup
plies for the army are available ut all
stations from the Philippines to Lor
raine. Purchases recently made In
cIuded 100000 pounds dried beans
100000 cans baked beans Of the
1917 crop. 65.1S4.4 cans Of tomatoes
81 .O0O. 600 cans Of condensed milk, and
2O,2S7 900 pounds Of prunes.
The establishment Of the subsistence
division centralized the. purchases OF
foodstuffs for the army. previous "a
which such products were distributed
through the depot quartermaster. Ef
fective January ]. the central contro
system has resulted In greater EN-
cheney and q big saving. In January
for instance. 100000 was saved undel
this system n compared with thu
prices obtained BY depot quartermas
tiers. and In February q saving Of
$39. 40 was made on potatoes alone
The central control system Is still be
ing perfected
Production Of 10000 new sutomobiI.