adapted for indirect laying and for field, siege, and seacoast service. One hundred and eighty-five of these new sights, termed model of 1898, are being manufactured and issued to the service. With the completion of this order the Department will have procured 435 telescopic sights, which includes 100 purchased abroad.

RANGE FINDERS.

The subject of range finders has been considered by the Department for some years, but the question had been put under charge of a board having special duties to perform with reference to the matter. Shortly before the outbreak of hostilities this board had reported the adoption for primary stations of the Lewis range finder. For the secondary stations they reported that either the Lewis or the Rafferty range finder might be used. A very small number of these had been procured and were principally used experimentally, but it was necessary to provide them for all seacoast fortifications. As the recommendation of the board with reference to the range finders for the secondary stations was not entirely definite, application was made to the Board of Ordnance and Fortification for determination as to which range finder for secondary stations, if either, should be given the preference.

In reply, the board stated that in general the Lewis and the Rafferty range finders would be serviceable, and that it should be determined by the one which could be procured for the least money. On investigation it appeared that the Lewis range finder would cost about $500, the Rafferty range finder a little in excess of $800; consequently Lewis range finders were ordered to the extent of 100 for secondary stations. As the Lewis range finders had been adopted for primary stations, there was no difficulty in determining what should be ordered, and 100 of these were ordered for primary stations. The company which furnishes these range finders entered into a contract to furnish them very promptly and as rapidly as procured they were distributed. They have not yet all been received, but as fast as possible they are forwarded to the stations for which they are intended. They require graduation dependent upon the height of the position that they are intended to occupy. In case, by any accident, this height has not been accurately determined, there is an inexpensive method of correcting the defect by changing certain minor parts of the instrument.

In addition to these range finders for permanent posts, 32 azimuth instruments were procured for use with the siege train. These instruments are accurately constructed and are believed to be very useful for obtaining the ranges in siege batteries. While a number have been procured and were issued, there has been no occasion to put them to practical use in the service so far, but they are on hand for any future use that may be required of them.

I have the honor to submit herewith the following papers as appendices to this report:

Appendix 1.-Report of action taken during the year ending June 30, 1897, under the provisions of the act approved March 3, 1881.

REPORT FROM ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL.

Appendix 2.-Extract from report of principal operations (13 plates).

REPORT FROM SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.

Appendix 3.-Report of principal operations.

REPORTS FROM FRANKFORD ARSENAL.

Appendix 4.-Report of principal operations.
Appendix 5.-Report of laboratory work.

REPORT FROM WATERVLIET ARSENAL.

Appendix 6.-Report of principal operations.

REPORT FROM WATERTOWN ARSENAL.

Appendix 7.-Report of principal operations.

REPORTS FROM ORDNANCE PROVING GROUND, SANDY HOOK, NEW JERSEY.

Appendix 8.-Extract from report of principal operations.
Appendix 9.-Summary of tests of powders.

Appendix 10.-Tests of Joveite.

MANUFACTURE OF POWDERS.

Appendix 11.-Report of the inspector of powder.

CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE.

Appendix 12.-Progress report of the inspector of ordnance on the manufacture of steel forgings, castings, etc., for guns, carriages, and projectiles, at the Midvale Steel Works, Philadelphia, Pa.

Appendix 13.-Progress report of the inspector of ordnance on the manufacture of steel forgings, castings, etc., for guns, carriages, and projectiles, at the Bethlehem Iron Works, South Bethlehem, Pa.

Appendix 14.-Progress report on the manufacture of 12-inch B. L. mortars, mortar carriages, and projectiles, by the inspector of ordnance at Providence, R. I.

Appendix 15.-Progress report on the manufacture of 12-inch B. L. mortars and gun carriages, by the inspector of ordnance at Hamilton, Ohio.

Appendix 16.-Report on manufacture of three and two-tenth inch shrapnel, at the works of the Falls Rivet and Machinery Co., at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

REPORTS FROM THE ORDNANCE BOARD.

Appendix 17.-Report of the test of a Barr & Stroud fortress rangefinder (3 plates).

REPORTS FROM THE BOARD ON POWDER AND HIGH EXPLOSIVES.

Appendix 18.-Progress report on powders and explosives.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Appendix 19.-Report of the board convened at Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, on the action in active service of calibers 30 magazine rifle and .45 Springfield rifle and their ammunition, and the field guns with their ammunition and equipments.

Appendix 20.-Extract from report of Lieut. Col. H. D. Borup, United States Volunteers, chief ordnance officer, on the Spanish armament of the defenses at Santiago de Cuba.

Appendix 21.-Report of operations of the Ordnance Department at Port Tampa City, Fla., by Lieut. Col. John T. Thompson, United States Volunteers, chief ordna ce officer.

Appendix 22.-Discussion of the requirements of a modern field gun carriage, by Capt. Charles B. Wheeler, Ordnance Department, United States Army.

Appendix 23.-Discussion of shrinkage operations and a proper heating furnace for hoops and jackets, by Lieut. George W. Burr, Ordnance Department, United States Army.

Appendix 24.-Description of the Sims-Dudley 24-inch dynamite field

Report of the board convened at Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, on the action in active service of calibers .30 magazine rifle and .45 Springfield rifle and their ammunition, and the field guns with their ammunition and equipments.

Proceedings of a board of officers convened by the following order:

SPECIAL ORDERS,

No. 212.

[Extract.]

WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, September 8, 1898.

1. A board of officers, to consist of Major Stanhope E. Blunt, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army; Major Daniel M. Taylor, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army; Captain Beverly W. Dunn, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army, and First Lieutenant George W. Burr, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army, is constituted to meet, at the call of the president thereof, at Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, for conference with officers who were at Santiago, Cuba, with a view of obtaining information useful to the Ordnance Department concerning the action in active service of the caliber .30 magazine rifle and its ammunition, the caliber .45 Springfield rifle and its ammunition, and the modern field artillery with its ammunition and equipments.

The junior member of the board will record its proceedings.

The commanding general at Camp Wikoff will direct officers of his command who may be able to give information useful to the board to appear before it at such times as they can be spared without interfering with their other duties.

The travel required by the members of the board in attending its sessions and returning to their stations upon the completion of their duties as members of the board is necessary for the public service.

This order was subsequently amended by Special Orders, No. 216, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, September 13, 1898, relieving Lieutenant Burr as member of the Board and substituting Lieut. George Montgomery, Ordnance Department, United States Army.

CAMP WIKOFF,

Montauk Point, Long Island, September 16, 1898. The Board met pursuant to the foregoing order. Present, all the members. The Board, having reported to Major-General Shafter, received a letter from him authorizing the Board to visit the different commands and directing that all officers furnish the Board with the facilities and information desired.

A letter of instructions from the Chief of Ordnance was laid before the Board by the president thereof.

The Board then visited and conferred with the officers present of the Twenty-fourth and First Infantry and of Batteries A and B of the First Artillery.

The Board then adjourned to meet the following day.

CAMP WIKOFF,

Montauk Point, Long Island, September 17, 1898. The Board met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members.

The Board then visited and conferred with the officer then commanding the light artillery brigade, and the officers present of the following commands constituting that brigade: Light Batteries E and K, First Artillery; A and F, Second Artillery; F, Fourth Artillery, and F, Fifth Artillery. In the afternoon the Board visited and conferred with the officer commanding the cavalry division and the officers present of the following regiments in that division: First Cavalry, Second Cavalry, and Third Cavalry.

The Board then adjourned to meet the following day.

CAMP WIKOFF,

Montauk Point, Long Island, September 18, 1898.

The Board met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members. The Board then visited and conferred with the officers present of the following regiments: Sixth Cavalry, Ninth Cavalry, Tenth Cavalry, Sixteenth Infantry, Eighth Infantry, Twenty-fifth Infantry, and Seventh Infantry.

No other regiments or batteries which had been at Santiago remaining in camp which had not been visited, the Board then adjourned, to meet in New York City for final consideration of its conclusions and preparation of its report.

NEW YORK CITY, September 23, 1898.

The Board met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the membersAs a result of its conference with officers of the commands pre. viously mentioned and of its examination of many of the articles of equipment used by these commands, the Board reports that the .30caliber rifle, carbine, and ammunition gave almost universal satisfaction in the Santiago campaign. There was not a single case reported of a defective cartridge. The officers present in that campaign invariably report that the breech mechanism could not have been subjected to a more severe service trial; since in that climate, as they expressed it, "everything rusts." As a conspicuous example, Lieut. H. M. Reeve informed the Board that a .30 caliber rifle which had been injured in action by a bullet striking the stock was stacked with others in front of General Young's tent, where it remained entirely unprotected from the tropical rains and received no care whatever. Lieutenant Reeve, about a month thereafter, tried this rifle with its ammunition and found it to work satisfactorily. There were a few rare cases of the sear failing to retain the cocking piece in the withdrawn position. One troop commander reported difficulty in the working of some breech mechanisms of carbines in his troop; but he stated that he had not investigated the matter and could not inform the Board definitely as to what was the matter.

There were a few cases reported of a breaking of the cut-off and safety lock, but these parts, the Board understands, are strengthened in present manufacture.

Rifles and carbines were used almost entirely as single loaders, with the magazine in reserve. There was only one complaint of any difficulty in charging the magazine, though several officers expressed their desire for a clip or other means of carrying a portion of the cartridges in some form of packet from which the magazine could be directly charged.

The Board found no regiments at Camp Wikoff which had used the .45 caliber Springfield in the Santiago campaign, but those officers who saw it working under battle conditions unite in condemning its use with black or smoke powder.

Without exception every officer stated his preference for the .30caliber rifle to the .45-caliber Springfield, even with a smokelesspowder cartridge.

With the exception of the capacity of the haversack, the equipment of the soldier was stated to be all that could be desired. The blanket bag was not used at all, and all the officers were of the opinion that it was useless for field service. and that a blanket roll was preferable and all that was necessary. In barracks the blanket bag is occasionally a useful valise for holding the soldier's spare clothing.

The haversack will barely hold two days' rations, and is therein defective, as the troops were called upon to carry a greater supply. A few officers favor an oilskin lining, to prevent absorption of grease from the bacon.

The cavalry was all dismounted in this campaign with the exception of four troops, and of these only one officer was present at Camp Wikoff at the time of the Board's visit. This officer had no criticism to make of the horse equipment, having found it uniformly satisfactory.

Of the light artillery it can be stated that, notwithstanding the rough service it had undergone, the batteries are still serviceable; or, to quote the language of a battery commander, "are in good fighting condition."