EXPENDITURES JULY 1, 1895, TO MARCH 31, 1896.

In the nineteen months of the operation of the Wilson tariff law ended March 31, 1896, expenditures were $557,581,385; receipts $481,423,501; deficiency $76,157,884. Receipts under the McKinley law in the first nineteen months of its operation were $566,914,004; expenditures $541,930,783; surplus $24,983,221.

Monetary Circulation.-The total circulation of the country March 31 was $1,528,629,463, or a per capita of $21.53, against $1,584,184,424, or a per capita of $22.79, a year ago. The amounts of the various kinds of money in circulation are indicated as follows:

Orders were issued, January 25, for the resumption of the coinage of silver dollars to the amount of $1,500,000 monthly until further orders, from the bullion purchased under the act of July 14, 1890.

THE ARMY.

On February 1 the nomination of Colonel J. J. Coppinger, 23d infantry, to be brigadier-general, was confirmed by the senate. The nomination was made in April, 1895, on occasion of the promotion of BrigadierGeneral Wesley Merritt to the rank of major-general (Vol. 5, p. 354). Colonel Coppinger's appointment was strongly opposed by the American Protective Association.

The first test in this country of the Griffith-Woodgat magazine rifle took place in New York city January 20.

The Griffith-Woodgat rifle weighs between eight and nine pounds. It fires seven shots, automatically if desired, each time the magazine is filled. Its calibre is .303, the same as that of the Lee-Metford rifle in use by the English army. The cartridge is three inches long, bottle-necked, and is charged with smokeless powder. The projectile is covered with a steel jacket. The unique characteristic of the rifle,

however, is its automatic firing. It may be used as a single-shot arm, it may also be fired at intervals from the magazine, or all seven bullets may be discharged in three seconds by simply holding back the trigger. The recoil from firing the first cartridge does all the work, practically. It ejects the empty shell and forces a fresh cartridge into the chamber, which in turn is exploded, thereby causing the operation to be repeated until the magazine is relieved of its last projectile.

THE NAVY.

Additions to the Navy.-Mention has been made in CURRENT HISTORY (Vol. 5, p. 889) of the failure of the Ammen ram Katahdin to fulfil the requirements of the government contract, which called for a speed of seventeen knots an hour. The Katahdin made but 16.13 knots on her trial trip. The bill introduced by Senator Hale of Maine, authorizing the purchase of the ram, was passed by both houses of congress, and signed by President Cleveland January 4.

The Katahdin is cigar-shaped. On the hull the upper deck forms an edge like that of a knife. She has a displacement of 2,183 tons, and engines of 4,800 horse-power. She is propelled by twin screws. Her armor varies in thickness from three to six inches, and her engines are all below the water line. Her ram is her only means of offense. Light-weight, rapid fire guns constitute her defensive weapons. In action nothing will be visible except the smoke pipe, the light upper works on the deck, and the conning tower. This vessel is almost invulnerable, owing to the fact that she is so constructed that the tower is practically impregnable, and the rest of the deck hamper might be shot away without seriously disabling her. The whole ship has been constructed with a view to withstanding the twisting effect of the blow of a ram. She has unusual facilities for quickly giving a blow with her ram, retreating, and rapidly recovering herself.

The Kentucky is the name chosen for battleship No. 6, a companion vessel to the Kearsarge. Both vessels are to be constructed by the Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding Company, who underbid all competitors (Vol. 5, p. 888).

On January 30 two new vessels were launched at Newport News. They were the United States gunboat Helena, christened by Miss Agnes Belle Steele, daughter of Mayor Steele of Helena, Montana, and the coastwise steamer La Grande Duchesse of the Plant Line. The latter was christened by Miss Nelle S. Eldridge of Boston. The Helena is an exact duplicate of the Wilmington, which was launched from the same place October 19, 1895.

She is a 13-knot vessel, has a displacement of 400 tons, is 250 feet long, and was built at a cost of $280,000.

The new battleship Iowa was launched at the Cramps'

yards, Philadelphia, Penn., March 28, being christened by Miss Mary Lord Drake, daughter of Governor Drake of Iowa. The Iowa represents a new departure in the program of naval construction. The class hitherto authorized is well represented by the Indiana, which is known as a "coast-line battleship." The Iowa is officially called a "sea-going battleship. She is larger than the Indiana, and combines the ability to give and take the severest blows with the steaming capacity of a cruiser.

The contract for construction of the Iowa was awarded to the Cramps in January, 1893. She has a length of 360 feet; displacement, 11,300 tons. She has two vertical, inverted, three-cylinder triple-expansion engines, and actuating twin screws; collective indicated horse-power, 11,000; speed, sixteen knots an hour. There is a speed premium of $50,000 for each quarter-knot excess of speed above the contract guarantee.

Dynamite Guns.-Some time ago the government contracted for three 15-inch pneumatic dynamite guns of forty calibres' length. These guns have recently been tested and accepted. They are at Fort Winfield Scott, California.

The test of the capacity of the compressors of the guns showed that they are capable of supplying air enough for firing continuously forty-five rounds an hour at extreme range. The pressure on every square inch in each gun was 1.000 pounds, and in the storage reservoirs 2,000 pounds. Four shells charged with 100 pounds of explosive were used for accuracy, and shells charged with 500 pounds for range. The 100 pound shells were sent about three miles, and the 500-pound shells about one mile.

Other Naval Matters.-On January 8 a test of a plate representing 415 tons of 8-inch turret and barbette armor for the Iowa proved the plate to be below the standard. It was made by the Carnegie Steel Company. This plate had been selected because it was the most inferior, as the requirements are that the weakest must be tested.

A new automatic rapid-fire gun, called the Colt gun, has been adopted by the navy department. The operator pulls a trigger and the gun continues firing 400 shots a minute as long as is desired. It can be readily carried either by the foot soldier or the cavalry man. The gases of the powder are so utilized that they throw out the empty shells and supply the fresh cartridges.

LABOR INTERESTS.

Strikes. The lockout of tailors in New York city and Brooklyn, which began December 17 last, through a refusal of the men to submit to a modification of their agreement with the contractors by which the "task" sys

tem would have been restored, was settled January 25, just in time to avert a general strike of about 20,000 garment workers. Throughout the contest the tailors had a large measure of public sympathy. There was no attempt at violence; the peace was kept; the law was uniformly obeyed; and responsibility for the violation of the agreement reached as a result of the strike of July, 1895 (Vol. 5, p. 628), was thrown upon the Contractors' Association. In the meantime the men had set to work to found cooperative shops and factories, the development of which will tend to abolish the intervention of contractors as middlemen between manufacturers and workers.

A meeting between representatives of the two disputing parties-the United Brotherhood of Tailors and the Contractors' Association-was held January 25. It was known that a general strike of the tailors had been decided on; and the contractors adopted a conciliatory tone, with the result that an agreement was signed securing continuance of last year's arrangements, and providing for a joint board of arbitration to settle all future differences.

A strike involving about 6,000 garment workers was begun in Baltimore, Md., late in February. The demand of the strikers was for recognition of their organization in all the manufacturing establishments, to the exclusion of Knights of Labor and non-union workers. The strike seenis to have been undertaken at an unfavorable time: trade was dull, and the funds of the garment workers' union low. On March 30 the men abandoned their futile

struggle.

A formidable strike of clothing cutters and trimmers, who were joined by members of the local unions of tailors, was in progress in Chicago, Ill., in the middle of March.

SPORTING.

The Yacht Race Investigation.-On January 8 the America's cup committee made public their report upon the charges of Lord Dunraven against the owners and sailors of the Defender and the members of the New York Yacht Club. Mention of these charges was made in the preceding number of CURRENT HISTORY (Vol. 5, p. 894). The cup committee leaves the investigating committee to take evidence and pass judgment on the charges, and itself gives the correspondence with Lord Dunraven concerning the conditions of the contest, an account of the circumstances attending the withdrawal of Valkyrie III.

from the third race, and a review of all the important incidents of the contest. The story of the whole affair as derived from this correspondence, is in brief as follows:

On January 14, 1895, the America's cup committee submitted to the New York Yacht Club recommending acceptance of the challenge of December 2, 1894, from the Royal Yacht Squadron for the America's cup. September 7, 1895, was selected as the date of the first race. The day set for measuring the yachts was September 6, and on that day Lord Dunraven requested that the load water line be plainly marked on each vessel. To this Mr. Iselin of the Defender gave assent, but the marking was not done on that day. The first race was sailed September 7. The Defender won. That afternoon Lord Dunraven stated to the cup committee his belief that the Defender had sailed immersed three or four inches more deeply than she had been the day of the measurement. He said that he was unwilling to sail again unless the change were corrected. Next day the two yachts were remeasured and marked according to the earl's request. The Defender was found to measure almost exactly the same as on the day of the previous measurement. During the second race, September 10, a foul occurred. Next day the owners of the Defender entered a protest, and the race was given to the Defender. The secretary of the cup committee received that day a letter from Lord Dunraven with the request that he should not open it until Mr. Iselin's protest had been decided. After the consideration of the protest, this letter was opened and found to contain a refusal on the part of Lord Dunraven to race again unless the committee should assure him that the course would be kept clear of tug boats and excursion steamers, and that the race would be declared void in case either yacht were interfered with in any way by other boats. It also contained the suggestion that the time of starting should not be advertised. In reply the committee promised to keep the course clear, but they would not accede to either of the other propositions. On the morning of the third race Lord Dunraven sailed across the starting line, and then withdrew from the race. Defender finished the course alone, and was awarded the cup. With regard to the second race, Mr. Iselin offered to sail again, no matter what the decision of the regatta committee should be. This offer the owner of the Valkyrie III. refused to accept on the ground that, having made a protest, Mr. Iselin evidently thought himself to be in the right and Lord Dunraven in the wrong. The committee had decided in favor of the Defender, therefore nothing was left but to accept the decision.

On January 30 the investigating committee, of which the Hon. Edward J. Phelps was chairman, published its report. The following is a resumé of this report:

This committee in the beginning informed the Royal Yacht Squadron of the purpose of its appointment in order that the squadron might take such part in the investigation as it should see fit. The subject for investigation was a charge made by Lord Dunraven in reference to the America's cup races, and published in the London Field of November 9, 1895. The article in question expressly charges that after being measured for the cup races in September last, the yacht Defender was surreptitiously loaded so as to sink her four inches deeper in the water; that she sailed in that condition on the first day's race; and that immediately after that race the ballast so loaded was