WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1854
96
to us from the House, will not the armories be under the superin- tendence and control, under the existing laws, of the Colonel of Ordnance?] It would be very proper that he should become the inspector of these various armories. [Mr. Brodhead. Is it not then under military rule?] It is under military inspection. The mechanics and contractors have to conform to the inspection, or their work is thrown upon them, and they will meet the reprehension that is due to their incapacity or neglect of duty; but that does not assume, as I understand it, that the officers are the most competent persons. Their attention has been drawn to science; but the mechanics are the men who have been attentive to the practical operation of mechanics, and not to theory alone. For this reason, without any change of opinion, without having had any conversation on the subject this session with any member of the Senate or House of Representatives, or with any lobby member or person connected with the armory, I am established in my opinion that it is proper to give the superintendence to civilians, as it has prospered under their administration with the guidance and general direction of the War Department, and the inspection of ordnance officers in former times. I shall continue of the opinion that I now entertain, until better lights are given to me; and I shall vote, in accordance with those I now have, for the civilians. [Mr. Cass spoke.] I do not know that the distinguished Senator from Michigan intended to imply that I had cast any reflection upon the officers of the Army. Because I certainly intended nothing but compliment to those officers. There is no Senator who entertains a higher estimate of them than I do, as gentlemen of propriety, of sobriety, of gallantry, of bravery; but I think it is not consistent with their duties to detail them, and appropriate all their talents to the con- struction of arms, when mechanics are found competent to do so. When no improvement, through the channel of invention, that I have heard of, has reached us in consequence of military gentle- men, being at the head of the armories-when no reflection is intended to be cast upon the officers by withholding the super- intendency from them-and when, in the outset, we succeeded well in the construction of arms under the guidance of civilians, I can see no necessity for establishing the rule that the military alone shall have charge of it, and exert what was fo1~merlY accorded to civilians. Why, sir, it has now come to this, that all
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