The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-07-02
MAN TARGETS.
A New and Novel Piece of Mech
anism.
An Industry at the Arsenal and Armory at
Rock Island.

i
| Rock ISLAND, ILL.,, June ga new in
dustry has been started at the Rock Island
Armory and Arsenal. 1t is the manufac-
ture Of man targets for use in the regular
Army. These targets are made of steel
and as near the form of an averaged-sized
man as can be outlined with steel. They
are made in three positions-upright, at
front, then in the position of firing with
arms raised as if holding musket. Col
onel Flagler invented the machine that
works the steel to the proper shape. The
steel frame is covered with cloth in such a
| manner that at distance the resemblance of
| a man is marked-and what is important,
| it can be told just in what part the "man"
is hit-arm, leg, breast, stomach, neck,
shoulder or head. Four hundred of these
steel targets are being made, requiring the
use of los. 900 pounds of steel. In the tar
| get practice they will be placed in squads,
| In platoons, in companies, and the various
| other forms in which soldiers move in the
| opening of an engagement. The practice
dred % and fty AZ to rahgs three " % hundred
yards, and then be gradually increased
/ to long distances. The targets will
be sent to military posts at which
| such practice can be best carried on. The
practice is in the fact tnat the steel-man
| targets can not fire back; if they could,
| the soldiers who are firing at them might
| not be so expert. In Andrew Jackson's
duel with Dickinson in 1906 Jackson's
| friends begged him to ractice, saying that
Dickinson was practicing daily, and could
| hit pullet in the head at so many PAGES
| every time" docs the pnllet have pistol
"No." was the reply of the astonished
| friend. "Then / don't care how much he
| practices" And jackson killed Dickinson
| in the duel When the war of the rebellion
| opened the best weapon in the world was
| the "Springfield musket." which was effec
| tive for a thousand yards, but no soldier
could load and fire that musket once min
| ute even in a fight. The soldiers carried
but forty rounds in their cartridge boxes.
| Now, think of the difference. The army
| musket of to-day can be fired twenty
| four times minute, and is effective
| for destruction of life at distance of two
| miles. That is the reason why they are
making the man-targets at the
| The old style of close work in battle is at
| an end, and one can be Informed at the ar
senal that artillery shields have become q
necessity for the protection of gunners.
| With the effective muskets of the present
day a battery would be deprived of its
men by the sharp-shooters of the enemy
and am iAf be unable tould to do "a anything
| in return, for the old methods of
| supporting and protecting battery by in
| fantry, keeping back the infantry on the
| other side, is ut an end. The enemy needn't
| be within mile of the battery, and yet
pick OF its men with the new weapons and
| the use of glasses. So shields of steel,
| thick enough to be impervious to bullets
which can be placed before a battery of
| Gattling guns, or new steel gun, light
breech loading, but of good range, and
| thus protect the gunners from long range
! infantry, have become a necessity.
|
| Plans for W Cruisers.
| WASHINGTON, June ga number of
| plans and specifications for the new naval
vessels provided for at the last session of
Congress, have been received at the Navy
Department. In the circular calling for
the plans and proposals Secretary Whit
ney specified that they should be submit
ted by July Is. The circular called for
! plans for four vessels. The Bureau of
| Engineering of the Navy De-
| partment will submit plans for
| them all, the former for the hulls and
| the latter for the machinery and engines.
1t is not known that any other source will
| offer plans for The entire number. Several
| plans for single vessel will be submitted
| by navel officers, and it is expected that
| plans will be received from ship builders.
| Naval Cons ructor Mntonye, of the Brook
| lyn Yards, will furnish plans for three
| vessels. The first is to cost about 81 ,500,-
600, to be 1856 feet by 4S, and to run IS knots
| per hour. Her armament will consist of
81 guns, and she will carry about 400
| men aud officers. The second vessel
will be 325 feet by 46 feet, and her battery
| will consist of IS guns. The third vessel
| will be 225 feet by So feet, carrying an arm
| ament of fourteen guns. The vessels are
modelled after the English cruisers. The
enterprising but imaginative individual has
also been submitting propositions. One Of
| fers plan for a vessel that will float on
stop of water, beneath it, and in mdair.
| The sails will be wings, and it will
make greater speed than any bird,
| or anything man has invented"
| Others are submitting similar impractical
| BILE schemes for parts of vessels. Secretary
Whitney is not desirous of experimenting
with new schemes. He rather favors the
| adoption of the models of the best cruisers
built by foreign Powers, with such i'm
| provements as can be added by Ameri-
can shipbuilders. Under the gen.
eral invitation of Secretary Whitney
to officers of the navy and others
| to submit plans to him for the construction
, of new steel cruisers, Admiral Porter has
for some time past been engaged in plan
ming vessel which he hopes will prove a
! model in her class. She is to be $50 feet
| long, and at the same time, a ram, a torpe-
do boat and a gunboat, will go forward or
backward with equal facility, and carry a
| very heavy armament. 1t is expected that
she will attain great speed.