The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-10-01
MACHINE itIHfS.
MOVEMENT IN FAVOR or THE
USE AMONG EUROPEAN NArios 3

Frances Response to Gcr,na:,y's Rec ,sf,
Action - Isxperfm ents Made in tie
United States-What European Nations
are DOing.-The Austro-Prussian War.
The cable dispatch that the French govern
ment has ordered $4,000 repeating rifles to be
distributed among its troops by the end OF
this month has an interest for this country as
well as for all European nations. II was
shrewdly said not long ago that after the end
of the next great. war every governlnent
would want magazine guns; but it now looks
as if very few governments wM be willing to
wait for the next war. The present act Of
France is spoken of as reply to Germany's
recent arming of her Alsace-Lorraine regi-
ments with repeating arms; but both coun-
tries have long been experimenting for this
purpose, and indeed it is obvious that if
France had not already begun to provide her
self with such weapons, an order to dis
tribute 10000 of them in so short q tine
would be prepostesous. As q fact, the
armory at st. Etienne altered its tool plant
some time ago, with p view to making maga-
zine rifles on large scale. There have been
many efforts to change the Gras into maya
zine arm, the Robin system OF conversion be-
ing one, while amdng other plans expert
mented with have been the Paries and Sturla,
which utilizes to solne extent parts of the
Gras action.
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Magazine arms in she United States have
not thus far achieved complete Success in the
tests to which they have been submitted by
the government, although their ultimate SUI
periority can hardly be doubted. Eot long
ago, issues of two leading magazine rifles were
made to certain number of organizations
throughout the army, in many regiments and
departments. and trials of them were made in
competition with the Springfield single loader.
The commanding officer of each detachment
making these trials drew up . report of the
results, with his comments thereon 1t was
found that in large majority OF the reports
the existing single breech loader was preferred.
Nevertheless, the principal faults noted in the
magazine arms were such as can be remedied
by mechanical improvements or by careful
training of the men in their use The brief
report of Gen. Benet ON tho trials, rendered q
few months ago, declared that he believed
that magazine gun would eventually be
adopted, but that the time had not yet come
for it. t...=..
Meanwhile in Europe the movement in
favor of the new system has been going on
and has already practically been pushed tc
success We find the troops of SwedeI
armed With the Jarman, magazine rife OF
unusually aong range. Austria is preparing
to substitute for her somewhat inferior
Werndl rife the Mannheber, which has re
movable magazine, and avoids the faults OF
weakness, complexity, and costliness some
times found in suck weapons. Russia has
been kept back by the great cost of converting
into repeaters the multitude of the arms with
which her arsenals are loaded. Switzerland
is supplied with Vetterliu repeaters, as the
little state needs to make the most Of her
forces +9 'v
GERMANY AND FRANCE. zs,-~-.--s
Germany has converted Mauser single load
ers into a magazine arm on system which
attracts the criticism of the experts upon sew
eral grounds, and no doubt justly, but which,
after all, has the great advantage of being
cheap, Of using the rifles already In the hands
of the troops, and of being manipulated in
manner already familiar to them, SO that
there is little or nothing to learn. France has
armed her navy for some years with the
Kropatchek repeaters, but has been looking
troops. Possibly it is the Kropatchek that is
to be issued in such haste to 60,0O0 troops of
tie line; but it is reasonable to suppose that
some one of the many proposed notifications
of the Gras has been chosen, and the required
changes made England several months age
ordered the issue of magazine guns for ex-
pertinent, and now will be spurred on by the
decision of Germany.
Al "a
war of 1866 is not forgotten. Then the needle
gun, in the hands of disciplined troo s, car
ried all before it. Now all nations have aban-
doned muzzle loading small arms for breech
leaders, and the next step is repeating or
arms. No doubt we shall sec a gen.
eral rush to follow the lead Of Germany, al
though the previous action Of Sweden and
Switzerland had been little needed, since no
nation will be willing to become victim to a
more efficient weapon in the hands of its
York Sun.