St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-22
NO PAPER SOLDIERS.
Officers of the State National
Guard Are True as
Steel.
With Rank and File They
Would Die for Their
Country.
Inventive Genius Taxed to
Produce the Death-Deal-
ing Small Arms.
Uncle Sans Regulars Are
Not the Scum OF the
Earth.

Some pertinent subjects were yester-
day touched upon at the convention of
the Minnesota National Guard associa-
ton. This association is composed of
officers of the State National guard, and
yesterdays was the eleventh annual
convention. The proceedings opened
in the afternoon at the capitol in the
hall OF the house of representatives, pre-
sided over by Col. w. b. Bend, presi-
dent of the association. There was a
good attendance, all the officers attend
ing in undress uniform, wICh side arms.
Col. Mason and Maj. Miles, of Fort
Smelling, and Capt. Phil Reade. of the
Division of the Missouri, were also pres
ent.
SMALL ARMS PRACTICE.
Mai. Miles read a very instructive
paper Oh small arms practice. Target
practice, he said, was to perfect the sol
der in the knowledge of the power of
his rifle and to increase his accuracy of
fire and consequent efficiency on the bat
tie field. The latter should be kept
steadily in view, and nothing be taught
the soldier that will not he useful in
war. The matter of stnall-caliber rifles is
occupying the attention of all nations.
| The chief of ordnance, i'll his report for
| 1883, says:
1t is the intention 10 use compressed and
perforated cartridges. but as yet the powder
makershave not succeeded III producing
! satisfactory powder. the desired velocity
being accompanied by too great pressure.
| This matter of suitable powder is under
| study aud trial.
The extent that small-bOre arms had
been adopted by European powers was
| uncertain. Such secrets were very
| closely guarded. However it is stated
| that the Swiss, the Germans and the
| French have small guns for army Serv
ice. Reducing the calibre necessitates
the sharpening of the twist. This in
creaSeS the tendency towards the strip
| ping of the prOjetile and the conse-
| Quent leading of the barrel, which
makes some hard coating like steel nee
eSsary around the lead. This again de-
| Stroys the fine edges of the growing
| and reduces the life of the gun. These
! difficulties have been overcome in a
| measure.
Iue rifle was invented by Gaspard
| Zoller, of Venice. and first made its aD-
! pearance in target practice at beipSc in
! 1888. More progress has been made
within the last thirty years than during
the four hundred years preceding. The
tlint-lock piece died hard. Gen. Benet,
chief of ordnance, has expressed the
opinion that
A MAGAZINE GUN
| would eventually be adopted as a serv-
ice gun. If this is done, Mai. Miles ex-
pressed the opinion that the prob
| lem of getting ammunition to the
| finhfinn linz fro 6iSninIjnA
will have to be grappled with.
| Fire discipline will be important, as
troops will have to be taught i'll great
measure to act independently III future
wars. When man is fired at
he wants to fire back. Officers
who had experience during the
recent wars, or an Indian campaign,
know how difficult it is to compel men,
when under fire, to reserve their fire. A
man will have TO he capable OF Self-cOn-
troll to to be shot at without shooting
| back. Non-commissiOned officers and
| privates should, therefore, be thoroughly
drilled in fire practice and should be
able to estimate distances to decide
| promptly what can be done with a
weapon and ammunition in their hands.
| Judging distances is an important
matter. The time of flight of the bullet.
service cartridge, is: 1UU yards, 0.25 sec
Onds; 600 yards, 1.60 seconds; 1000
! yards, $50 seconds; 5000 yards, 1915
seconds. The time of flight increases
more rapidly than the range. BlunJs
| small arms firing regulations give direc-
tons for moving the wind guage to
overcome the resistance of the wind
drift, and should be carefully studied
| The general requirements of good
service cartridge is strength, durability,
uniformity and cheapneSS. An effort is
| being made to
STORE THE POWER
in as small space as possible, that a
soldier may carry maximum number
of rounds in minimum effect upon his
| endurance. 1t is stated that the soldier
can carry 100 rounds of the light cart
| ridge for reduced caliber and get rid of
this supply i'll eight minutes. If this
can he done, it stands to reason that the
present system of supply to the fighting
| line will have to be improved. 1t has
been laid down that an army of $4,000
men ought to have 2.6S3,000 cartridges
with them, and that the conveyance of
such quantity, with few FORCES and
stores, would require 15G ammunition
wagons. $50 men and 70I horses.
| Capt. Green, of the United States en-
| gineerS, says that 400 men garrisoning a
little redoubt, firing both from the par
| apet and the detach, can now, in twelve
minutes, easily deliver $4,000 shots, a
veritable hail of lead, each pellet of
which, if it strikes vital part, is fatal
up to a distance of mile and quarter,
| and il but one in twenty OF these bull
lets find its billet, the defenders will
have destroyed 1920 men during the
time the assailants are passing over
this mile and quarter-three times
| their own number.
Target practice, as far as practicable,
| should be similar to the conditions of
| actual warfare. 1t is a question whether
the soldier would not be better pre-
pared
FOR ACTUAL FIGHTING,
if he was required to fire both at known
distances, volleyS and SkirmISh firing,
| Immediately after exercise, when he is
more or less excited. The result would
not show as we'll on paper as under the
present system, but the firing would do
more execution in time of battle. This
is the German system.
Grand eyeSight recognize masses of
troops at l,70O yards. At 1900 yards
infantry may be distinguished from cav
airy, and the movements or troops NAV
be seen; but the horses of cavalry are
not quite distinct. A single individual
may be seen at LOO yards, but his
head does not appear as a round
ball beyond 700 yards; at
GOO yards white cross belts may be seen
at 500 yards the face seems a lIght-col-
ored spot, the uniform, head, body.
arms and movements can be made out,
At $50 yards, buttons may be seen and
officers distinguished from men. Off
GERS with bright Scabbards. and men
with fixed bayOnets can be discovered on
a clear day at distance of 1900 yards.
From this it will he seen that the
expert shot. who has attained ficti-
tious numerical excellence Will be of
no more value beyond 700 yards in
time of action than the soldier who I'M
derstands Judging distances and eleva-
ton, adjustment of the sights of his