Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-10
Gen. Geo. W. Wingate Hits Out
From the Shoulder
At INDIFFERENT ARMY OFFICERS
He Wants Competition With Teams
Of Citizen Soldiers.
LOCAL MILITARY GOSSIP

OF American military rife practice" can
only succeed in SO arousing the competi-
tive sentiment in the United States army
as to bring about competition between the
regular troops and the National Guard
he will add materially to the debt which
this country owes him and which 1t has
never attempted to pay. Gen. Wingate
discusses the present situation at consid-
cradle length in the Journal Of the Military
Service Institution. and says, In part: 1T
Is true that the army has established COM
petitions and has trained its soldiers to
shoot and to shoot very well. 1t also in
troduced skirmishing. which was a new
departure, and in the western states and
on the Pacific coast 1t has done considerable
toward advancing rifle practice among the
National Guard, and consequently among
the people. In the east. on the other hand.
Its influence for few years has been dis
tinctly adverse and has done military
rifle practice serious injury. For a num-
Der OF years the army sent teams to COM
pete for the Hilton trophy at Creedmoor,
ana their members shot in the individual
matches. The idea Of shooting against
from tie National Guard from u number
OF states. and made the competition one Of
general rivalry, and therefore of public
interest. After being beaten for a number
cient skill to win the trophy several
years in succession. After having done
this they stopped, and since then they have
not only not sent teams for this trophy,
the competition for which was established
by Major Gen. w. 8. Hancock, but do
not even condescend to send an officer OF
single man out Of all the troops in the
vicinity Of New York to shoot in the match
es of New Jersey Association and National
Rifle Association. at Sea Girt.
According to sporting laws a man may
quit at pleasure provided he quits a loser
but o long as ne is the winner and claims
by virtue Of being such winner to hold
the championship he Is bound to submit
his claims to such championship to compe-
tition. Scores by which the army teams
have won this trophy have since been beat
en- by National Guard teams, which ends
the idea Of championship or even Of SUI
perior skill. The result Of the armys not
appearing is las was stated by the Army and
Navy Journal in its editorial of Septem-
Der 2 1883 that the National Guard of
the states are inclined to think the con-
test Is not worth while for them to en-
gage In. This argument Is that If the COM
petitions were valuable in the military sense
the army as professional soldiers would
make point at any sacrifice to partici-
pate. AS they not only do not participate,
but do not even send an officer to observe
the shooting, 1t therefore follows that they
are not valuable. and IL not valuable enough
to induce professional soldiers. who :have
all the time there is to compete, why
time, leave their business. and make the
personal sacrifices that are necessary in
order to participate in the matches? And
further. IL a state team does not shoot for
the Hilton trophy why should regimental
teams be organized to shoot for state
trophies. and the logical conclusion Is
what Is the use of rifle practice anyway
AT the matches at Sea Girt on August %
the governor OF New Jersey and all the
leading officers of the state were present,
nearly all Of whom, including the gov
ernor. personally shot in the individual
matches. There was no commissioned off,
there was but one competitor from the
states OF New York and Pennsylvania II
the army had given it to be understood
that they would be represented. there would
have been fifty men from each. The ex-
cuses which had been made in the past I'm
regard to sending teams to Creedmoor had
no application to Sea Girt. The ranges.
camping ground. tents including camp
eQuipage, were placed at the disposal of
all Of the competitors and nothing was
spared to make them comfortable. II, for
some unknown reason, transportation from
Governors Island could not have been OBJ
tanned. an enthusiastic officer who con-
sidered the practice valuable might have
marched his men down there. and in so
doing given them a valuable experience and
demonstrated to the country the value the
army placed upon military competitive rifle
practice. AS 1t is, the lesson which is to
be derived Is that the army, or rather the
army of the east. attaches no value to 1t.
Il do not make any reference to the talk
which is common in National Guard circles.
that the army does not compete because it
Is afraid II will lose, because / have TOO
high an opinion Of its skill. 1 do ascribe
1t, however. to the idea which appears to be
so prevalent among army circles in the
east more than the west Of rcSirir:; tEcn-
selves as a select class, wishing to do every
thing in their own grounds. in their own
way, and aloof from all outsiders, al idea
which is fa:al to any attempt to uun-e
their profess. ,aa skill toward advancing
the general military strength Of the cJLn-
Try"
A Local Rifle Association.
Aspiring rifemen gather In the brigade
rife gallery as flies cluster around a leak
in a hogshead of molasses and are getting
many highly satisfactory scores. The more
persistent of these sharpshooters and
marksmen having reached top figures. have,
however, been looking around for other
worlds to conquer, and are about to be
gratified if a sufficient number will become
members of a prospective organization to
be known as the Rifle Association of the
District National Guard. The tentative
proposition is to set apart one night In each
week when the brigade gallery shall be In
the possession of the association and when
such competitions as shall be arranged by
the association will be shot. Prizes of the
sweepstakes variety are contemplated and,
taken altogether, the plan Is most attract
i've. When the summer and autumn
months are here the meetings will be held
on the range instead of in the gallery. All
officers and enlisted men In the District
National Guard are eligible to membership
and as the fee for the season Is to be but
fifty cents 4 total membership Of four or
five hundred Is not regarded an unreal
sonable estimate. Probably not more than
~ per cent Of the association membership
would be continuously interested In the
weekly shoots, but the plan Is favOrably
regarded by all who have heard of 1t, and
will, if properly supported work most ad-
vantageously for the rifle practice of the
brigade. All scores made at a meeting of
the association may be recorded IL the per-
sons making them SO desire. The organi-
zation will doubtless be completed at the
next meeting of the department of rife
practice, which will be held at the gallery
on the evening Of the 18th instant.
Wants Another Opportunity.
Maj. Gilbert Thompson is spontaneously
dissatisfied. He was away out in Tennes-
see when the sixth battalion team got away
with the engineer sharpshooters and was
considerably surprised-not. perhaps at his
team being defeated but at the extremely
low scores made by both aggregations His
principal idea in issuing the challenge was
to have the present team record in the gal
lery broken, and as that was not done, he
will ask Maj. Bartlett to renew the contest
If Maj. Bartlett accedes land there seems
to be no reason for supposing he will do
otherwise), the second competition will take
place either at the latter end of this month