Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-09
Victorious Rihemen Have Left Sea
Girt for Washington.
WINNERS IN SATURDAYS MATCHES
Gen. Wingate Says There Never
Was So Strong a State Team.
JERS MEN ARE COMM G
statr Correspondence Of The Evening Star.


be found at Sea Girt this evening, the last
Of the wanderers having departed for As
bury Park or Long Branch some hours ago.
there to remain until such time tomorrow
when suitable train connections can be
made SO as to reach Washington by about
Z o'clock. Sea Girt has completely collapsed
and by tom prov evening the canvas be-
meath which the rilemen were sheltered
will be stored away for future use, the
corps of markers and scorers will be dis
banded and the crack Of exploding cart
ridges will no longer interfere with the
steady monotone of the surf. The surf,
the club house and Capt Bodwell, by the
way, are always at Sea Girt, no matter
what the meteorological conditions or the
season of the year. Although the fifth an
nual meeting of the New Jersey State Rifle
Association has just been concluded, prep
arattons are, nevertheless, being made for
the meeting which will not take place until
the first week In September next One of
the most serious drawbacks from which the
association has suffered has been the nom
attendance of clever individual rifle shots
other than those who were members Of
state and regimental teams. The non-at-
tendance was due almost entirely to the
fact that the association had not offered
prizes of a character likely to tempt the
best men to visit Sea Girt. Next year the
program will contain inducements enough
to keep everybody shooting from daylight
until darkness sets in, for several members
OF the association have guaranteed at least
$1,000 In money prizes, and that sum, care
fully distributed, ought to make the Sea
G!rt of 1896 more attractive place than
Creedmoor ever was.
May BE ar Army Team Next Year.
Another of the desirable things to be ex-
pected next year relates to army represen-
tation in the big matches This year a
team from the garrison at Governors Island
participated in the regimenfal interstate
match. Those who know how the team
came to be are not at all surprised ut the
showing made, for the half-dozen officers
and men were gathered together in the
biggest sort of hurry, and were sent 20
Sea Girt without any practice at all. I'm
Ger the circumstances the army boys did
very well, but they are likely to do very
much better twelve months hence for they
will in the meantime have had ample op-
portunfty for preparation. The presence of
Gen. Miles at Sea Girt on one of the shoot
Ing days was regarded as being healthy
sign, presaging, perhaps, the entering of an
army team in the Hilton match. Years ago
the army was regular. competitor, and
three times did it win The Hilton trophy.
There is no reason why Il cannot do as well
now as 1t did in 1880, 1854 and 1885, and
the chances sareithat Gen. Miles will. when
ne takes his place as major general COM
handing the army, offer such encourage
army team competing with teams from the
National Guard.
Saturdays Competitions.
The matches of principal interest yester-
day were the Wimbledon cup match at 1000
yards-30 shots-and the department of rifle
practice match, at 500 and GOO yards, 25
shots at each range The Wimbledon cup
contest was held under remarkable atmos-
pheric difficulties, for falling rain and roll
ing fog and erratic breezes made it difficult
both to see and to hit the target at so long
a range. One after another If the COM
petitors dropped out, until there were left
only Private S. l. Scott, Maj. Geo. H. Har
ries. Private F. L. Graham. Private w. w.
Cookson, all of the District of Columbia,
and sergt. Perry E. Kent of Utica, N Y.
Scott and Graham were shooting high
grade long-range guns, and were therefore
the scratch" men. Maj. Harries and Pri-
Hepburrs, with plain military sights, and
were each entitled to points Of allowance;
Kent was doing his best for New York with
an old gaSpipe Remington. 9he scores at
the finish were; Private Scott, lS5 out of a
possible $50; Maj, Harries with allowance),
100; Private Cookson with allowance), 107;
Private Graham, 105; Sergt. Kent with
Is points allowance), Sc. This Is the sec
ond time Private Scott has won. the VIM
bledon cup. He did it first in 1898, with a
total of 12S. In that year there was no al
lowance for special military rifles, so the
second place.
In the department of rifle practice match.
Lieut. Glendie B. Young, inspector of rifle
practice of the engineer corps, captured
the medal-which he will hold until the
next meeting-with total of 224; 115
points being put at 500 yards, and 100 at
600 yards. This medal was won by Capt.
James E. Bell last year. but the captain
profitable for him to witness the yacht
race than shoot for medal he could not
possibly get a title to even if he won it
twenty times.
Private George E. Cook of the engineer
corps took the Hayes medal this year
just as he did year ago. Seven shots
were fired at 500 and 900 yards, and Private
Cooks scores We're 30 and 81.
A number of other prizes We're won by
Washingtonians, but they had not been
figured out when the Office closed yester-
day, SO no announcement is possible at
this time. 1t is probable, though, that
Private S. B. Wetherald of the engineer
corps has captured first money in the all
corners match.
Never Any Better Team Than the Dis
An attempt to repeat even a consider
able proportion of the pleasant things that
have been said at Sea Girt about the Dis
trict of Columbia teams would result in
the stringing together of compliments such
as have not been paid rif1emen for many
years past No American has had more
practical experience with military rifle
shooting than has General George Win
gate, who was for many years president of
the now defunct National Rifle Associa-
ton. Gen. Wingate was an interested spec
tator, while the Hilton match was being
shot and sometime after the scores had
been concluded he said that never within
his knowledge had there been in the
United States a team of riflemen who could
possibly surpass in the essential matters
of organization and scores the brigade
team which represented the District Of
Columbia at Sea Girt this year and which
in capturing the Hilton trophy had raised
the worlds record. Gen. B. w. Spencer
inspector general of rifle practice for New
Jersey, and one of the old time directors
of the National Rifle Association, en-
pressed himself to the same effect, not
once, but many times.
How the Team Was Differed.
Important factors In the team organiza-
ton and high in the esteem of the team
captain were two officers who have been
heard from only little, but whose work
has had great deal to do with team eff
ficiency. because it prevents friction and
discourages i'll humor. A quartermaster
who never forsets Or neglects anything is
Captain H H. Parmenter of the second
regiment Captain Parmenter has been
feop for for a.p m faor