Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-28
Shooting for Team Trophies Com
mences Next Month.
INCREASED INTEREST IN RIFLEPRACTICE
The Sixth Battalion, However, is
Alleged to Be SuIking.
A BURGLAR AT WAY

with the opening Of the new year, because
then the matches will be 'for keeps" The
| December competitions were merely pre-
| liminary, and will not count directly in the
| fight for the trophies Guardsmen who
have Unexpectedly found themselves men,
| bers of teams, and who have not made the
scores they would like TO make, are grad
| ually getting hold of the idea that practice
| is necessary to success, and as their grip
on that fundamental principle strengthens
| they visit the rifle gallery much oftener
| than they ever expected. to, and as a result
| are developing into sharpshooters, who will
| some Of these days make a few Of even the
old cracks hustle for places on the bril-
| gade team. For some time past an impress
sion has prevailed that the engineer corps
had sure thing in every match, but it has
been shown quite clearly that there is ma
| terial in the guard which will make the
castellated marksmen move quite rapidly
| to save themselves from being run down
and trampled upon Companies A and b
| of the sixth ba ttalion and b of the second
battalion are distinctly in the engineer
| class and are likely at any time to come
out little ahead of Maj. Thompsons pets,
while other companies have among their
members a number OF rough gems. In the
| matter of battalion teams, the first and
! second and sixth battalions are almost up
on the engineers coat-tails and the first
and second are moving upward SO rapidly
| that it is not an entirely unreasonable eX-
pectatton to believe that they soon will be
| on the engineers collar or Whereabouts.
Last nights scores testify strongly, for the
| first and second battalions did very we'll in
| deed. The figures of the battalion match
| are as follows: Engineer corps Uieut. G.
| b. Young. team captain), 401: first battalion
| Lieut. G. w. Sneden captain) 800; second
| battalion dieut. T. S. King, captain), 3S3
| fifth, battalion Qieut. G. Shaw, captain).
1858; third battalion Q-ieut. F. E. Gibson,
| captain), 3l7; fourth battalion Uieut. NJ. E.
Sabin, captan). 312; first separate battalion
QIieut. F. J. Cardozo, captain), 2i9; pro-
| visional battalion Q4ieut. John A. Kirk cap
| tain, ODD.
May BE n Court-Martinl.
| 1t will be noticed by guardsmen that the
sixth battalion was not represented. Lieut.
| w. p. Vale, the inspector of rifle practice
| for the sixth, had notified sufficient num-
| Der Of men to be present, but several failed
| to put in an appearance. This failure is, it
| is gossiped ascribed to the action taken as
to the alleged violation Of regulations by a
member of company A of the sixth in the
company match; the action resulting in that
company's losing first place. Whatever the
| cause, though, 1t will. say some of the au-
| thorities, be laid bare. and those who are re-
| sponslbe Will be held to the strictest ac-
countability possible under the law Efforts
| to secure any Information of a positive
| nature as to prospective movements by
| seems to be understood by some of
the good guessers that the chances
are excellent for at least one court-martial
| 1t is rumored that the officer most concerned
has rendered his resignation, and that it is
now in the hands of Col. Clay but it is by no
| means certain that the commanding general
| Will permit the resiSnatio to move any
| further than his desk until it has been de-
cided whether there will or will not be a
court.
Trying New Plan.
Commissioned officers will be permitted
to shoot on company. battalion and regi-
mental teams in the series of gallery COM
petitions which opened last week. This
| modification. of the general orders under
which the matches are being conducted
was made known to the inspectors of rifle
practice, and as a result there is a re-
| spectacle Sprinkling of officers in the little
crowd of persistent ores who, by steady
| practice, prepare themselves for the nerve
and muscle trying contests. The modifica-
! ton is generally regarded as a wise one,
| for it stimulates interest among those who
are in most instances the vertebrae of
! their respective companies. When a COM
| pany eXcels in rifle practice 1t is invariably
| the case that one or more of the officers is
| an expert shot, who encourages his asso-
ciates and subordinates to do their duty in
| the gallery and on the range. The plan of
disqualifying the officers with the hope
| that the enlisted men might therefore be
encouraged has not worked either justice
or harmony. Under the new conditions
each company, battalion and regiment will
put in its best team, without any regard
whatever as to rank. The experiment will
| be closely watched by many who are deep
ly interested in the welfare Of the brigade.
The Facts In the Case.
Through error it was ann ounced last Sat
urday that the company team match was
won by company A of the engineer corps.
AS matter of fact, the highest honor was
captured by the engineer team of company
Il, and there is consequently much elation
| in Capt Drury's command. Hitherto there
has been no particular sign by which the
members Of the three companies of the en-
gineer battalion could be identified, but
Stree the close Of the match it has been
noticed that engineers whose chns are a
| trife higher than normal and whose visages
have in them more than the average guam
tity of evident con ten tment and jollity are
members of company b. 1t was. therefore,
too bad that Capt. Drury and his delighted
followers should have suffered from erro-
| neous publication, and then, as If injury
was insufficient, be additionally ground by
a statement that the score made by COM
pany BIS team would not count because
the team was not commanded by COM
msSioned officer. 1t was company that
was thus delinquent. The practise figures of
the three leaders are: Company b. engineer
corps, 202 company A, engineer corps, POI
company 3, second battalion, 30.
A burglar Mt Ordway.
There was badly disappointed burglar in
Prince Georges county, Nd. few days
ago. Some sinner with a talent for wrench
ing shutters and windows open effected en-
trance into and exit from the office build
! Ing at Ordway. Just what the sinner in
question expected to find in that structure
no one but he knows, but it is certain that
any hopes he may have entertained as to
a valuable haul were shattered. A box of
silhouette targets was broken into, and
that was all the damage wrought within
the building. Everything that could be of
any use to tramps was carted into the city
long ago. Eyil-ninded persons who care to
become housebreakers need not visit Ord
way; they will have their labor for their
pains, to say nothing of the risks they run
Target practice has been suspended, but
there is no close season for criminals in
Maryland, and the next one who monkeys
with the office building at Ordway is likely
to be surprised.
As to Service Medals.
At the regular monthly meeting of the
Officers Association Of the Second Regi-