The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1897-06-26
SCIENCE REVIEWED.
simpler Fortitications, the Automatic
Gun and the IfieyeIa.


II seems to ke the general opinion
among United States army officers that
the development of military science in
the immediate future will be in the
direction of simplified Notifications
greater utilization of the bicycle, and
the extended use of some form of auto.
matte gun. The modern army engineer
sees little use in raising great mounds
OF earth such as used to be done when
hasty and even permanent works were
needed. The bigger thSarthworlSs the
greater the mark for the enemy's guns.
hole in the ground has been the
theoretical formula for BODYBUILDING.
and now that we possess field pieces
with disappearing carriages it can be
practically carried out. A gun that is
capable of rising out of an innoeent-
looking hole pouring forth great vol-
leys of death-dealing bullets and then
sinking out of sight, leaving hardly a
trace of Its presence, and certainly
nothing to fire at, is certainly formid-
able enough to invest the new theory
with all needful logic. 1t would be to
an enemy what the hollow road near
Waterloo was to the euirassier of M
poeon,
In his last report Gen. Miles recom-
mended the greater use of the bicycle
for military purposes. He even init
mated the desirability Of establishing
completely equipped bicycle corps.
This has been openly discussed at Gov
ernor's Island, and is accepted there as
his opinion of the most probable adj
vance of the near future. So far biey-
eles have been used in the army for
orderly or dispatch duty. a much SIM
pier form of wheel will have to be adopt.
ed, however, before bicycling becomes
a factor in army life. The present dia-
mond frame machine is, despite its
lightness, much too cumbersome. Capt.
Gerard has overcome the difficulty in
France by inventing u special form OF
folding bicycle 1t has proved TO be
well adapted for general use. Twenty
two men Of the Eighty infantry
recently made a successful tour of loo
miles on 1t, each man gettiaa off of his
wheel and carrying it on his back over
rough places 300 separate times during
the journey.
The rifle of the future will BE the
automatic rife. This is the conclusion
of military men not only of this but
of other countries. Gen. Willie, Ger
man army expert on the subject of fire.
arms, says deeisively that it will ulti-
rately be the rifle in general use by
the armies of The world. Its particn-
lar point of merit is its capacity for
doing away with the mechanical opera
ton of loading. In effect it does its own
loading, leaving the soldier free to
attend to the business of firing, thus
concentrating his attention on his OPP
ponent and rendering his aim surer,
As pointed out by Gen. Willie,
the force of the recoil of
the automatic gun is employed for
charging and closing the breech, and
the firer has only to let off the shot
in order to again load the weapon, so
that the number of shots discharged
without an effort is precisely the same
as the total contents OF the magazine.
The only comparative weak part of the
automatic gun lies in its springs, but
as they have been found after tests
made in Austria TO withstand the wear
and tear of from 10000 to $4,000 dis
charges, this does not count for much,
Florida Citizen.