Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-23

for the ammunition with which he quail
! fed. l believe that he should be fur
nished the ammunition, and if he gets
| the highest scores obtainable, / think
that the work and time he puts in, to-
gether with the credit that his score
brings to the company, should be con-
! sidered a very generous return.
| At almost all OF the drills we pass
! from one movement to another as fast
as one is understood ana well done. This
is more interesting to the men and less
! tiresome, and 1t teaches them to have
their wits about them and to be ready
at any moment for something differ
ent. I believe it Is not for the best in
terests Of myself, the 0ieutenants nor
the men, to do all of the drilling my
self. On the contrary, I think the
greater part OF the drilling should be
done by the lieutenants and non-com-
m,ssioned officers, although 1t is not all
ways practicable to so arrange. This
gives them all a chance to hear their
own voices, and it often astonisahes them
on their first attempt. They become ac-
customed to the reversal oe the right
and left as they stand out in front of
the company. They appear to better
advantage then. when called out sud-
denly at any time to assume command
! Beginning in the fall and continuing
! until spring, we have held schools once
q week open to every member Of the
company. At these schools subject
the rifle for example, is explained and
the men asked the names of the differ
emit parts and their purposes. General
ly, [ have a sergeant ask the questions
about the rifle, another sergeant about
shooting affairs, another question about
guard duty, and so on, and I find that
the officers are not only interested, but
prove learners themselves. Then, again,
when the responsibility of instructing
rests upon the missioned officer,
he appreciates his position and informs
himself, just as he does when he knows
that he is liable to be called upon to
drdll the company.
Criticism is an important and valll-
able aid to improvement, but it should
/ be administered in the spirit of "Put
yourself in his place" I have never al
lowed myself, nor would 1 allow it in
those below me, to speak harshly Of an
error made by on-commissioned Off
Ger. If | see him committing an error
in drill, I step up to him and say quietly:
| Sergeant, or corporal, as the case may
| be, you are wrong; this should be done
50 and So By this means / have not
| Inundated him. The non-commissioned
officers of a company are the ribs of the
ship, and they support to a very great
extent the weight of a company
Each one of our 81 men is entitled to
whatever credit he brings to the COM
pany. Some put in more time than
others, but perhaps their situation
makes it possible for them to do so. If
we could by any possibility be held up
as the model company, the criterion for
all to follow, we would have arrived at
the point we are just selfish enough to
wish we might attain"
| ha T7,.f
nounced the dates for the regimental in
spections. For the Sd battalion, which
will be inspected by Maj. Harry B. Fair
banks, the dates are: c Co., Light In
fantry, Tuesday evening, Feb. 8; r Co.,
Gardner Haywood Rifles Wednesday
evening, Feb. 8; A CO., City Guards,
Thursday evening, Feb. 10; H Co., Wei
hngton Rifles, Friday evening, Feb IL.
Adjutant General Samuel Dalton has
issued an exhaustive series of orders
concerning rifle practice for the season
OF 1898, suggesting on the recommends
tons of Brig. Gen. Curtis Guild, Jr.
The important points are: Establishing
the Office of the inspector general of
rifle practice at the state house; an
nouneing the season for range work
now open, to close october 81, and that
soldiers enlisting after this date will be
expected to make two scores of u points
out Of 25 at 200 yards, off hand, during
first year service, excepting in the am
bulance corps, signal corps, light bat
teries and headquarters musicians, no
warrants will be issued to enlisted men
who have failed to qualify in one of the
prescribed grades of Workmanship
suggesting that no recruits should be
permitted to parade with his company
| for drill until he understands the mech
anism of his weapon and it's effective.
ness; directing that the men be thor.
oughly instructed In the nomenclature
of the parts of the rifle or carbine, in itf
general mechanism and the care neces-
sary for its preservation; requiring thai
: no man be sent to the range until he
has been taught how to aim his rife OF
carbine standing, kneeling and prone
and how to adjust his sights, etc. These
are to be the qualifying scores:
Third class-Two scores of 10 out of a
possible 25, at 200 yards
Second class-Two scores Of is out of
a possible 25, at 200 yards.
First class-Two scores of 21 out of a
possible %, at 200 yards, and two scores
of 81 out Of possible 25, at 500 yards.
Sharpshooters' class, two scores OF
% out Of a possible %, at 200 yards;
two scores of % out of possible %, at
500 yards; two scores of % out Of a
possible 25, at 800 yards
Soldiers armed with the carbine Will
De restricted 10 the use VI llidtL a. ILL.,
! and. will be allowed one point on each
score Of 200 yards and two points on
each score at each Of the longer
rangers.
/ Decorations for narksmanship-No
more than six medals or badges award
ed for rifle work may be worn on state
duty. Such decorations will be those
issued by the state in recognition of
qualifications, or awarded in matches
shot under state orders, save that Off
| GERS and men who have won military
decorations for rifle work in matches
of Importance under other than state
auspices, may apply, through channels,
for permission to include them in the
| number above authorized. officers and
men entitled to qualify with the re-
volver are granted special permission
! to wear one revolver badge in addition
to the six specified above.
| Inspectors of rifle practice are re-
| quired to notify the department Of neg
| lect on part OF city or town officials to
provide suitable ranges. Attention is
| called to the fact that, though four
ranges were found inadequate in 1897,
! the only inspector of rifle practice re-
! porting such facts to this Office was
| Lieut. c. f. Tuckerman, I'd corps
| cadets.
| Maj H. b. Fairbanks, who is MEM
| Der Of the legislative committee from