The herald., 1898-03-27
SHARE I'm
THE COr1ING CONFLICT

The League Of American Wheelmen
comes to the front as an important factor
in war of the future. The secretary OF
war has received word from the chief
consul Of the Indiana division, l.. A. W.,
Wallace Sherwood, that the latter is ready
to raise five companies Of wheelmen, each
company to be composed Of fifty men,
who will be thoroughly drilled in bicycle
tactics. and be willing to go to any part
Of the country that is threatened by an
enemy, oA> if necessary, to go abroad to
fight.
Following the offer of Wallace Sherwood
there have come similar offers from vari-
GUS parts of the country The great army
of wheelmen seem brimful of eagerness
to turn their bicycles to use in defend
ing the flag. All the offers have been
placed on file In the war office, their num-
ber showing that in case of war the gov
ernment would have ample force of this
new type Of modern auxiliary on hand.
The usefulness of the cyclist soldier has
been admitted by all military authorities.
Experiments made with troops of bicycle
mounted infantry in this country have
shown that an army will not be properly
equipped without corps of wheelmen
to act as scouts, to form flying squadrons
and to perform many important dut1es pre-
viously done by cavalry.
In order to thoroughly test the ques-
ton of the cycles usefulness In war times,
Lieutenant Moss of the United States army
made tour through the west with a
corps of men, and his report to the war
department showed conclusively that the
cyclist, unhampered by the necessaries Of
a cavalry regiment, could make astonsh-
ingly rapid progress through a country
where roads were in fairly good condition.
An attache of the United States war de-
partment has just prepared and submitted
to the Washington officials statement
showing the fighting effectiveness of a
force of cyclists equipped with the special
guns made for use by the wheeling division
of a modern army.
1t is shown that the ordinary bicyclist
with a magazine rifle strapped to his
wheel. ready for action instantly, mates
a valuable man for quick work in war,
while the fire of squad of these cycle
soldiers, supplemented by that from rapid
fire guns that can be transported on tri-
cycles, is formidable factor in fight.
The rapid-fire gun favored is one combin-
iIlS Lie 1cdtui VI tllG hdAlu anu NOTQen-
feldt weapon. 1t is capable of being
mounted on the rear of a tricycle. between
the two wheels and can be transported
with very little additional effort on the
riders part, as it's weight is light. The
rapid-ire guns would be stationed at in
tervais along the line of dismounted bicy-
clists, the tricycles serving as gun car
riages. The rider will dismount, and,
kneelng, fire the gun at the rate of 1000
shots in two minutes. 1t requires no effort
of the imagination to see what a terrible
fire could be maintained by a troop of
cyclists armed with magazine rifles ana a
number of these rapid-fire guns.
The gun has an automatic feeding ar
rangement. The cartridges are thrown
into hopper and the action of the gun
when fired thrusts them into the barrel.
Two men can keep the gun going as long
as the ammunition holds out, one man fir
ing, the other loading the magazine.
1t is phase of modern war that has
never been tried in action, and, Ike a
good many more of the new ideas in fight
ing, may prove when tried in earnest to
have a good many drawbacks that have
been overlooked. 1t is not thought, how
ever, that these can offset the numerous
advantages that the cyclist soldier will