The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-06

J Sfittu the weight OF NIe Duftct DY Ole-ndlE
/ and increased its velocity by 80 per cent.
! The velocity has been further increased by
! the change of powders. The soldier Is now
/ able 10 carry with him double the old
/ supply Of ammunition. The substitution of
! the material called "cordite' for the com
| pressed powder which now obtains in the
British service has further increased his
/ offensiveness, until he is by far the most
dangerous animal that walks
! Practically all of the small arms with
which me troops of the nations are fur
nished are magazine guns. Their adoption
| was delayed by the doctrinaires, who de-
ciared that soldier with magazine gun
in the stress of battle and excited to fren-
! ~ by conflict would waste more ammuni-
ton than he was worth. The same argu-
! ment was advanced against the adoption
| OF the breech-loader many years ago. Ii
| was proved fallacious in the latter case.
The belief among military men is that il
! VIII be proved fallac.ous against the mag
azlne arm. Officers in future will trust to
! discipline to keep the fire down TO a proper
/ limit. There seems to be little difference in
| the value of the various modern military
rifles Each has some minor point of ad-
! vantage. Each has some minor defect. The
| improved arm of the Germans, the Mann
! llcher of the Austrians, the Lee Metford
| OF the British, the Lebel of the French the
! Mauser of the Spanish and the Krag-Jor-
! gensen and Lee Of the United States have
| about the same zone of fire, are practically
! the same CALDER and are universally dead
! ~. The difference between the nickel-iack-
| eted bullet, the steel-hardened bullet and
! the German-silver bullet, by which the sol-
| dlers OF Wilhelm swear, is largely one of
imagination. They will all kill at tremen-
| dous ranges. Perhaps the best general re-
suits are given by the nlckeled projectile
whose penetrative powers are simply phe-
! nomenal.
In the long peace that has brooded over
| the world the limit of improvement In mill
| itary small arms would appear to have
! been reached. 1t remains now 10 try them
on living human bodies instead of upon ca
! davers, which cannot shoot back. In scien-
tific parance 1--WE have reached an equa-
ton jim the proportions of mass in the rifle
and the projectle, in caliber ruling and
| twist, in the sectional density of the bullet
and in the power of the explosives Beyond
this any possible improvement would be in
effective for the reason that to exceed the
present limits would be to exceed the mus
! cular and visual power of men,"
The modern arm, when r1ed on the
| Metford plan. has seven grooves on tho
interior of the barrel which go three
times around the barrel in its length of
| thirty inches. The rifiing is made thus
| we're in order to steady the missile in its
| long flight. The weapon is sighted up to
$500 yards, and its point blank range is a
minimum of 300 yards. In action the sights
will not be altered up to LOCO yards Tho
! English compressed powder gives a muz-
zle velocity of 1,G00 feet per second. From
cordite a muzzle velocity Of $3.50 feet per
second is obtained. AT 1000 yards the mean
| deviation of the bullet from the Spring
field rife is 2L4 inches. The deviation OF
the high-powder small caliber bullet is less
than u inches. From the modern arm
forty shots a minute may be fired If the
soldier has spare magazine ready for
1 adjustment. If a man stands near him
with more than one magazine a speed of
| sixty shots minute can be made. This,
of course, is firing without aiming. The
| Mauser rife, to which United States troops
| is opposed In the war with Spain,
is immeasurably superior to the old
Springfield, superior, in fact, to any gun
we have except the Lee and the Krag
Jorgenseb. It's rapidity long range, aecu-
racy and low trajectory have more than
doubled the danger spaces up to a mile,
and it is exceedingly disagreeable even be-
You'd that distance. The general penetra-
ton of the nickel-jacketed bullet may be
| stated al 9-10 of an inch of steel, 312 inches
of oak and 3 inches of breech. Singularly
enough, it has been demonstrated that the
best defense against 1t is loose sand, and
attacking parties OF the future will throw
up miniature entertainments in front of
each squad. This can be done readily and
rapidly with the bayonet The lead-pen-
Gil bullet penetrates some fifteen inches
into sand and is then battered out of all
resemblance to it's original self. Much has
been said OF it's inability to produce suffi-
cient shock, and there is no doubt that
its paralyzing capacity is much less than
That of the As caliber missile but it may
be said that any man struck with 1t win
DE put out Of the fight and in military
formula a man hors de combat Is a man
dead.
The effect of modern magazine small
arms in combats between large forces is,
of course, probematlcal. Military writer's,
however, are pretty well agreed that these
effects will be unprecedentedly serious.
Between troops equally numerous
and equally disciplined the pres
ent encounter will settle once
and for all the tactics of the future. Many
cobwebs will be brushed from the brains
of theorists Also many men will be kill
ed. Upon this subject Capt. William e.
Dougherty of the United States Army has
written much and well. He says: when
the potential forces that are now availa-
bic for warfare are directed on the battle
field of the future with intelligence and
skill, the devastation that will be wrought
upon the area covered by the conflict and
its environment will surpass anything of
the kind known in former wars. Coudi-
tons and necessities now unknown and in
conceivable will press upon the victor and
the vanquished alike. The number of
wounded win exceed enormously that of
any war heretofore, and the non-combat-
ant auxiliaries, hitherto safe in any shell
ter behind the close formations, will be
compelled to contribute their quota to the
mortality and casualty list or abandon
their sphere of action, for the penetration
of the steel and nickel-clad missile is 80
great that, outside the fortified positions
on the field, there will be no place of safe
ty within a mile of the battle front"
Lieut.. CushinE's Wonderful Adven-
ture.
From Leslie's Weekly.
While work of torpedo destruction was
being so successfully prosecuted through
out the South the Confederate ironclad