Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-05
Progress Of the Riaemen Preparing
for Sea Girt.
FAMILIAR FACES WILL Be MISSING
Formulation of a Plan to Encour-
age Poor Shots.
MEN DROPPED AS DESERTERS

at the OrdWdy range by the rlnIemen VINO
are to participate in the competitions next
! month at Sea Girt. Satisfactory work is
| being accomplished, and week hence the
inspector general Of rifle practice will an
nounce the names Of those who will consti-
tute the brigade team. The twelve shoot
ing men. as we'll as the four alternates, will
thereafter be actively engaged before the
targets until it is time to start for Jersey.
Several familiar faces will be missing
from the brigade team this year, among
them being s. B. Wetherald, George E.
Cook, s. /. Scott and Edward Scott. M. w.
Farrow has been appointed official coach
of the team.
The I'd Regiment team at Sea Girt will be
in charge of Capt. Glendie B. Young, while
First Lieut.. L. H. Reichelderfer will captain
the LIST Regiment team. The 9th Battalion
will be represented by team as will Com
pany A, 9th Battalion. For use in the indi-
vidual matches some Of the guardsmen will
be provided with Krag-Jorgenson rifles
MARYLAND will not be represented at lea
Girt this year, Governor Lowndes having
notified Major Bell that there is not suffi-
Gent time intervening between the present
and the date scheduled for the opening of
the meeting in which a team could be prop
erly organized and drilled. 1t is hoped by
the governor, however, that Maryland will
send team next year.
Results of Rife Meetings.
The failure of certain expert marksmen to
hit the target at the most crucial point in
big matches Is not an uncommon occur
renee. Such collapses have given rise to
query as to whether these champion shots
would be equally accurate under the ex-
citing conditions of actual warfare. Some
officers, who ought to know. declare it a
very debatable point whether the big rife
meetings do not do quite as much to dis
courage as to encourage rife shooting, so
far as the National Guard is concerned.
Ihey encourage the good shot to shoot bet
ter, 1t is stated, but the poor shot with lit
tie leisure in which to practice is utterly
discouraged. The statement is made that
spent on rife shooting as absolutely wasted
If in time of peril the National Guard is
to be really effective force, the contention
is that 1t is the bad shot who must now be
taught to shoot straight or at any rate
fairly straight. The day aof individual
craftsmanship is practically over; volleys
and I fire discipline will decide future battles.
Firing at moving objects, or under service
conditions or in teams. is said to be re-
garded as sort of sfde show at the big
rife Ihi. meetings m WHEREAS the claim is made
the program If this program be drawn up
for the purpose of improving National
Guard firing generally and not merely to
produce handful of crack shots. who
spend hours on the range shooting under
conditions absolutely impossible in time of
war
IL encourage fOOT SnOtS.
Major Bell. inspector general of rifle prac-
tice. District Of Columbia militia, is devot-
ing a great deal of attention to the formu-
lation of a plan to encourage the poor shots
in fact, the entire membership Of the Dis
trict National Guard in the matter of rifle
shooting. The indications are that this fea-
ture of local military work will be revolu-
tionized. In this connection attention is
called to one of the matches at the recent
meeting at Bisley. Each team that COM
peted was composed of twenty men, two
sergeants and officer, the contest being
a marching and shooting one. A prelimi-
nary competition was held among the regi-
ments Quartered at Aldershot, and the best
nine of these are allowed to compete for
the prize. The men have to march eleven
miles in three hours, and, arriving on the
range, proceed at once to advance on the
targets In attack formation. The firing
begins at 500 yards, and the teams are each
supplied with 300 rounds of ammunition.
At $50 yards from the target bayonets are
fixed and six rounds must be fired in half
minute. Any cartridges not expended are
counted as misses Every hit counts a
point, and in addition, ten points may be
gained for correctness Of drill.
Matches similar to the foregoing, which
are calculated to interest the mass of
guardsmen, are very likely to figure here
after In the matches at Ordway, if not at
Sea Girt.
Efficiency Competition Fund.
Attention has been called to the fact that.
in connection with the efficiency competi-
ton movement, inaugurated several years
ago, STA was contributed by officers of the
National Guard to be expended for prizes.
AS the proposed competition did not ma
terialize, the prize money viii probably be
added to the fund being raised to purchase
| a memorial tablet in honer Of the memory
Of the late Gen. Albert Ordway.
First Lieut.. ]. H. Gritfiths, commissary,
captain of Battery A, Light Artillery. D. G.
N. G., has been detailed as recruiting Of
ficer at Camp Meade.
Honorably Discharged.
On their own applications the following
have been honorably discharged: Privates
Claude Farr and William Joseph Fill, sig
nal corps; Prfvates Joseph M. Donovan,
NJ. Dunn, Joseph Aioysius Ecklof, Martin
j. McPike and M. OEonnor, Company A,
4th Battalion.
BY reason of removal from the District
of Columbia the following. have been
honorably discharged: Private H. J. Nc
Kenney, signal CORPSE Private CHARLES d.
Lazelle. Battery A, Light Artillery: Pri-
vate G. Elmer Johnson Company C, 9Th
Battalion; Privates Harry A. Moran and
Joseph NJ. Smoot, Battery A, Light Artil-
lery, and Privates Carl " Eckdall and
Michael w. Curtin. Company A. 4th Bat
talon.
The following. all privates and members
Of Company c. LIST Separate Battalion,
have been dropped from the rolls of the
District of Columbia National Guard as
deserters William r. Carey. Silas Frank
lin Carter. Walter Glover. John Graham,
Winston B. HILL Charles Owens, Richard
Powell. John w. Rawfes, Charles =: Shor-
ter, William F. Stewart Joseph p. Thomas,
William L. Townsend and George w.
Wormley.
Shooting at Bis1ey.
The dum-dun bullet retired from the
| competitions at Bisley rife meeting before
the first day was ended, the council decid-
ing to withdraw all the ammunition for
| service rifles and to substitute the manufac-
| ture of 1897, obtaining $4,000 rounds from
the Middlesex Rifle Association. Three
slight accidents settled the question of
using the dum-dum with coFdite. A faulty
shot from Surrey sergeant's rifle was de-
cided by Capt Davis, representing Wool
witch, and Col. Lockyer of the Enfield fac
| tory to be caused by metallic foultng, but 1t
was quickly followed by a similar case. the
competitor being Sergt. Clement Smith of
| the Middiesex Yeomanry. an old hand not
| to be suspected of carelessness. Lastly,
Lieut.. Ba<ham. r. E., was blinded for a
moment, and the breech bolt of his rifle
was blown back. The council made some