Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-24
Plan of Construction Has Been an
Open Secret.
ATTEMPT At CONCEALMENT GIVEN UP
Some Of the Weapons Had Been
Sent to China.
PRECAUTIONS ABANDONED

Evidence accumulates that there was
nothing dishonorable or irregular in the
procurement of alleged plans of the French
field gun, so far as the officers of the
United States army are concerned. Ac-
cording to one military authority the con-
struction of the French gun was an open
secret in the possession of ordnance experts
of all the leading countries of Europe and
America. Consequently there was no ne
cessity of Stealing the plans or of resort
ing to any irregular or underhand means to
obtain them.
The Army and Navy Journal in discuss
ing the matter in its issue of today dis
poses of the question of secrecy in the fol-
lowing WORDS:
81 90 much has already been said about
this matter, which, as we are informed, IS
all tempest in a teapot and not worthy of
so mucn talk. The fact is that the French
government has made no attempt of late
TO make a mystery of the new gun. 1t be-
came impossible to do when it passed
beyond the stage of experiment and Was
introduced into the service. Some of the
new guns were sent to China, for example,
where all the world could see them and
take note of their peculiarities."
French Precautions Given Up.
more detailed statement to the same
effect is contained in Arms and Explo-
sives,' a British technical journal Of rec
ognized authority, in its issue of the pres
ent month. In an article in regard to the
French 15 nm. French field gun it says:
After making a point of absolute Sc
crecy for couple of years or more, the
French authorities seem to have come to
the conclusion that they can no longer
maintain the air of mystery surrounding
the construction Of the new 15 nm. e. 80
in.) gun. At the maneuvers two years ago
gendarmes were specially detailed to keep
all strangers at a distance from the bat
teries, but this year there was total alb
sence of such precautions, and the foreign
military attaches were enabled to see the
working of the guns quite plainly. An
planation of this change of attitude is
doubtless to be found in the fact that sew
erai batteries equipped with the new gun
are under orders for service in China,
where they can scarcely be maintained un-
der absolute conditions of secrecy.
I'm any case. it is always extremely doubt
ful whether the air of mystery adopted by
all governments with respect to inventions
of a presumably exclusive character de-
ceives any one but the authorities them
selves. We can remember the disturbance
caused by the theft of a Lebel rifle some
years ago, when every one who had an in
terest in knowing its constructive details
was already in possession of the required
information. Possibly there are few rare
instances of warlike appliances being kept
up the sleeve of different powers. The
Brennan torpedo is supposed to be a case in
point. But as regards material that comes
into daily use and is distributed through
branch of the service, the intelligent in
quirer can generally learn all he wants to
know in one way or another"
Capt. Lewis Occupation.
Meanwhile Capt l. n. Lewis, the artil-
lery officer prominently identlned with the
episode. is supervising the construction at
Bethlehem, Pa. of a field gun of the same
general plan that Of the French piece
1t is expected that the gun will be ready
for official test in about four months time