Arizona republican., 1900-08-01
ARTILLERY FOR CHINA
Batteries, Field and Machine Guns
 to Be Sent.

Washington, July 31.-The secretary of war is making special provision for a large artillery force for the Chinese expedition. When the expedition is completed it will be the most complete ever sent from the United States to q foreign port. It will be composed of every branch of the military service. There will be infantry and cavalry, light artillery, heavy artillery and siege guns and siege hOwitzers. A confer ence was held today between General Burlington, chief of the ordnance bu- reau, and Secretary Rcot in regard to sending additional siege batteries.
 A cablegram to General Chaffee. sent yesterday. reqHeSted infornat tion-fEan him as to siege guns and at the same time gave him such information that leads the secretary of war to belieVe that he will not stop at Che Foo on his way to the front. but will go direct to
 Taku on the Grant. Secretary Root said this afternoon that he did not know positively that General Chaffee had received the dispatch. He said that he had acknowledged all previous dis patches. but not the one of yesterday.
 which is thought to show that he had | already left Nagasaki for China when
 1t arrived. It is expected that he will
 reach Taku some time on Friday. Act ing by direction of Secretary Root he will immediately inform himself as to
 the situation in Tien Tsin and the con- dition of the country between Tien Tsin
 and Pekin as relating to an early ad-
 vance on the Chinese capital.
 All reports from China show that ar tillery and cavalry are much needed | General Chaffee is expected to advise the war department without delay as
 to how much artillery should be sent Already orders have been issued for a large artillery force to go to China. but thls Will be enlarged should General ChaHee indicate such a wish. There are two fully organized siege batteries Tn the United States. One is q gun bat-
 tery, the other howitzer battery. The latter is battery O, at Fort Riley. Kas
 which has just been ordered to tba front. In Manila there are other siega guns ana hoWitzers. Whether Manila
 VIII be drawn upon for siege guns is the question now under considerat ton by the secretary of war. There are 2
 number of siege guns in the United
 states not formed into a battery or or5 9nized with a working force. These guns could easily be sent to China nm the freight or animal ships leaving the Pacific coast
 The hoWitzer battery is composed of TOUT '-inch howitzers. distinguished rom the siege guns in that they throw
 shell weighing 105 pounds in q curved ilne' While the siege guns fire 45-
 Pouhder with great velocity in a hori-
 Ho"taI line. It is the latter that would "e used to batter down walls and heavy
 masonry The hOwitzers could do re-
 iiiarAap!e service in destroying build
 iiiSS' as after bursting, they spread
 uestructlon for great distances.
 | III aCiltlon to the siege artillery. field
 artillery of every description is being | provided. Orders have been given for. i two batteries of 75-MM. quick-ffring | leId guns on a non-recoil carria,a 1 Each battery will have six guns mak-
 ing in all twelve guns of this tyne This
 gun is one of the latest productions of
 the Maxim company and can fire from | eighteen to twenty-two shots q minnie | of projectiles weighing about twelve | pounds
 i Orders have also been placed for
 twelve 37-MM.' "pompom" guns It was | this type of gun that the Boers used with such telling effect against the British in South Africa It is practi-
 cally an enlargement of the rifle cali | Der gun and fires a 1-pound bursting l shell at the rate of about 200 per min | ute. The gun is fed from an ammuni- | tion box on the right hand side of the
 rifle, which contains a belt holding l twenty-five cartridges. It is called 'pompom" by reason of the peculiar sound made by the gun in action. It is
 said to have a demoralizing effect on an opposing force, and the 1-pounder shell ! bursting in the ranks of soldiers, while | not necessarily fatal, infiicts many wounds.