Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-03-13
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
War Department Seeking an I'm
proved Army Pistol.
BERRY AND GENERAL HENDERSON.

Discovery-HOspItaI Tent For Use
In the Tropics Devised by an Army
Surgeon.
An important test of pistols is in
progress at the Springfield (Mass.)
armory. The object of these tests is
to secure an improved side arm for the
army, and it is the aim of the ordnance
department to obtain pistols which
will not be open to the objections
which prevail regarding the present
army revolver, says the Washington
correspondent of the Chicago Tribune.
1t is desired to do away with the pres
ent revolver feature of the pistol mech
anism and to find a pistol which will
in effect be an automatic hand ma
chine gun.
There are several other defects in
the revolver now used. Upon the dis
charge of the cartridge the quantity
of gas generated necessarily escapes
through the space between the cylin-
der and the barrel. thus obtaining for
the ammunition less velocity than the
cartridge is capable of giving under
better circumstances. The insertion
of cartridges upon the revolver cylin-
der is obviously slow, as in the piece
now used each cartridge has to be
placed separately. AS far back as
seven years ago pack was produced
which enabled the full revolver charge
to be placed in the Smith &c Wesson
cylinder simultaneously, but this de-
L.
eral reasons, one of the defects being
that the round form of the package
made it cumbersome.
Before the tests now in progress are
completed the ordnance officers will
have examined the German army type
of Mauser pistol, the Bergmanp pistol
and the Mannlicher pistol, all of which
are magazine arms, in competitive
comparison with the Colt and Smith &
Wesson revolvers. The several types
of automatic mechanisms for small
arms are represented in the Mauser,
Bergman and Mannlicher pistols. 1t
is said the escape of gas through the
parts for the operation of the auto
matte mechanisms in these pieces is
neither as great nor as fatal to the eff
cheney of the discharge as the loss of
gas through the space" between the
cylinder and barrel of the revolver.
Another advantageous feature of the
automatic pistol is that the magazine
can be filed speedily with one opera
ton, the cartridges being held together
by a clip in n manner resembling the
assembled charges for the navy type of
the Lee rife.
"This is my fipst visit to Washington
since the present congress met" said
T. A. Acton of st. Louis the other even
ing to q correspondent of the ST. Louis
Republic, land the fact that General
Henderson is speaker of the house re-
calls the last time l saw him. 1t was
at the funeral of Mr.. Bland at Leba-
non. Mo-, last summer.
after the congressional delegation
had paid genuine hOmage-there was
nothing perfunctOry in ito Nilsson
ris great commoner at the grave, most
of the members returned from the Gem
etery to the hotel. A group, including
Senator Berry of Arkansas and Gener-
al Henderson, was sitting in front Of
the hotel chatting when the Arkansas
discovered that it was near
to traintime for him to make his
to leave. Ordering a boy
to bring his bill and feeling in a pocket
for his money, Senator Berry discover
ed that he had lost it. All of his coin
was gone.
Though they had known each other
at Washington for years, the senator
and the present speaker learned for the
first time during the conversation then
in progress that both were In the battle
at Corinth-On opposite sides, of course
and that it was on that bloody field
that each had lost a leg. When the
senator's financial predicament was
somebody in the party face
tiously suggested that the hat be pass
ed around to help the Arkansan home.
General Henderson at this point pulled
out a roll of bills and, proffering it to
his old enemy at Corinth. said: NO,
gentlemen; ! alone claim the privilege |
of helping Senator Berry to get home. |
The distance is too great for one leg
ged man to walk. 1t was I who made |
him one legged. 1 shot off his leg at |
Corinth.'
"'Yes, and now remember that you |
are the man whose leg shot of there, |
too was Senator Berry's retort as he |
accepted enough money to settle the |
bill"
Captain z. L. Munson, an army sur |
geOn on duty at Washington barracks, |
has devised a hospital tent for use in |
the tropics. The modification Of the |
present style consists in cutting out q |
space of u by feet of the roof of the |
tent, the canvas being replaced by a |
rope netting. A false ridge hole is car
red one foot above the true ridge. and |
over this the fly is stretched. The fly |
Is of greater dimensions than the one
now in use.
The advantages claimed are better
lower temperature in the /
tent, free lateral ventilation when tents
ire pitched together to form a ward
and, due to better ventilation. greater