Evening journal., 1900-03-30

GENERAL MILES DISCUSSES PRO
GREss IN MILITARY APPLI-
ANcEs-BEw1LDERING ARRAY
OF INVENTIONS.
In the April number of the Cosmo-
politan just published, Majcr-G
Nelson A. Miles has the following arti-
Gle recalling "A Generation Of Pro-
gress in Military Appliances. He says
During no epoch in history has such
rapid progress been made in warlike
appliances as in the period which has
elapsed since our civil war. The
changes, however, have been more
evolutionary than revolutionary
largely a development and refinement
of materials and principles, many Of
which were known for decades, but
which had to wait for the mechanical
ingenuity of recent years before they
could stand the vital test on the field
Of battle.
For example, the question Of breech-
loading guns for military use assumed
some importance as far back as 1S41;
yet we went into and fought most of
the civil war through with the larger
zle-loaders, and it was only after this
conflict that the breech-loader. respond
ing to satisfactory improvements, was
adopted throughout the world, the
Franco-Prussian war being the first in
which both sides used breech-loading
rifles.
In recent years science has made so
many startling discoveries in such be-
wildering succession that the lay mind
is ready to accept without surprise the
widest nd-of-the-century innovations
IN warlike appliances, and will there
fore probably be disappointed with a
bare recital of the rapid and really
phenomenal improvements in military
armaments. For il must be remember
ed that comparatively slight disparity
in the range of a weapon or in the
rapidity of fire may determine the fate
OF battle and affect the destiny of a
nation.
1t is during the last ten or fifteen
years that the greatest changes and
improvements in the science and prac-
tice Of war have been made, and these
changes are found in the record for the
perfecting Of arms, large and small, and
lcr the repulsion Of missiles.
Conspicuous among these has been
fantry frearm. Sixteen years ago the
armies of the civilized world were car
rying large-bore rifles, varying in cali
Der from .4-inch to only 6-inch. Small
bore arms were beginning to be seri-
ously considered. England, even then,
had just adopted, and was arming her
infantry with, the large caliber Mar
tini-Henry, and as late as 1856 Germany
introduced a magazine rife Of large
bore. In this year France and Portu-
gal led the way by adopting a maga-
zine arm of nearly .3-inch caliber The
other nations followed this lead rapid
ly, the United States holding on to the
45-caliber single-loader until the last
few years, when the entire army was
equipped with the 80 Krag-Jo Jorgensen.
The calibers vary from a little less than
quarter of an inch (French). The
modern bullet weighs about half OF
what the old one did; yet it is much
longer in proportion to its diameter.
The maximum effective range of the
old rifle averaged 1000 yards, while
that Of the new is over 4,100-about two
and one-third miles. The penetration
& in elm of the old Snider was only four
= and one-half inches at 100 yards,
whereas the bullet of the new arm at
4 200 yards goes through 231s inches Of
5 pine The Mauser projectile will pass
8 through five or six men in a row at
# 100 yards, and through one man at
nearly mile. Thirty years ago a sol
E dier considered himself safe from rifle
+ fire so long as he kept behind a good
sized log; now the log would furnish
scant protection.
The attachment to the rife of a
& magazine holding from five to ten
Grounds has added greatly to the rapid
. ity of fire, while the reduction in the
size and weight Of the cartridge it,
self, made possible by more powerful
powder by overcoming mechanical dif-
81 ficulties of manufacture enables the
soldier to carry on his person over 200
charges now. where formerly he carried
& from 80 to 70.
The Introduction Of smokeless pow
der has perhaps brought about the
NJ greatest changes in the methods Of
warfare. France was first to adopt one,
in 1887. followed by Germany in 1889;
while the United States Army. closely
watching the experience Of European
powers has not as yet decided on a
satisfactory formula
In respect to field artillery, We still
lad less than two decades ago old muz-
zle-loading guns. The first important
change was the adoption of the rihsd
oreech-loading field mortars and
howitzers the chief object being TO
reach the enemy under cover behind
81 Eparapets by means of the high-ang.cd
q fire which this type of gun permitted
M The improvements in field artillery
Turing the last ten years have been
III looking mainly toward increase OF Ere.