The daily sentinel., 1901-01-07
GUNS AND POWDER
MADE IN GREAT QUANTITIES
BY UNCLE SAM.
How tho Modern Rife Il Made-A Few
Moments in = Cartridge Factory-Ths
Csppsr-Coversd Bullet-Soms Modern
GunA.

The arsenals and ammunition 1acto-
ries of the United States are now taxed
to their utmost capacity to fill the Or
ders placed by the government. II
actual warfare Is precipitated In China
1t will OF necessity be on large scale,
with great bodies of troops engaged,
and the government officials have
placed large orders for munitions of
war with which to supply our soldiers.
Although the government has large
and splendidly equipped arsenals at
Washington and Watervliet, where all
the great guns six-inch and upward, as
we'll as the siege and field artillery, are
made. it must in an emergency, such
as the present, rely largely upon pri-
vate firms. That absolute dependence
may be placed upon these corporations
was. however, most convincingly
proved during the Spanish-American
conflict. Not only does the circum-
stance that we are rapidly coming to be
a nation of iron masters eminently
qualify our industrial population to
supply munitions of war at short no.
tics, but the further fact that there are
in each particular line a number of
Arms, all actuated by keen rivalry, in
sure the most expeditions work posi-
BILE. There are, for instance. a number
of firms fitted for the manufacture of
gun carriages of all kinds, half dozen
large plants for the manufacture of
arms and about 10 powdermakers.
1t will more than pay any person to
take peep into one Of the giant ar
mories where the deadly modern rifles
are made. In many of these armories
more than 1000 men are employed from
dawn to nightfall and another 1000
work steadily on through the hours of
darkness, turning out more than 400
rifles, complete and ready for use, each
day in the week. 1t is wonderful when
you see how many different stages the
weapon must pass through before it is
ready to be consigned to the commits
sary department of the United States
army. The making of the forgings, the
flrst step in the task, is itself delicate
. work, and then the gun barrels must be
rolled, bored, turned, rified and tested.
With these preliminary preparations
completed the component parts are
ready for assembling into the finished
weapon. The receiver and magazine
oAO w bC &ItdShSus Ilc WOOucu oIOCh
Joined and the finished gun given it's
final proof. 1t is all done with the sys-
tenn Of clockwork. and very rapidly
moving clockwork it is, too, just at
present, but nevertheless keen eyes
watch every stage of the work and that
they do their work we'll may be i'm
agined from the fact that as rule not
dozen rifles will be rejected by the
government inspectors out of a months
product of plant the size of the one
referred to above.
The intricacies of rifle-making may
well be imagined when 1t is stated that
the receiver Of the rife, which answers
to the breech-box of the big gun and is
the most expensive single part of a
weapon, although it weighs at the start
only little over six pounds, during its
transit through the mandatory is sub
mitted to upward of $50 different oper-
atoms. When the new rifle is pro-
nounced complete final searching ex-
animation is made by experts. Even
the bore is examined by means OF
tiny mirror, which is slipped into the
receiver at the base of the barrel and
thus presents an excellent image OF the
bore. The steel of which the barrel is
made has already been proved capable
OF wfthstanding a pressure of 80 tons
on every square inch of its surface and
the selected walnut of which the stock
Is made was carefully scrutinized when
1t first arrived at the factory.
The same air of business which char
acterizes the rife manufactures is to
be found at the factories where millions
Of cartridges will be turned out during
the next few months If the firms live
up to their contracts with the govern
ment. So urgent is the demand for the
ammunition that the cartridges made
during the day are packed and started
on their journey to San Francisco each
evening.
Some of the new types OF cartridges
require much ingenuity to manufact-
ure. This is especially so Of those in
which smokeless powder is used. and
another novel idea now being carried
out is that of encAsing the bullet in
tiny copper jacket, which enables the
bullet to speed along at the rate of al
most half a mile a second. velocity
that would create so much friction that
the lead would be melted If not pro-
tected in the manner described.