New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-10-16
ARMY PROGRESS REVIEWED
.>-oTrS OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR
1901 ISSUED BY THE WAR
DEPARTMENT.

Washington oct. 15-Stored with complete ana
interesting information concerning every braheh Oh
every army in the world, and replete with me l.
lustratfons and maps Notes of Military Interest
g. roo, ., md publlc to-day by Lieutenant Colo
mol W i simpson chief Of the military informa-
ttor division is one Of the best volumes of its kind
ever. issued from the War Department Inc matter
y,,,s ,on,riled and arranged by Captain r. a Ed
wards 18th Infantry; Captain J. ;. HERON "a
Cavalry: First Lieutenant Fl. B. Ferguson. corps
of Engineers and Second Lieutenant r. 5 Clark
9Th Infantry with the assistance of the military
attaches Al the various foreign capitals
The drst pages of the volume are devoted to the
military budgets of the various countries for 1902,
with interestE, comments and comparisons The
organization of military establishments Is then
taken up and the changes In The makeup of the
British Russian. Swedish. Servan. Brazilian and
Argentine armies are dealt with at length
OF especial interest in view of the efforts Of the
United states army to settle upon type OF field
Gun is the chapter on field artillery 1t is pointed
out that there are only two general types Of mod
eru field guns. namely guns on rigid carriages and
guns with recoil devices the carriages, and 1t is
said that neither Of these types has yet obtained
unanimous preference. The greatest possible rapid
lty of fire is not obtained with the guns on rigid
carriages hut they possess marked advantages in
simplicity strength and lightness of material. and
their faults said To he the failure Of the car
rage 10 maintain the exact first firing position and
the uncertain action Of the spade in hard ground.
With the rccoi carriage guns. the mechanism of
which returns the gun To the original firing posi-
ton great rapdity % fire is obtained, but the
pom has its disadvantages in the way Of complex
ity Of mechanism. increased weight and liability
To fatal injury In action. As yet France and Ger
many are the only countries whose artllerists
actually armed with rapid fire field guns. France
uses a gun with recO on the carriage. Germany
uses the rigid carriage type, and Russia. Italy Bel
GUM and Sweden have also adopted guns with rigid
carriages Norway has adopted a gun OF the re-
i,.te alr al
sortmeut Of both types In the japanese field
gun. it is said, the recon seems to be taken up
on the carriage other countries have not yet made
final decisions Drawings and several pages OF
reading matter describe the new French field piece
after which the Lewis" gun. recently tried by the
board on ordnance and fortihcations at Fort Riley
and Sandy Hook. is generally supposed have
been modelled. but has been taken TO touch
ON the rccoi mechanism. which, after all. is the
distinctive feature OF the gun.
The Importance OF field howitzers and mortars
FOR high angle firing. and as a part OF the field
artillery is said is generally recognized abroad
France has a 12-ceutimetre field howitzer, but IT
has proved too heavy for field use. and lighter
model of the same calibre VIII probably BE- adopt
"a soon Germany has both a heavy and Hight field
hoUtzer. ana Russia has "a l5.e6-centimetre field
@ .5I n,a-" ia, riI l l I,y
have only their l5-centmetre siege howitzers
which are too heavy FOR field work Mexico has
an s-oenttmetre mountain mortar.
In a chapter on machine guns. attention is called
20 the fact that thc practical gun Of this lass
the Civil War. ana the Renye mtrailleuse secretly
manufa.i 'rrd in France prior to the war ~ 1870
and until quite recently limited In caubrc %
small arm ammunition The 1-pounder Maxim ma
POM ara ,s,G With sish deadly Etc, by the Roers
I'm South Africa is The hrst machine gun OF calibre
in nm xriasl4 sbd i Whogc werht i nus, STOW low
s by That clause in the ,'' St Fcters6arg deciar5-
ZION ~ ,Ss, which enjoiued thar no explosive pro-