Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-06-29
WILL MAKE RIFLES
Orders Received to Prepare Small
Arms Plant at Rock island
Arsenal.
NEW SERVICE ARM ADOPTED
wiz Turn Ont 125 Per Day Here and
Present Force Will be
Doubled.

/ j.
ant at Rock Island arsenal, is in re-
ceipt of orders which insure that the
manufacture of the new service arm,
which has finally been approved by
| the secretary of war, will begin as
soon as preparations can be made to
manufacture it. 1t is estimated that
| it will require six months time be-
fore this work can be actively begun.
The orders that have been issued
call for the manufacture of 375 of the
new guns per day. Of this number
125 will be made here and $50 at the
Springfield armory. All the machines
especially designed to make the new
gun with the gauges and models will
be constructed at Springfield, where
the making of small arms has been
reduced to a science and very Elf
cient. force of men is employed.
Need Special Machines.
While all of the machines for gen
eral purposes in connection with the
manufacture of the rifles are ready
at Rock Island arsenal, there will
have to be IA number of automatic de-
made for the purpose and that will
be done in the east. y large number
of minor tools and fixtures have yet
TO be provided and material purchas-
ed. Six months is considered ample
for all of these preliminaries to be
arranged and at the end of that time
some of the skilled workmen will be
brought here from Springfield to
serve as a nucleus to the force that
will be gradually assembled. In the
end the manufacture of small arms
win probably about double the force
employed at the arsenal.
The manufacture of the Krag-Jor-
gensen rifle will not be discontinued
at once Though there are plenty of
the arms for the regular army there
are many others needed for the state
militia and il is also highly desirable
that the large force of men now at
Springfield. where they are made, be
kept together. If they should he al
lowed to become scattered it would
require years to again secure and or
game a force that would reach the
present state of efficiency.
The new arm is practically the
same as has been described in its
various parts from time to time. 1t
is of 80 calibre, with 24-inch barrel.
In general it closely resembles the
Krag-J orgensen, but it has six inches
less of barrel, wood all along the bar
rel, a much shorter sightbase and a
rather sturdier and stockier contour.
1t is built to stand brutal usage and
still be a good gun. 1t is the design
that it shall break heads and door
panels without breaking in two at the
small of the stock. II takes a fuller
and kicks some harder. but the men
get used to that hammering after
they have stood up to it awhile, and
really like il in the end. The action
of the new gun is very similar to that
of the Krag-Jorgensen
In general. it may be stated that it
is a remodeled and vastly improved
Krag-Jorgensen. The latter was
weak at some points, and those weak
nesses the new gun is meant to elm
mate. In short, after comparing this
gun with all others in use in ali the
armies of the world, and with all pri-
vate models. the ordnance department
Of the United States government
thinks that in this new weapon it
has the most serviceable and effective
arm made.
VIII Need Name.
Now that the type of gun has been
adopted it seems that the next thing
the war department ought to do is to
give it a good name. Therefore it
seems that it is pertinent to again
suggest that no better name can be
found for it than the Rock Island.
after the local arsenal. While the