The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-14
RIFLE CLUBS AND RANGES
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
plan to Give the Boys of the Country MiIitar y
Rifle Practice

counted as eight points in ten of eff
ficiency, and yet it is not too much to
say that in our military schools, the
National Guard, and in crack mill
tary companies, at least ten times as
much attention is paid to evolutions
and the manual eat arms as to rife
and revolver practice. But, although
the British soldiers at New Orleans
were probably the best drilled of their
day, it was the squirrel hunters be-
hind the breastworks than won the
day.
The Decline in Marksmanship.
The lamentable decline in the aver
age craftsmanship of American youth
is directly traceable to the lack of suit
able ranges, both indoor and out, and
the national board has turned its at
tention to arousing the interest of in
structors and students in the military
schools throughout the country, in this
subject of rifle and revolver practice
with a view of securing adequate
ranges. There are eighty-nine univer-
Sl6les and colleges in the United States
to which military officers, either on
the active or retired list, are assigned
as professors of military science, and
Ut would be interesting to know how
many of these have rifles ranges. When
Congress some forty years ago first
hOON hP Tic llldllGI VI dppTO-
priations for agricultural schools it
wisely tackled thereon a provision that
schools receiving such appropriations
i'll addition to giving instructions in
agriculture, should provide for dnstruc-
ton in military tactics.
Army Officers in Colleges.
The colleges to which army officers
are detailed as instructors, although
by no means comprising the entire list
of military schools in the United
States, are divided among the states
and territories as follows: New York,
z; Missouri, 5; Pennsylvania, 4; Cali
fornia, Georgia, Tennessee, 3; Arkan-
sas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Massachu-
setts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jer-
sey, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wis
consin, 2 each; Arizona, Connecticut,
Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky,
Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Mexico, North Caro-
lima, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Vir-
ginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, l
each.
Average, of Volunteer Troops.
1t may be assumed that so or 70 per
cent. of the aggregate of large body
of volunteer troops would be under
the age of twenty-five. In states where
boys have commenced business ca
reers at the age of eighteen or twenty,
it is hard for them to get the time,
even if they desired it, to practice
with small arms. TT is therefore es-
sential," says the report of the Board
on this subject, that wherever pos
sible indoor ranges be provided in pub
lie schools and other institutions and
that a special endeavor be made to
promote the use of private and other
ranges by schools"
In treating of this subject, the board
advances a number of propositions for
the consideration of the War Depart
ment and of Congress, as well as of
the heads of the various schools. 1t
points out that very little expense is
attached to the construction of indoor
shooting galleries, and recommends
that special pains should be taken to
see that every public and private
school throughout the country is equip
ped with such a range. Especially
does this apply to those institutions
to which army officers are detailed
which should be required to provide
suitable indoor ranges and demand a
certain amount of rifle practice by
every student as part of the military
instruction.
Ranges for Military Schools.
1t is further recommended that
these schools be required to provide
a range of at least 300 yards and pre-
ferably 500 yards, and that the state
ranges should be thrown open to all
the schools under suitable regulations.
1t is impossible to equip all the schools
with the regulation rife used in the
! army, but the board recommends that
the Krag carbines, which will be soon
| discarded by the United States cav
airy. should be divided among the
schools so that each scholar should
at least obtain a working knowledge
of the arm. This could be accom-
plished by issuing ten pieces to each
school as a part of the equipment
already authorized, and one carbine
to each twenty-five scholars in public