Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-09

|
| Pistol match: Medals, 500; cash prizes,
s235; total. $3.50. Grand total $500.
Use of Hyposcope.
A new match. and one that will arouse
a great deal of interest, calls into play a
| device called the hyposcope. This instru-
| ment was feature of the last meet at
| B.sley. England. and was tried there by
| some of the American rtiemen. 1t is an
| invention which enables a man to shoot
| without being seen, and to spy out the land
| without exposing himself. This is regarded
| as by no means an insignificant accom-
| plishment. for now the armies of the world
are being taught that in the wars to come
| every device of concealment and of taking
| advantage of cover will be employed. The
| hyposcope may be further described as an
| instrument by use of which a rifeman, re-
| naming himself under bullet-proOf cover
| and with nothing but his rifle exposed, may
! aim with perfect security and deltberauon
! al an enemy who cannot possibly see him.
A special target will be built at Sea Girt,
! and an embankment constructed at the
! firing point, behind which each competitor
| will fire. At the Bisley meeting Capt. Mar
| tin of the American team secured third
| place in the hyposcope competition, scoring
| 80 points out of possible 80.
| No entries were received for the West
| Point-AnnapoliS match last September.
! The Sea Grit officials expressed surprise
| that the government did not enter teams of
cadets in this match. At the Bisley meet
| ing, in a competition for the Ashburton
shield, arranged for teams from boys
schools, there were present forty-one teams
| of eight boys each. The day the match
| was shot was the biggest day as regards
attendance of the meeting. 1t is declared
that the attendance of twice as many
school-boy teams could be secured for the
| Sea Girt meetings if the cost of the trans
portaton and subsistence of teams should
be betrayed by the government This fact
| was ascertained by the National Rifle Asso-
| citation of America by sending out circular
letters of inquiry to the schools throughout
| the country.
The program for the meet next Septem-
Der includes the cadet match open to
| teams of five cadets from any male inStl-
tuition of learning in the United States
| where there is maintained course in mill
! tary instruction. with an officer detailed by
| the War Department.: and to teams from
| the West Point and Annapolis academies.
| To the military spectator, trained in the
| strict requirements of discipline the scene
and occurrences that meet the eye on the
| Jersey range during the September meet
| ings are oftimes surprising, and at first
| glance shocking. 1t has not been an I'M
| usual occurrence to meet an officer of com
manding presence, wearing the uniform and
| the two silver stars OF major general
| walking arm and arm with an enlisted man.
| Imagine such an incident happening IN the
| regular army! On the portico of the Beach
| House one evening last fall a major OF the
| deservedly superior 18th Regiment, IN. q.
| S. n. (which, translated, means National
| Guard of the State of New York-was seen
| comfortably resting on the knees of one of
| his non commissioned officers, the pair en-
pertaining a bevy of pretty and admiring
| damsels OF course that a colonel and a
| corporal should sit side by side was not
| considered out of the way. A party that
| occupied one table in the hotel dining room
| was made up of brigadier general lieu
| tenant commander of naval militia, a first
| lieutenant, a sergeant and three prlvates:
They hailed from big state that boasts OF
| he Efficiency and discipline OF Its military
| organiZa ton.
| CHARTERED Promiscuously.
| At the September camp on the range each
| year. always laid out in the most beautiful
| manner imaginable, the line of the Sibley
tents being as perfect as a straight edge,
| the officers and enlisted men are quartered
| promscuously. Among other incidents
| noted in the past, captain was seen busily
| engaged rolling up the walls of tent while
within a private was comfortably en-
| sconced in a big rocking chair, reading
| magazine. Such thing as saluting is, so
| far as can be learned from observation,
| entirely unknown at Sea Girt. 1t is not
| at all unlikely that should an enlisted man
| be guilty of the incredible act of extend
| ing the usual military courtesy to a pair
| of shoulder straps the officer concerned
| would promptly seek an explanation. But
| such democratic procedure seems to be the
| proper course at Sea Girt. The men In
| uniform go there to hit the bulls eye as
| regularly and often as possible, and
| when they face the targets rank Is eliminate
| ed 1t is case of sharpShooter against
| sharpshooter, and very often the individ-
| ual in the garb of the private soldier proves
| to be a better shot than he who wears the
| gold lace decorations.
The reservation that embraces the rifle
| range and the camp grounds of the state of
| New Jersey is, IN reality, from q military
| standpoint, a thing of beauty and joy-for
| the time being, If not forever. From the
| ocean shore the reservation extends inward
| to the railroad, a distance of little less
| than one mile. The sward Is as level and
| as green as the surface of billiard table
| Skirting the grounds is a perfect roadway.
| section of the northwestern part of the
| reservation is fenced off, and within this
| Interior stands the official summer resi-
| dence of the governor of New Jersey. When
| he is staying there the governors flag
| floats to the breeze from a mammoth flag
| staff The cottage is surrounded by flower
| ing shrubbery and identifying plants.
| When firing the rifiemen face In the direc-
| ton of the ocean. The butts where the
| targets are located in long rows have been
| built just of the beach Where 1t is pos
| sible to have grass, the conditions are those
| of a well-kept lawn. In front of each
target is its numerical designation in fig
| ures immense in size. About seven hun
| dred yards from the shore line is the main
| firing point. There white pegs are located
| bearing numbers that correspond, respec-
| lively. with those in front of the targets,
SO that rifieman cannot present a good
excuse for shooting at bulls eye as
Is In progress red danger dags are visible