Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-03-19
SAN MAKES GUNS.
e Secrecy IN the Work-Final
fC .r- 81 the Rifles.


TCin- of the Rifles.
osr Fe-y yoarg government be-
Hlan actaring guns at Spring
le-a back ia 1871. and has been al
r. 81 practically the same sites. ever
since. Early in the nineteenth cen
turT the water shops" were start
Cd nearer the river than the main
er nal, for forging the heavier
pieces. and as the water shops
they are known to this day.
IN the two places 500 men are
employed and ! 1000 magazine rifles,
cfn be turned out in a day II there
were any extraordinary pressure,
necessitating double shifts, or even
two and half shifts, as in war
tine, the output would be CORE
spondingiy greater
Up to 1892 the rife known as
the Springfield was the regulation
gun used ia the army. At that time
a change was made TO the Krag-
Jorge nsen, which was manufactured
az Springfield continuously from
that date 10 within the past year or
so Now a new model has superse-
ded the g-Jorgensen. 1t IS Off
ctally known as the United States
rifle Of 1903. and is supposed to in
corporate all the best features OF the
most improved army rifles the world
over.
There is no particular necessity
for secrecy in the manufacture OF
small arms Any government can
easily get specimens of those made
IN other countries. Col. Phipps, the
commanding officer at Springfield, Sc
cures foreign made rifles and has the
experts at the armory take them to
pieces and report on the details of
their construction.
OF course other countries do the
same with our rifles, so that there
is not much danger of spies at
Springfield; or, rather, not much OF
an excuse for spying. Nevertheless,
permits TO visit the armory are not
issued 10 foreigners, and the law re-
quires that every employee shall be
a citizen Of the United States
Exceptions. Of course, are some
times made to the rule against ad-
hitting foreigners Some time ago
number of Japanese visited the ar
senal In a sort OF continued story"
manner. The first one had a spe-
cial request to study up the subject
Of sun stocks. The second was in
tcrested IN the barrel Another was
yeatisaling the magazine; and so
on. by the time the continued story
was concluded the Japs had studied
the whole gun, lock, stock and
barrel"
One of the results was that the
japanese have been buying quanti-
ties Of American black walnut for
gunstocks. Because OF it's greater
density black walnut is the pre-
ferred wood everywhere for this
purpose, but the American product
is not as good as the European.
The employees are not under mill
tary discipline OF any sort. One
would expect to find the place heav-
lily guarded; for no particular rea-
son, Of course. since no one is likely
to try to lug off case Of rifles. Still.
the ordinary civilian would not be
surprised TO find a soldier camped
down at every door and peering
watchfully from every window.
II is therefore surprise to find
that there are exactly forty-three
soldiers stationed there. A sentry
at each gate seemed perfectly ade-
quate for the protection of a lot OF
which nobody wants.
To guard against imperfections
every gun made at Springfield Is
fired FIVE times. A charge one and
a half times the usual one is used,
in order to develop possible seams,
formed by a blow hole drawn out in
the making OF the barrel. An en-
closure, COO by 60 feet in size,
serves as a range. where all guns are
tested as to their aim, a process
known as targeting Expert marks
men are constantly employed at this
work.
The firing quality of rife is
somewhat variable; depending on
the cartridge, the atmosphere and
the man behind the gun, All guns
shoot better in warm weather than
In cold, owing to the effect OF heat
on the explosive force of powder. A
temperature Of more than 20 de-
grees rapidly. increases the initial
velocity OF a discharged bullet. while
lower temperatures as rapidly de-
crease it. The question OF tempera-
turo, therefore, directly affects the
verified acc Tracy of a gun; a loss.
for instance, OF a velocity of so feet
per second requiring a higher aim
then what might be called the nor
nal one
As for the man behind the gun,
one sa. sight thirty-second of an
tugn igher in The V than another;
stg,coly appreciable distance to
che ordinary gunner himself, but in
sizes OF the present length of range,
ua5agh 10 cause them to fall short
O. % oycrshOot.