The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-16
RATIONAL PROMOTION
 OF RIFLE PRACTICE Choice to Be Made Between the Krag and New
 Springfield. CAMP PERRY POPULAR War Department Gratified at Number of Rifle
 Clubs.
CAMP PERRY POPULAR

I Washington, D. C., Nov. 15.-"shall the national rife matches of 1908 be shot with the Krag or the New Spring. fleld?" is one of the most important matters which will come before the National Board for the Promotion of Rife Practice, at it's annual meeting in Washington next January. There is some question as to whether the ord- nance department will be able to sup ply the New Springfield, of "Model 19O3,' as it is. officially designated, to the National Guard in time for the outdoor practice of 1908. Obviously it would be unfair to require the teams to use in the matches rifles to which l they had been unable to. aceustom l themselves in spring and summer practice. At the same time all authori- ties agree that the militia should be 1 armed with the same weapon as the regular army and as the latter will soon be completely equipped with the Model 1903, the equipment of the militia should speedily follow
 The New Springfield would long since have been in the hands of the National Guard had it not been for changes in the ammunition which, while greatly increasing the range and efficiency of the weapons, neces- I sitated re-chambering and thus de- layed their issue A new powder has also been adopted, calculated to re- duce the erosion attendant on high il velocity, and it may take some time to secure a sufficient supply of this pow der. General Crozier, chief of ord- nance, expects to be able to state def initely by Jan. 1, whether the War Department will be in position to honor acquisitions for the 1903 model for equipping the militia in time for9 spring practice, As many of the Krags now in the hands of the mili- tia have sadly worn barrels, 1t is hop ed the new riflesgcan be issued in the spring to avoid the expense of draw ing new Krag barrels only to be short ly discarded for the New Springhelds.
 The National Board will also deter mine the place of holding the nation- al matches ofl190S It is generally un- derstood they wfah again be held at Camp Perry, 0hfoaIWhich range will be extensively improved by next Aug ust. The National Rifle Association has already endorsed Camp Perry. Among other matters to be considered at the January meeting will be the increas- ing work of theJNational Board. Tn 1903 congress created the board ana provided for thfee national matches: a rifle team, an ifdividual rife and an individual pistol match. A small appro- priatien was made for the national matches andlah magnificent trophy was provided fort the team match. From handful of teams the compe- tition has grown until next year every State and territory will probably be represented. In addition to the money the army and navy expend in rifle practice, $500,000 is now annually given to the States and territories for this purpose. To handle the national matches this year required the ser vices of considerably more than one hundred regular army officers and two battalions of infantry. The importance of the National Board has grown with the tremendous increase of interest in the sport and in many quarters it is felt that some steps should be taken toward the organization of at least a skeleton corps to handle the matches from year to year. While the national matches have not increased in num- Der the National Rifle Association is adding to it's prize list each year and the two series being shot on the same range and one after the other. an at
 traotive program Is presented cover ing two weeks. It has been suggested that the prize list of the national matches be increased, not so much in amounts as in the number of prizes, especially in the national individual match, which this year had over sev- en hundred entries
 In connection with the revived in- terest in rifle practice the War De- partment is highly gratified at the pro- gress being made in the organlzat ton of rifle clubs throughout the country, including military and civilian clubs, practiclng with rifles and revolvers. The National Rifle Association, under the energetic direction of Gen James A. Drain its president, is especially active in organizing such clubs, and Lieut.. Albert s. Jones is now devoting his entire time to the work of the N. R A, of which he has been secretary for number of years. Affiliation with this association obtains for the clubs many favors in the way of reduced prices for government ammunition and rifles, medals and National Marks mems Reserve Buttons, etc. The National Rifle Associations permanent headquarters are in New York city.
 While much Attention is paid to the nring of great Huns in tht navy the hlue-jackets are qaite as EoteG tar their skill with small arms. To Com mander Sims, now naval aide to ores- ident Roosevelt, may be .ts,ribed a large share of the credit for the ex- cellence in rifle shooting dSplaye', hy the navy, as 1t was under his direc- tion that the work assumed it's pres ent activity Ill the National Rifle matches this year the navy won the team match, Midshipnan W. A. Lee
 of the Naval Academy, won the Ma tional individual rifle match and the National Pistol match and Midshlp- man H. T, Smith also of the Maya
 Academy carried off tfh titel of mil. itary champion. The navy has 2 splendid range at Guantanamo, Cuba and utilizes other ranges wherever available Practice is expected a