East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-02-08

Modern and ScrNiccablc Weapons.
Consul II. Albert johnson, in the
following report from Liege, de-
scribes the Belgian industry of max
ing over old army rifles and how they
are sold:
owing to the many and at times
radical changes that have taken place
in the equipment Of the armed forces
of the leading nations of the world,
large quantities Of war material,
hardly the worse for wear but hav-
ing become obsolete, must from time
to me be discarded as unserviceable
and disposed Of, as a rule, as de-
cided pecuniary loss. This fact isl
particularly noticeable in the case of
small firearms, as few implements of
war have been more largely influ-
enced by inventive ingenuity than the
military rifle.
The Purchase Of these discarded
weapons usually sold at public auc-
tion. their subsequent transformation,
and eventual disposition form rather
an important element of the firearm
industry for which this locality Is so
we'll known.
1t Is quite generally supposed that
none but new firearms, the product
for the most part of the larger fac
tories. are shipped from Liege, but
visit 10 one of the several transfor-
nation workshops affords .convinc-
inf evidence of the fact that the eX-
port t.lde in firearms from this re-
gion is far from being exclusively
confined TO the newly made article.
Among the well known makes of
firearms already transformed or un-
dergoing Transformation at the hands
of the Iiege gunsmiths may be mem
toned several thousand Martini rifles
discarded by the Roumanian govern.
ment: nearly the same quantity OF
Gras rifles superseded in France by
the Lcoel. as well as a number of
Combniu and Albini rifles, formerly
used and. to a limited extent, still in
use by the Belgian civil guards.
Methods of Alteration-Sale Prices.
All Of these arms of the single bar
rel type are transformed into the
old fashioned flintlock and percus-
sion guns In order to effect the
change. the barrel. together with the
breech mechanism, has to be remov-
ed and Is replaced by a muzzle load
ing barrel: the lever is discarded,
the wooden stock only remaining in
tact The elongated cartridge can
NOT. Of course, be used in these con-
verted guns which must return toI
the old-time leaden bullet. In a
word these weapons are antedated, so
to speak. some three or four score
years. returning to the type of small
arm that was used by the Napoieonic
troops These transformed weapons,
like other kinds of merchandise, have
their current prices subject to the
Quotations Of the market. At pres
ent prices range from about so cents
10 So. The old Beaumont gun of the
Dutch army is quoted at 81, while its
original cost was S12. The Albini, a
first class arm and I'm good condition,
sells at 80 cents.
Out of some 5000 gunsmths who
ply their trade in their own homes, a
large proportion are engaged in pro-
ducing antiquities, so to speak, as full
ly 80 per cent of these transformed
guns that are exported from Liege are
flintlock piece.
A large profit in this business is
also derived from making use Of the
undamaged parts of these second
hand guns, parts that are usually in
a condition to be profitably utilized,
and substituting in their places parts
Of a decidedly inferior grade.
Restricting Sale of Repeating Rifles.
In many cases, among the discard
cd arms purchased are to be found
excellent and serviceable repeating
rifles. such as the Austrian Mann
licher and the German Mauser,
quoted today at IS and IS respect
lively. These arms are sold, as a
rule to the governments of certain
remote countries generally classed as
uncivIized, and are disposed of with
out undergoing any modification.
with regard to the German rifle, 1t
may be mentioned that the German
military authorities require the pay
ment Of 10 marks (about $3.50 on
each rifle purchased, as a guaranty
that the arm will not be sold to saw
age tribes nor TO irregularly organ
lied troops. this guaranty being re-
funded on the presentation of a re-
celpt Of sale showing that the arms
were not sold to Unauthorized per-
sons.
These Austrian and German rifles,
however, are classed as choice grades
Of arms, and the Sultan Of Morocco,
for instance, has not purchased an
article Of this class, although this
potentate has on several occasions
made rather important purchases Of
secondhand arms in Liege. Not
long ago he bought some 10000
Gras rifles at prices ranging from
$3.50 TO 50. Abd-el-Aziz has also
purchased a few mitrailleuses dis
carded by some Of the armies Of
Europe. and an entire set Of military
tents that had been used by the staff
Of the Belgian army during the an
nual maneuvers
Regarding the smuggling Of arms
and their sale to unauthorized per-
sons, It is. of course. difficult TO get
at anything like reliable data, al