The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-05-26
UNCLE SANS Old RIFLES
Problem of Disposing of Those
Replaced by a Million Others.
RIFLE'SApVANTAGE,

United States Never Sells Arms TO
Foreign Countries--some Used In
Spanish War Were Old and In.
ferior--Second Hand Dealers Re.
ut and Sell Old Arms.
The auction sale at the United
States armory in Springfield, Mass, OF
nearly twenty-five thousand rifles and
thousands of other small arms ans
wers as an illustration of one Of the
methods the government employs in
disposing Of antiquated implements OF
warfare. This sale brought the gov
ernment many thousands OF dollars,
the money being turned into the
Treasury at washington. The com
demned stores were divided into lots
and rated as serviceable or first, sec
ond and third class unserviceable, ac-
cording to their state of repair.
To follow the rifles after leaving
the second hand dealers would be in
teresting IL such a thing were pos
sible, and would take the curiosity
seeker into many corners OF the world.
Rifles bearing the inscription, Spring
field" have been found in South At
rica, while in the small South Ameri-
can republics, where revolutions spring
UP in a night, many Of the natives are
very familiar with the use of the old
Springfield arm.
OF course the United States
government never sells arms
| to another country, and few
OF the second hand deal
ers dispose of them directly. The ma
jority of rifles sold by Uncle Sam are
not serviceable at the time Of sale,
but the parts missing from one rife
may be supplied from another, and in
| this manner one complete rife OBJ
tained. Many of the second hand deal
ers make 1t their business to refit and
make over old arms and the profit Is
generally large.
But there are other uses for the
old rifles. Colonel Phipps has had
thousands of them cut down for the
State schools and academies where
military tactics are introduced. These
are known as the Springfield cadet
| rifie," and are made wholly from old
| stock.
Another use Colonel Phipps has dis
covered for the old Springfield is that
| of making them into fencing rifles.
/ For this purpose the rifles are cut down
to the length of the new magazine
rife and supplied with bayonet bear
ing rubber tip. The arms are then
allotted to the different posts. Fenc-
ing is PARTICULARLY hard on the gun
stocks. and by using old rifles the new
ones are saved considerable wear.
When the Spanish war broke out
many of the companies which went to
thefront were supplied with old Spring
! field rifles, while their enemies carried
up to date Mausers. There was much
criticism of the Ordnance Department
at that time for supplying troops with
antiquated arms. Thousands of rifles
which had been stored in the arsenal at
Springfield for years went to the 'front.'
This was not the fault of the Ord
I nance Department, but was owing to
the lack of a sufficient appropriation.
Since then the government has awak-
ened to the fact that the country
should always be ready for war, and as
a result appropriations have been
made, and will be made, for the man.
ufacture of nearly million of the
new United States magazine rifles
within the next five years.
After the regulars have been sup
piled the navy and cavalry will be
furnished with the new rife, The mil
itia Of the many States to follow. AT
ter the militia has been supplied work
will be commenced on five hundred
thousand guns to be stored away foi
use in case of war. Most of these
will be stored In Springfield.
There are many advantages claimed
for the new rifle as compared with its
predecessors. Prominent among the
points of superiority are its simplicity
of construction and facility of action
The velocity of the old Springfield RI
fe of .43 calibre, in use before the
Krag-Jorgensen, was between 1,30t
and 1,400 feet a second and that o.
the Krag 1000 feet a second, while the
velocity OF the new rife Is 1900 feet
The bullets to be used with the new
rife have steel jackets. Their greal
NNiOtiuy anu pOWOi vi pphttiotiO
make the new weapon the swiftest and
deadliest of any small arm that hal
been employed in the army and a.
the same time safer to use because O
the increase in range.
Rapidity of loading Is also an advan-
tage of the new gun. and by cut OF
arrangement 1t is possible to shut OF
the magazine supply and use the weap-
on as single loader when desired
The same method may be employed t.
remove the bolt and disable the gur
in case 1t is about to fall into thu
hands of the enemy Still another ad
vantage is that the gun can be takel
apart without the use Of tools 80 fal
as NJ is necessary for the user to dc
so. The rife will carry bullet Ats
yards while the bullet will prove ef