Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-24
Things You Want to Know
EnCuuragiug
Workmanship.

furnishing. by the government. q STANDARD
army rifles to thuse who viii use them
under nroper auspices. 10 would have me
government issue i.O0e 30 such rifles - IN
iivtdual narksmen and thus offer SETTER
sipport 10 the cause Of craftsmanship than
d does now Il is pointed sof thHt there
are az present about 10 universities. col
leves and schUois In the Uuited stntes
whers army officers are detailed and that
these Institutions have an enrolment IN
their military departments ~ about 2.'"s
students. OF these only ~ receive out
door shooting practice and us Eahery
practice In addition % these public insti-
buttons there arr twenty -eiEht military
institutions. with an enrnIlrnent Of E,aa PC
is the ann Of the rifle association 20 fur
nish each Of these students with gun
and make him as efficient in handling it as
A sharnshootpr would need 90 be m case
Of war.
The officials OF the rifle assuciuuon we'll
may strive TO promote effiicency IN the
I handling OF small arms. foE often nc re-
I suit Of a battle Il indeed not rhe outcome
OF a war depends upon the efficiency Of
T the siarpshooter in the BOer var the
highly trained traaps OK tia Engiisn GOV
eminent could not meet. ON equal terms,
the south African farmers VINO rad shout
dered their SUNS in defense of their homes
II vas the ability Of the Beers as sharp-
7 shooters that put the English 20 such DIS
advantage and fureed the mutier country
70 use such vast armies IN cBug'ler.ns
them In the battle Of gettysburg tla
confederate sharushooters nearly Succeeded
in turning the tide OF battle on rl1r Nf'or-
noon Of the second day safely enst-u1
behind the huge houtders 0f Deyls Ter
they picked or the sunneTs OF the tcaulal
forces on the rocky northern slope u little
Round Top as fast as they sought - man
the guns Thus the northern artillery was
rendered almost useless. and IL was only
BY pitrtng their sharpshotters against those
OF the confedsracy that the federals were
able to use their artillery effectively on
LATHE Round Top. II this had not been
done the night OF the second day certainly
would have found Langstreet's men In pos
session OF Little Round Tor. ths key TO
the federal position. Had this stronghold
been taken. the story Of the victory would
in all probability have been different one
II has been calculated by army staris-
ucians that for every man hit in l~.1tie
rom small-arrn IRE there are from 20n
to 500 shots dred. II is said that with
the increasing distance at which troops en-
gage in battle due 70 more efficient equip
ment being used the proportion Of misses
TO hits is becoming even greater In such
a situation II becomes all the more neces-
sary that there shall be thorough training
Of the citizens who are to make M our
army in case Of future war. Not long ago
the Austrian School af Musketry deter
? mined 70 make an exhaustive experiment
with a view OF asceFtaining the influence NJ
- fatigue on rnarAsrnaaship. a squad Of men
> on bicycles rode sixty-five miles in eight
hours after having shot several rounds at
= the targets When they returned they we're
/ a weary looking bunch OF soldiers but in
= the shooting that followed IL was disclosed
9 that the strenuous march had affected the
3 accuracy Of their aim but little. In the
4 case OF raw recruits 1t was found To be diff
i ferent. They could not shoot nearly 50 well
a after forced march as they we're able To
2 do before.
e Revolver shooting is beC0ming more and
= more appreciated in army circles. and this
= arm is rapidly succeeding the sabre and the
d lance in the equipment Of the cavalry Il
= has been found that the improvements made
1 In these small arms nave brought with
them an accuracy 81 aim heretofore
= thought impossible The saber and the
!, lance are useful only in the closest hand
1 to-hand combat while the revolver or the
r magazine pistol may be used at a distance
o Of many PAGES. All nations ara eauippng
r their cavalry troops with these light arms,
n and il is probable that the day Is not
r far distant when the saber viii be one of
X rire things u the past in cavalry equip
1, mene.
Il II has been the claim for many years
e that the poorest marksmen in the world
e are 10 be found on the police forces OF the
a urban communities There has been much
II 10 Justify this assertion. But during the
10 last few years in many communities re-
q volver practice has been required OF the
r. policemen and prizes given for efficiency.
s This has greatly stimulated interest among
!, the blue-cOated fraternity in the art OF ac-
curate shooting. and has led prominent
police officials OF the United States to he-
, heve that the day il not far distant when
the gun OF the average policeman will be
less dangerous To the Innocent bystander
and more dangerous % the criminal
Ri RRzDHRxC =. zAsKU.
e romor-ow-rhs Irrigation Congress-.