Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-25
ENCOURAGING
Workmanship.

furnishing By the government, Of standard
army rifles to those who will use them
under proper auspices. II would have the
government Issue 100000 such rifles 10 In.
diudual marksmen and thus offer better
support 20 the cause OF mnrksmanship than
II does now, 1t is pointed out that there
are at present about 100 universities. col
leges and schools In the United States
where army officers are detailed and that
these institutions have an enrolment In
their military departments Of about 5000
students. OF these only s,2es receive out
door shooting practice and s12S gallery
practice. In addition to these public insti-
tutions there are twentyeight military
institutions, with an enrolment OF 800 IL
Is the aim of the rifle association to fur
nlsh each OF these students with gun
and make him as efficient in handling II As
a sharpshooter would need to be in case
Of war
The officials OF the rifle association well
may strive 70 promote efficiency In the
handling of small arms. for often the re
suit OF a battle, II indeed not the outcome
Of war, depends upon the efficiency OF
the sharpshooter, In the Boer war the
highly trained troops OF the English gov
eminent could not meet. on equal terms
the South African farmers who had shout
dered their guns In defense of their homes
II was the ability OF the Beers as sharp
shooters that put the English to such dis
advantage and forced the mother country
to use such vast armies in conquering
them. In the battle of Gettysburg the
confederate sharpshooters nearly succeeded
in turning the tide of battle on the after
noon OF the second day. Safely ensconsed
behind the huge bouders Of Devils Den,
they picked off the gunners OF the federal
forces on the rocky northern slope Of Little
Round Tor as fast as they sought to man
the guns. Thus the northern artillery was
rendered almost useless, and II was only
by pitting their sharpshotters against those
of the confederacy that the federals were
able TO use their artillery effectively on
Little Round Top. II this had not been
done, the night of the second day certainly
would have found Longstreet's men in pos
session OF Little Round Top, the key to
the federal position. Had this stronghold
been taken the story of the victory would
in all probability have been different one.
1t has been calculated by army Stats
ticians that for every man hit In battle
from small-arm fire, there are from 1900
to 5000 shots fired. 1t Is said that with
the increasing distance at which troops en-
gage In battle, due to 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 up our
army In case OF future war. Not long ago
the Austrian School of Musketry deter
mined to make an exhaustive experiment
10 txfI,, anf
fatigue on craftsmanship squad Of men
on bicycles rode sixty-five miles in eight
hours, after having shot several rounds at
the targets When they returned they were
a weary looking bunch of soldiers but In
the shooting that followed II was disclosed
that the strenuous march had affected the
accuracy of their aim but little. In the
case of raw recruits II was found to be diff
ferent. They could not shoot nearly 30 well
after a forced march as they were able to
do before.
Revolver shooting lie becoming more and
more appreciated in army circles, and this
arm is rapidly succeeding the sabre and the
lance in the equipment OF the cavalry. 1t
has been found that the improvements made
in these small arms have brought with
them an accuracy of aim heretofore
thought impossible The saber and the
to-hand combat, while the revolver or the
magazine pistol may be used at a distance
of many PAGES. All nations are equipplng
their cavalry troops with these light arms,
and II Is probable that the day is not
far distant when the saber will be one Of
the things Of the past in cavalry equip
ment.
It has been the claim for many years
that the poorest marksmen in the world
are to be found on the police forces OF tho
urban communities. There has been much
to justify this assertion. But during the
last few years in many communities re-
volver practice has been required Of tho
policemen and prizes given for efficiency.
This has greatly stimulated interest among
the blue-coated fraternity in the art of ac-
eurate shooting, and has led prominent
police officials of the United States to be-
lieve that the day Is not far distant when
the gun Of the average policeman will be
less dangerous TO the innocent bystander
and more dangerous TO the criminal
III FRBDERx0 J. KAsKIN.
TomorroW--ThO Irrigation Congress.