The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-03-11
GUNS FOR TIE NEXT WAR.

At any moment now the world IL
likely to see every great nation suo.
i denly adopt automatic rifles, or ma
chine guns, for every soldier, throw.
ing to the scrap heap millions and
millions of modern repeating rifles.
@Gatlings is the expressive slang for
automatic pistols, rifles and shot guns
as the automatic have the terrors OF
Calling guns, even If constructed on
wholly different principles. Ever.
soldier must be armed with Cat
ling is almost certain to be the or
der of some great nation in few
months. II one starts, the others are
almost certain to jump Also
Gen. William Crozier, chief of oro-
nance OF the United States army. has
recently issued a circular to inveh-
tors telling what would be the desir-
able features of an automatic Shout
der rife and promising tests If any
good designs are submitted. when
| 1t appears that the development Of
the automatic shoulder rife has pro.
crossed far enough plans will prob
ably be made for competitive test
to determine whether any make of
automatic rife is suited to the re
quirements of the United States he
says.
In Europe all the ordnance officers
are sitting in the front seats when
any new automatic goes through its
trieks. Dozens OF models by design
ers of half dozen nationalities have
been tested and developed and sub
mitted A French expert recently said
there are now SO many satisfactory
models that the inventors have be-
gun to copy one another's best points,
bringing them all around to much the
same design.
Automatic shoulder rifles will
weigh only slightly more than pres.
.ent rife models, but they will shoot
many times as fast when the neec
comes. The soldier merely attaches
band of cartridges to the rifle and
pulls the trigger. As fast as he can
pull the trigger, the gun will be on
the job with fresh bullet. He need
not stop after each bullet to pump"
as he does with repeater, and so
he can keep the rife at his shoulder,
fixed on the mark. The recoil is mucn
less than repeater, for it is the re-
coil effects which keep the automatic
at work loading up after each shot
Three objects to the adoption Oh
"gats" have kept the nations back,
but all three are either overcome or
will be soon. The objection thar
there were no satisfactory models for
military service Is disappearing a,
ready. Another objection is doubt
| as to whether or not it would be wise
TO give a soldier gun which took
quantities Of ammunition, and let him
| fire it all off quickly, when more am
munitfon perhaps could not be quick.
| ~ supplied. But there is evident an
increasing belief among foreign army
| officers that an army with "gats"
/ might have an enormous advantage In
tight position, 80 that remedy for
this objection ought to be found, ratA.
er than surrender to 1t.
Biggest of the objections is the ex.
pense. The United States, for in,
! stance. has somewhere in the neigh.
borhood OF million modern Spring
/ field repeating rifles, of the model
adopted following the Spanish war
! lessons. Replacing those with auto
mates would put pigeonhole dust on
congressional economy plans. With
/ the European nations the job would
be even bigger.
! 1t is partly for the purpose OF STAY,
1 ing off the day of tax shivers that
every nation has been working sc
hard to make its repeating rifles
work better than ever. Now they
have been SO perfected that there
seems to be little yet to be invented
for them. They have been made ant
equipped with ammunition So thai
they will shoot in very fiat line a.
long distances which formerly mean
pointing the gun up in the afr. The
curve a bullet from modern repeat
ing rife takes when shot at a mar
i,HVV ydEuS away ib not vary nlSD
and the bullet is likely to wing any
man standing anywhere in the line o
fire.
!. Many years have passed since an,
nation has adopted complete new
model rife. The German rife, 13 years
old. is the newest, and the French re
peater, 25 years old, is the oldest o
! the European models. France is quit
, likely to start the scramble soon OF
. f1cers In her army are urging tn,
: cats" and once there is genera
. feeling that lead can be obtaine,
, over Germany In this way, the "gats
) viii come. Any other nation may ho
, this year; In fact, the circular issue,
by General Crozier shows that tn
United States may get in first, for al
official circular on subject of tflr
!. sort is naturally expressed in the mos
8 conservative terms. Let any natiol
d start it. and the scrap heaps VII
i grow fat.