The Washington times., 1915-07-01
Individual Automatic Shoulder
Rifle May Have To Be
Superseded BY It.
AMERICA NOT FAR BEHIND
Capacity to Produce This
Weapon in United States
Has Been Greatly Increased.
By JUDSON C. WELLIVER.

BY JUDSON C. WELLIVER.
The developing art Of destruction. as
II Is working In the European war.
promises to exercise a profound influ-
ence on the organization and equipment
Of the American army.
The machine gun seems to have ar
rived Dispatches from the Old World
battle arenas declare that the Germans
are maxim greater and greater use of
the machine gun and are turning out
immense numbers Of 1t.
Before the war opened the American
army. like others. was working to per-
feet an automatic shoulder rife which
was the natural next step In arms de-
veiopment. But the machine gun has
given such excellent account Of itself
that there is now a growing feeling that
the individual automatic may have to be
superseded by the machine gun.
What q Machine Gun Is.
Perhaps at the outset IT ought to be
explained Just what machine gun 10.
Benet-Mercier type. II weighs thirty
pounds. whereas the new model Spring
Geld rife used BY our army weighs nine.
The Benet-Mercier costs about $3.50.
while the Springfield can be turned out
eror about I'LL. though the pressure Of
extraordinary necessity has induced
European countries to spend a good deal
more. even as high as S2s for this type
liveries. H0''h
1t will be understood that the machine
gun isn't lusged nonchalantly around
by every soldier on his shoulder. In
Europe they nre mounting them on
motorcycles. light automobiles, and the
IKE. or Dragging them around with
norses 1t requires at least four men
TO operate one: the ordinary unit of
machine gun hghting details however
ABOUT forty-f1ve men for four guns. BY
making eight-sun units the Overhead
charBe Is reduced to some extent, but
not greatly.
500 Bullets q Minute.
The Benet-Mercier looks very much
like an overgrown and highly compli-
Gated magazine rife. It has a lot Of
mechanism. which includes water
cooler which is highly necessary when
the contraption of death is at work
splitting out 800 bullets a minute, with
another feeds In the long metal strips
that carry the cartridges, and a couple
more. at least. are bringing up the am
munition.
The soldier who actually handles It
places the stock against his shoulder
and aims as II II were an ordinary rife
But the piece has rest" which sup
ports the barrel, making it possible to
front The different types Of machine
guns have various uses Of the recoil
shock, or the escaping gas. to produce
the power that keeps the mechanism
trigger without any effort Of the man
at the breech. His sole business Is to
hold and aim It Most likely in ao-
ton. he will be sitting calmly on q
stool. or lying fat on his stomach.
Individual Automatic Next.
Exactly the place that the machine
gun holds in the evolution Of war i'm
plements. is following the perfection of
the automatic individual gun. The
difficulty Is that the individual weapon
Of this type has not been perfected.
and perhaps 1t never will be. for the
machine gun has attained a usefulness
that points to 1t as the next weapon.
There came first. in this evolution, the
muzzle-loader that used cap; then a
breech- -loader that still required a cap;
then the single barrel, single shot breech
loader. and finally the magazine breech-
loader; The sprinsield type Of this
which are attached five cartridges: the
soldier must pull the trigger for every
shot, and put in a new clip when each
one Is shot out
Logically. the next step would be the
individual automatic, feeding and firing
itself. with the soldier merely aiming
and starting It. But this weapon has
not been perfected. and the machine
CUR. seems to be in ahead of It The
senetMerssr Rss the % sShs ~icRers sunsI'he uisd a
England. the Hotohkiss. used in France,
and so on-use cartridge strips carrying
anywhere anywhere from 25 to $50 cart
ridges; Il Is even possible to fasten
800 clip. which can be fired In a
minute.
U. s. Capacity Vastly Increased.
Machine guns have been made in the
United States arsenals. by the Colts,
and perhaps elsewhere in this country
1t Is impossible to state the present
Government equipment Of them because
this information Is not dealt out now
adays so freely as II used to be for
the public; but this country Is not sa far
behind in this regard as 1t might be.
Capacity to produce these weapons in
this country is likewise a secret that is
carefully guarded. since the American
manufacturers of arms and munitions
began to take contracts with European
governments, Uncle Sans army men
have been furnished the facts concern
Ing capacities of the different arms and
powder plants, on the strict pl, |ge that
the facts should be closely guarded. 1t
Is very certain that the countrys ca
pacity has been increased many hun
dred per cent, but for obvious reasons
the facts are not being divulged The
have been ready with all
facts the Government wanted, and the
detail Of these is understood to indicate
that the United States will have shortly |
a capacity for production that would |
In short time equip a very large army. |
Franco American Product.
Our Benet Mercier type. now In use, |
Is to be superseded before long by an |
improved weapon which, however. is bas- |
cally similar. The machine gun does |
not fire bigger bullet than an individ- |
IAl rifle the caliber of the Benet-M |
Ter is .3O-inCh or thereabouts. But q |
modern rifle of this callber is tremen- /
aousiy powerful and accurate; they are