Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-05-25
FRENCH GUN MAKERS
creusot Artillery Not Inferior to that
of the krupps.

creusot Artillery Not Inferior to that
Of tho krupps.
1 have just completed four days
visit the holy Of holies OF France
her most sacred, most secret, most
rigidly guarded possession In war
time. l mean the great cannon man
ufacturers at LIE Creusot, controlled
by Schneider & Co., the only concern
in the world that has rivaled the
Krupps in the magnitude Of its pro-
duction, even SURPRISING them, ac-
cording to a majority Of artillery ex-
perts, in the ingenuity Of its work.
1 also passed day at the great
government arsenal at Bourges, where
artillery officers receive their training
and where explosives are manufactur-
ed for the shells, which are also made
in the steel works Of LIE Creusot.
The trip was arranged after longer
and more profound thought on the
part Of the ministry Of war than that
preceding any permissions granted
for journeys to the firing line. In fact
this Is the first time In the history OIL
the works that newspaper men have
been taken there. AS on my trips to
the front, was accompanied by an Of
ficer Of the general staff.
Ever since the war OF 1870, lie
Creusot has been the great secret OF
the French government, not even the
name becoming we'll known to the
world in general, as has Essen, the
home Of the Krupps. Nevertheless, In
several recent wars several nations
that got badly battered learned that
lie Creusot was responsible fol
Schneider & Co., have sold cannon to
all applicants except Germany AND
Austria-those countries always hav-
ing been on the black list.
England first got taste OF the
Creusot guns at the hands OF the
Beers; but the real test came In the
recent Balkan war, at the battle OF
Lule Burgas, when the Bulgarians and
Serbs caused the debacle Of the Ger
man-organized Turks. Then every
press dispatch in the world carried the
significant line: 1.-THE Creusot cannon
sitenced the Krupps." Since then
European artillery experts have been
in the habit Of making the remark
which the public still declines to ap-
propriate-"The French army has the
best field artillery in the world"
The present war has proved them
right; for, excepting Germany's heavy
siege mortars Of 44-centimeters, the
Creusot "75s" have had the best OF
every artillery argument on the battle
line. In fact the Krupp's IT'S especi-
ally designed to combat the "75s' have
been pronounced a failure.
So, on my trip to the LIE Creusot,
did not think about the "75s;" that
question was settled. What l wanted
to know was whether France had
evolved, since the work accomplished
by the German mosters at Lege,
Namur, Maubeuge and Antwerp. can
now say-for l have seen-that France
has, not one, but two types Of artil-
lery that will beat anything belonging
to Germany.
Before proceeding further, let me
explain that the captain who accom-
panied me on the trip, and who will
personally censor. this article, only to-
day obtained from the minister Of war
the exact data of what I am permitted
to describe. His censorship will be
more rigid than that previously ap-
piled to any story ever cabled. He
told me that l would not be allowed
to say whether the new types of guns
were howitzers or mortars, and that
| the ranges and weights Of projectiles
must not be given. So shall merely
call them cannon, leaving out more
specific details.
Frenchmen rarely attempt to make
"the biggest in the world" OF any
thing. They prefer perfection to size.
They are perfectly willing to let the
Germans make the biggest things. So.
despite the scores Of stories told in
Paris about the new monster French
guns, bigger than the biggest German
dreams, l can say that the biggest OF
the new cannon are not so large as
the German 2-centimeters. My cap
tain has just told me that perhaps
will be allowed to mention the size OF
the largest new type; so l change It,
1t is 37-centimeters, or five centime-
ters smaller than the German Jack
Johnson" That is to say, it's bore is
fourteen and one-half inches. 1t is
called lie Vainqueur" / have seen
| these guns q may not mention their
NUMBER; have examined each part
of them and handled them; I have
seen their shells in the making from
, the moment the great mass of molten
steel, weighing tons, was poured from
furnices like the old-fashioned hell
through the process Of shaping. where
ten men are required to handle one
shell, up to the moment the shell was
ready for the insertion Of the explosive
| and it's fuse. l have compared 1t with
the German 42-centimeter shells, one
Of which fell uneXploded near Vardun
| can affirm that this French shell is
bigger and more deadly than the Ger
man; that 1.-The conqueror" is the more
powerful weapon. I know it will have
convincing effect upon Germany
when, perhaps, it hurls its steel fury
against the forts Of Metz. All l can
say further about this type is that the
date Of it's going into action is very
near.
But, remember, I said there were
two new French types. OF the second
and smaller type I may not speak at
all, except to say that it is Of a very
odd size.
| During the recent visit Of n news
paper man to the Krupp works ne
was spied upon in a room hung with
mirrors, his every movement was fol-