Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-07-21
]. 5, NAY ADOPT
AUTOMATIC RIFLE
OFFICERS DISAGREE OVER MER.
ITS OF RIFLE AND MA
CHINE GUN.
THE FOOT SOLDIER
DEPENDENCE OF ARMIES
Transportation Of Ammunition 10 the
Great Problem A. infantry Men
Cannot Carry Supply For Long
Fight-Methods Of Transportation
sousht-War to BE More Deadly.
Especial Correspondence.l

Washington, July 20.-The next big
development of the art of scientific
fighting in the army may be the adop-
ton of an automatic rifle, for use.
primarily, of the infantryman. If used
for infantry. its use will be extended
to the cavalry and other troops using
the rifle.
Lately, there has been great deal
Of talk of the machine gun supplant-
ing the infantryman and his rifle. Ac-
cording to this theory. battles in the
future would become largely a contest
between two sets Of machine gun OPP
orators and field artillery gunners.
American Officers Dissent.
But. American artillery officers say
this is stretching it. They say the ma
chine gun is an effective weapon but
| that the infantryman with his deadly
rifle can not and will not be spared.
In the first place, they point out that
Wien all is said and done the most
mobile part of an army, the part that
is never stopped ty mud and rarely
by other obstacles. is the foot soldier
who relies for his transportation on
his two feet.
War has developed wonderfully with
respect to use Of artillery and machine
guns" say the experts, but after all,
the infantry with their rifles is the
backbone Of an army"
That being so, the question is how
to increase the effectiveness of the
infantry. Just now, the possibilities OF
the automatic rifle are being carefully
studied.
It may well be, in the opinion Of Of
ficers who have pondered the subject
deeply that the infantry equipment Is
to make In the near future as much
progress as when. in the closing months
OF the civil war. and the years soon
following Il. the muzzle-loading rife
Was replaced with the breech- loader
and the repeater.
Not Problem Of the Rifle.
Singularly enough. the real problem
with reference to the adoption OF an
automatic rife for the army is not a
problem Of developing such rife at
all! Goo3 automatic rifles have been
developed Major Hawkins Of the ord
nance department has invented and
developed an ar,D that is pronounced
admirable By ordnance authorities
The problem. then. is not the rife
itself bat how TO transport ammuni-
ton enough to supply the troops that
use Il Until this problem is solved
1t Is plan the automatic rifle would
nc, be rsebl, except IN trenches or
where troops were posted With the idea
they would not move from their posi-
tons.
With the present infantry rifie the
expenditure of ammunition is tre-
mendous. A soldier can not carry
enough cartridges to last hiyg pig in
hot fighting. The rife ba lnless
automatically 9sled, or com. ELY en-
cased, gets .soS 81 it will b.&ter the
hand. The mss ST the barrel wears
out rapidly. M1tA a automatic rife
firing two or three shots second,
the expenditure of ammunition is still
greater and the wear on the gun
greater.
For the reason that a way must be
found to transport the needed ammu-
milton II the automatic rifle can be
utilized away from trenches and in all
kinds OF service, and the way has not
been devised, the automatic rifle has
not been adopted. But solution is
being hunted for and if it can be found.
there will be another step taken to
make war more deadly