The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1916-06-22

have to face shot and shell unless he
wants to do So Under the enlistment
law the president has power to order
the National guard only within the
borders of the United States lie is
without power to order any guardsmen
into Mexico. To get the guards into
position to be sent across the border,
it will be necessary to ask each guard
to enlist as a volunteer. Only after
such enlistment may he be ordered in
to Mexico. That does not mean that
he may not have the opportunity to
get into battle, as he will be required
to oppose raids or hostile attacks from
the American side.
Badger Guard Second to None.
According to the latest report of
Gen. Miles to the war department di-
vision of military affairs, the Wiscon-
sin National guard is second to none
in efficiency and excellence. In per
centage of companies marked excel
lent" very good" and good" it
ranks with that of New York, Massa
chusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Minnesota, and all other
states. These states are excellent only
in number of men.
The war department gave the Wis
consin National guard the highest
compliment in years when, in 1912, it
issued a special order in which it stat
ed:
1.-THE Wisconsin National guard may
well serve as model in efficiency, dis
cipline and business administration.
Much credit for this is due to the
efforts of Brig Gen. Charles King of
Milwaukee, former adjutant general,
who for many years has been detailed
by the war department as inspector
instructor.
Included in the Wisconsin National
guard are three machine companies
one to each regiment and each equip
ped with four machine guns. These
guns are carried by mules They are
set on one-foot tripods and fire slips
of 30-caliber shells containing thirty
cartridges in 2 Ia seconds. They aver
age 600 to 500 shells per minute, each
shell capable of travelling 81 miles
and penetrating forty-eight inches in
pine at a range of 900 feet These
guns, of which there are 1900 in the
state, pour out streams of lead as
garden hose pours out streams of wa
ter
A of ;,,o oh,
caliber, capable of firing shrapnel or
high explosives, effective upto six
miles.
The rifle which the National guard
uses is the same one used by the army
1t is the 1903 magazine rifle, firing
3O-caliber bullet which weighs $50
grains. The shell contains so grains
of powder. The magazine holds five
shells, which can be fired in rapid
succession. The muzzle velocity of the
bullet is 2,740 feet per second. The
bullet travels 81 miles. 1t will kill a
man at range of one mile, but the
naked eye cannot distinguish a man
at that range. Effective firing is pos
sible only at about 1000 to 1900 yards
or three-fourths of mile.
Will Cost 5000 a Day.
Adjt-Gen. Holway estimates that it
will cost the state $4,000 a day from
now until the Wisconsin troops have
been modified into federal service.
The present mobilization order is
the first general order in Wisconsin
issued since the Spanish-American
war. Three companies were called
out following the Black River Falls
flood in the spring of 1915, but they
remained in service only short time.
An order was looked for during the
American occupation of Vera Cruz in
April 1914, all companies being in
readiness.