The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-12-13
Senate Committee Is
Busy Investigating
Cr0zier Continues Testimony
War Department Expects To Show
Proper Progress.

1
WASHINGTON, Dec 13-The con-
gressional drive to get the facts about
the conduct of the war was in full
swing today.
The senate committee on military
affairs today continued examination
of Major General William Crozier,
chief of the bureau of ordnance. The
general was being subjected to a rig
Orous cross examination behind clos
ed doors in an effort to fix the re-
sponsibility for the shortage of rifles
and ordnance in the army. The war
department is confident that it can
show satisfactory progress has been
made under the conditions and that
every necessity will be supplied to
the men in cantonments in increas-
ing consignments from now. When
Geeral Crozier completes his testi-
money other staff officers will be
summoned after which the committee
plans to call in line officers and en-
listed men from the training camps.
When the committee took up the
changes made in the manufacture of
small arms to make all ammunition
interchangeable, General Crozier went
into detail in relating how the con-
Germs making British Enfield rifles
were made to change the bore of the
gun so that the ammunition as used
in the Springfield rifle could be used.
General Crozier said that the changes
made involved delay.
At this juncture the general stated
that the average daily production OF
rifles in the United States had been
reduced from 10000 in March to about
5000 now.
"Why is that?" demanded Senator
Weeks of Massachusetts.
1.-The production tapered off, said
General Crozier. "The producers al
lowed their organization to get sep
arated. Men left their employ and
they had difficulty in getting them
back again. There were also short
ages of necessary materials. We fore
saw the condition and so did they
but we could not stop it entirely"
Reverting back to his earlier tes-
timony regarding rifle shortage Gen
eral Crozier insisted that the rifle
shortage was not important.
1T amounts to almost nothing" he
/, said mo American soldier will be
delayed five minutes getting into ac-
ton because of lack of a modern
rifle" he continued.
Aren't there hundreds of thous-
ands of our men in the training camps
without rifles ?" asked Senator Hitch
: cock.
mo, sir, there may be thousands
but not hundreds OF thousands" an
swered the general.
General Crozier said that a rifle tC
each man was not absolutely neces
sary in the training of the men in the
cantonments because by arranging fol
different drill hours two or three meI
could be trained with each gun.
1.-The rifle shortage is not going tC
affect one iota the time when W.
shall get an effective force into ac
ton" said General Crozier.
Questions by Senator Chamberlain
at this juncture developed that a short
age of small arms ammunition pre-
vented troops in training from getting
adequate target practice before be
ing sent to France.
1.-THE manufacture of ammunition
!. |. couldn't be gotten under way fas
. . enough" explained General Crozier
1t was also brought out that onl.
' about rs per cent of the nationa
: guard has been equipped with tn
! modern 1903 Springfield model rifle
General Crozier declared that tn
advantages gained in making the
!, changes of machinery at privat
u plants to make standard army ammu
milton fit the British Enfield riff
were worth all the delay involved
Senator Chamberlain asked wheth
er it was not fact that by changing
n the bore of the Enfield rifle to fl
American standard ammunition, tn
:, war department had untitled tn
, American army rifle for using an,
European ammunition. General Croz
4 ier replied that the ammunition use
in Europe was of a different calibre
: Senator Chamberlain wanted t
know whether the dispute over tn
. adoption of the Lewis gun did no
J, have a whole lot to do with the della
a in getting machine guns.
: Eyes, it occasioned some delay" an
swered General Crozier.
Members of the committee aske
the general what had been done 4
y the way of getting an adequate mum
: Der OF machine guns for the Ameri
. can army after the appropriation TO
the purpose had been made in con
: gress in August, 1916
; THE principal thing done was I
: set the time for a test of machin
:. Continued on Prrs g.