Evening journal., 1917-12-05
"LEARN TO SHOOT"


tier OF wild and uncutyatcd country which afforded the
utmost OF desoation and danger in many and terrible
farms ami demanded the utmost sacrifice and priva-
ton from those who challenged its supremacy
vbo IN this advanced age can conceive let alone ap-
nreciaie the bardshps the early pioneers suffered Far
from the bauns Of civilization they made their homes
ceneraons before the advent Of the steam engine the
telegraph and the application Of electricity Tor hsht-
ing purposes the days when the stage coaches were
the only means Of transportation at the disposal OF
the public and the delivery Of mail comparatively
short distances was matter Of months instead Of hours
ne AZ nresent when the nearest neighbor might live
distance which could not becovered within several days
travel and such rennemens churches, doctors etc
were not thought Of because they were beyond the
bounds Of possibility, the very nature of life on the
frontier was such to make for hardly vigorous and
resourcefu people.
Methods Of removing the forests and tilng the soil
were necessarily crude because Of the absence Of even
ih, imperfect tools and implements Of the time. And
so men came depend in large measure for susenance
and even life ITSELF upon the rife, which was an es-
sentia part Of their equipment They became expert
marksmen who made every shot count because powder
and ban were expensive and dnlcult to procure and
because a shot wasted often invited serious conse-
quences.
out Of this crueible then It is not strange that
race of marksmon should emerge whose supremacy mas
often been proven in the succeeding years And u mas
ever been our boast that whatever else we may have
neglected in the way of athletics, we must still be
reckoned with on the rife and shotgun ranges
With the advance Of civilization. the necessity for
knowing how to shoot became less and less pressing
with the result that while may not have lost our
Inherent love Of firearms 1t certainly cannot be said that
the same proportion OF men are now expert marks
men as was the case two, three four generations
back
In time the art Of shooting came to be frowned
upon in certain circles and among certain peoples VINO
advanced ihe theory that when you taught man to
| "a q s-nnn nIe tauQh
how to kill his felow-men. and therefore the art Of
shooting should be dispensed with being dangerous
TO society at large
And these serious, though misguided, theorists were
not lacking in followers. Unheeded went the lessons
taught by the Boer war when time and time again
mere handus South Africans who knew how to shoot
defeated and put to rout Of the besdrlled reg-
ents that ever came out the British Isles Unheeded
were the lessons learned in our experiences with
England with the Indians and with Mexico-
Even Great Britain needed not the lesson learned IN
the Boer war despite the repeated urgings Of Lord
Roberts, and Nhen the present had to be faced as
a stern reality England sadly lacking in men who
knew how TO shoot.
shooting" said Lord Roberts, "is seven-tenths Of
soldiers business" And when Lord Kitchener was
getting Englands ready for the present war, h'
asked that they be taught to shoot and that quickly
regardless OF whatever else they learned.
We are now at war. We have means Of knowin
how long II may last or to what lengths we may hav
20 20 10 bring II TO successful conclusion. IL Is
fundamental fact however. that every soldier we hav
TO send across the water will have TO learn TO shoe
~f~ he does mol already possess This knowledge Ho
much better for the soldier for the country and FOR on
common cause had every Of soldiers known ho
TO shoot when he entered the service To train ma
in the art Of shooting is long and expensive process
Our forefathers shooters In fact It has bee
said that we were nation Of shooters. great man
men Of the present day know how to use and properl
care for gun Events proven that such knowleds
should be part OF the elementary education Of ever
boy. When we train boys in the art OF boxing,
does not necessarily follow that mebins priz
lighters out Of them. Nor does follow that men wh
know how TO shoot are going to develop into mul
Is derers --cTN A
A man who knows the proper care and use Of hr'
arms and who occasionally goes out for little rifle, r.
volver or shotgun practice is pretty apt to be sar
and level-headed person. good sportsman who know
the value Of contact with mother nature and the b
outdoors and from whose mind nothing is farth
than the misuse Of his knowledge and ability with Il
gun.
Now more than ever, with the lessons OF the war fires
in our mind, we should take steps TO entrench on
selves behind practical knowledge Of how TO shoe
TNyo, three or four afternoons month on the ran
. with rne revolver shotgun. win in due season
= veop marksmen OF some ability And when marksma
shin is such potent factor in the life OF the natl
and the liberty Of the people, those who have condemn
II should be sienced forever. and every man, won
: and child should resolve and make II his and h
Christian duty to attain knowledge OF the art
n shooting.