The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-10-02
RUSHING BIC Guns
To Have Enough to Blow Ger
mans Over Rhine.
NEW RAPID FIRE WRINKLES.
Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Are to
Be Spent In Manufacture Of Cannon
From Light Fiedpeees Up to Biz
Nine and a Half Inch Howitzer.

Be Spent In Manufacture Of Cannon
From Light Fieldpioees Up to Biz
Nine and Half Inch Howitzer.
Washington, Enough artillery OF ali
sorts to blow the German army back
to the Rhine is contemplated In the
new appropriation bill. Practically a
billion dollars is being spent for 1t,
and the manufacture Of these big guns
has taken the foremost place of i'm
..---.t4nce In the steel industry OF the
country. Statements concerning the
progress of the Manufacture and the
hopes Of the war department in con
nectlon with this gigantic project Emve
been made public by the appropriations
committee In the printed testimony of
General Crozier. chief of the bureau OF
ordnance.
In addition TO the artillery eSplana-
tions. the appropriations committee
heard from the war department on the
subject of gas warfare tanks and
machine guns. all of which will play Il
part OH the American front. The esti.
mites for all these things are based
on an army OF 2.WW.OOO men.
Steel Plants Taxed.
Hundreds Of millions OF dollars nre
to be spent in the manufacture of can
non. from the light field gun up to the
big nine and half inch howitzer.
which Is squatty looking bulldog Of Il
gun. which will blow up trench from
an unbelievable distance. TO make
enough guns for the army is taxing the
present steel plants OF the country.
and. according to General Crozier. an
auxiliary plant for the machining OF
guns will have TO he erected In France.
Two Of the largest steel companies In
America. and that means in the world.
are already frantically enlarging their
plants for the sole purpose of turning
out the increased number of guns
needed.
Just what the number is was not di-
vulged, but 1t is enormous. There can
he no doubt of that, as billion dollars
will Ire spent on them. Factories other
than the two mentioned are enlarging
to manufacture gun carriages. and the
war department is trying to arrange
with several other big steel works to
make enlargements. but until the ap.
propriation biz Is passed there will be
no money for these operations.
One Of the new rapid fire guns beng
made for the army is something like
the pompom gun which used to he
heard of in Boer war days. After that
1t fell into disuse, but an improvement
upon 1t has been devised, and the Unit
about to get It, 1t fires one pound
projectile. loads itself automatically.
and all the operator has to do is to pun
the trigger. Ii Is to he used for the
smashing of enemy machine gun posi-
tions.
How New Gun Works.
General Crozier explains it thus:
You understand, probably just as
well as do, that an advance along
any part OF the intrenched line form
ing the western front In the European
war is now effected first by pounding
the hostile line into impotence with ar.
tillery and .then advancing the infan-
try over the zone which has thus been
pounded and behind the protection OF
curtain of fire or bnrrage of artillery
prOjectilcs. which are kept constantly
falling ahead OF the advancing linc
The pounded side under such circum
stances endeavors To maintain unde-
stroyed mt least some machine guns
and machine gun crews in dugouts es.
pecially well protected. with the idea
that when this advancing line comes
along and when the barrage of artil-
lery fire has passed beyond them they
will pull their machine guns out OF
their dugouts and mstnl them in their
emplacements and with very few OF
them be able to stop the advancing
line. Then the advan cing line. being
checked because 1t takes tile fire OF
comparatively few machine guns to
do it, and taking shelter in shell holes
and any other place where the men can
find shelter. will work into position
these light automatic one FOUNDER RI
lies and with them attempt to destroy
the little emplacements ard to silence
the hostile machine guns"