El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-09-14

2 Of technical details a labyrinth of
7 mathematical problems a reverend
/ ing series Of intricate puzzles, in
I which such elusive and subtle sub
/ iects as orientation. triangulation, de-
| Election, drift, elevation celebration,
! meteoroIogy, range finding and a
! dozen other branches Of. optics and
! geometry and the general applica-
I ton Of the concentrated powers Of
! destruction are involved.
/ In beginning the fulfillm ent Of Its
! contract with Washington, the French
/ government has supplied the Ameri-
I can artillery units with the latest
I output Of the famous z5's which II is
! generally conceded is the finest light
field piece the world has ever known
] It corresponds with and takes the
place Of the old three inch gun in the
] American army. The French have also
supplied the AH1ericars with six inch
/ hOWitzers-a gun OF great power and
I accuracy which corresponds to the
/ noted German So, probably the most
/ effective weapon in the entire Ger
man gun list.
Are Used to New Guns.
The Americans have been quick to
master the details Of the French
weapons and are handling them now
as II they had been friends Of many
] years standing Under the Watch1ul
Supervision Of a splendid old French
major. who speaks English as IL II
down and reassemb led the two types
Of guns with which they have been
! training. so that the most minute de-
| tail Of construction and the particu-
lar use Of each part, no matter now
small. has become thoroughly known.
The mastery Of artillery, as whole,
however, is a matter OF months rather
than weeks. and there still remains
much for even the first American ar
tillery contingent TO learn
The work. Of cooperation with bal
looms and airplanes has only recently
been started. The airplsne service
has attracted many OF the brightest
young officers in the artillery, VINO
are practicing now 70 qua11y as Cd
servers. The American chief OF ar
tillery in France recently gave eacn
officer Of the lower grades an oppor-
funity to indicate his preference m
any special branch OF artillery Work-
It IS striking evidence OF the splrlt
Of the expediti0narV force that an
overwhelming majority expressed the
desire to become airplane observers.
which is the branch OF the service
holding undoubtedly the greatest haz-
ards.
ARTILLERY Planes Huge Affairs.
The French artillery planes, which
are being used for training purposes,
have twin engines ana great VIDE
spreading wings, giving them Won
derful Stability. although when ec-
casion requires they can side slip,
stall spin and spiral in fashion
that would fill the ordinary fighting
scout with envy. The trip which the
correspondent made in one OF these
over the artillery camp and school
revealed a wide sweeping range OF
beautiful hills and valleys. The
American zones Of fire stretch for
miles in parallel tracks and are filled
with splendid natural targets, which
for the purpose of observation and d.
rection Of the fire, have been desig-
mated and mapped as enemy battery
positions. machine gun emplacernenrSi
duEouts and strong points OF various
sorts and description
German Prisoners watch Z. s.
An old dead tree. stark, but out
standing in an otherwise verdant
landscape is known as Eiffel tower
The American ranges TEEN with most
OF the sights and sounds Of actual
battle. while officers and men work
with an earnestness and zeal which
could not be surpassed on the firing
line itself. Scores Of German pris-
oners employed about the camp on
various construction work are get
ting a striking first hand impression
Of what American participation in the
war may yet mean TO tReir country.