Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-10-04
RUSHING BIC GUNS
10 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 FieIdpieces Up to Big
Nine and a Hall Inch Howitzer.

L
Nine and Hall Inch Howitzer.
Washington.-En artillery of all
| sorts to blow the German army back
| to the Rhine is contemplated in the
new appropriation bill. Practically
billion dollars Is being spent for it,
and the manufacture OF these big guns
has taken the foremost place of i'm
portance in the steel industry of the
country. Statements concerning the
progress Of the manufacture and the
hopes of the war department in con
nection with this gigantic project have
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 explana-
tiOns, the appropria tiOns committee
heard from the war department on the
subject of gas warfare, "tanks" and
machine guns, all of which will play
part on the American front. The esti
mates for all these things are based
on an army Of 100000 men.
Steel Plants Taxed.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are
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 a
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 be 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
be no doubt of that, as billion dollars
will be 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-
preparation bill is passed there will be
no money for these operations.
One of the new rapid fire guns being
made for the army is something like
the pompom gun which used to be
heard of in Boer war days. After that
1t fell into disuse, but an improvement
upon it has been devised, and the Unit
ed States army is now getting it or
about to get it. 1t fires a one pound
projectile loads itself automatically,
and all the operator has to do is to pull
the trigger. 1t is to be 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 barrage of artillery
projectiles, which are kept constantly |
falling ahead of the advancing line.
The pounded side under such circum-
stances 'endeayOrs to maintain unde-
stroyed at 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 install them in their
emplacements and with very few of
them be able to stop the advancing
line. Then the advancing line, being
checked, because it takes the 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 |
fes and with them attempt to destroy
the little emplacements and to silence
the hostile machine guns.''