The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-12-26
RAWU.S. RECRUITS
MADE. GUN EXPERTS
Americans in France Know Every
Part of Weapons Except
Secret of "75."
TRAINING IS MOST THOROUGH
No Stint of Ammunition for Practice
Work-Tarqet Shooting in the
Morning, Machines Shop In
struction in the Afternoon,
Is the Program.

An American Artillery Camp In
France.-Firing stops at eleven O'Clock
every morning BY that time every
gun captain has finished his allotment
Of shells for the day. 1t does happen
sometimes that gun breaks down,
and In that case its shells are distrib-
uted among it's neighbors. There is
no record of battery commander who
| has been kept on bound boy allow
ance of ammunition by his own gov
eminent failing to take advantage Of
the prodigal son privileges which war
| has given him. He Is right, of course.
| The more shells he shoots the sooner
his battery will be fit for action, writes
Herbert Corey in the Chicago News.
The better part of an hour Is used
In getting into camp for luncheon. The
meal itself is over at one o'clock. Then
business starts again. The afternoon
program never includes firing, but deals
with the fundamentals Of learning how
to fire. The men take the guns apart
and put them together again. They
know just what part each bit of metal
plays, so that when 1t ceases to func-
wrong. The officers are at work at
other things. Some are taking course
Of map making, some are at wireless
telegraphy and others are scattered
about the other schools.
"Let us have a look at the three
inch school," said the colonel.
A machine shop had been turned
thn fol esfc til
the French "sOixantequinze" field
piece The French officer who acted |
as instructor here is one of the finest |
artillerists of the French army.
Secret of Efficiency.
One part only of the seventy-five is |
not taken down-the recoil mechanism,
in which lies the secret of the wonder
full efficiency of the piece. Before the |
war it was a secret in reality.
Nowadays, of course, the secret is
a secret no longer. The Germans have
captured hundreds of seventy-fves, and
know it inside and out. But the recoil
is SO delicately adjusted
that no attempt is ever made to repair
it in the field. If it breaks down, it /
Is taken off the gun and sent to the
nearest factory for readjustment. In
the next shop, where the 6-inch guns
are being elucidated to the newborn
soldiers, everything is shown.
It should be thoroughly understood
at home that the artillery, along with
every other branch of the army here,
Is making wonderful progress toward
fitness, but it must also be understood
that these men are not to be hurried
into the trenches for permanent occu-
oancy. They are physically fit as prize
lighters, but they are still short of the
full knowledge required of them.
In normal times, the artillery has
been the corps d'elite of the American
army, but today it is suffering from the
same lack of preparation which char
acterizes every other branch of the
lack of preparation which .
must not be charged against the army
reads. In the artillery units here
Each regiment is short thirty officers
# it's quota.
Not more than 5 per cent Of the
men have served more than one enlist
nent.
Not more than 20 per cent of the
nen have served as much as one year.
The vast majority of the men were
bsolutely new to the army. A COM
arative few have been in service as :
luch as six months.
Superior as Body.
On the credit side of the account 1t 7
nay be stated that the men are of an
fine type. AS body
hey are superior in the raw to any
European organization I have seen,
nd I have seen them all except the
,Oumanians.
But the artillery organizations are
Offering from the handicap Of lack
f previous experience in bulk. The :
must be highly skilled spe- I
alist. The greater part Of the ofi-