Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-06-27
N0WPR0DUCING
ARMY RIFLES ON
GIGANTIC SCALE.
More Than 10000 Weekly Are
!. Turned Out Here.
RUNNING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.
Production 10 Four Times Greater
Than British output After That
Country Had Been In War Same
Length 81 Time-Profft by Expert.
ence Of Our AiIies-New Model Big
Improvement Over British Arm.
sv LANES \. COLLINS.


(From the Committee on Public Informs
tioh.)
When the ordnance department an
nounced recently that It's production
of rifles had passed the 10000 mark
weekly. the statement was news to the
general public, bringing both surprise
and relief. To the ordnance officers
in charge of small-arms production,
however, these figures represented
simply the attainment of production
that had been planned months before
-an important detail in the Aar pro-
gram foreseen and provided for-just
another item in the vast work OF prep
aration, which was running on sched-
ule and a little ahead. BY now the
production Of rifles will have reached
the 100000 mark weekly, and by July
] our army will have 100000 modified
Enfield rifles, officially known as the
U. s. rifle, model of 1917, and 100000
new Springfields of the standard o..
S. army type, known as the o. 8. rifie,
model Of 1903. Even II Uncle Sans
own arsenals stop making rifles to-
morrow, our private manufacturers
would be able to provide wastage for
several armies Of 100000 men. Be-
sides. it has over goo 900 rifles for dril'
purposes.
This production is four times great
er than the British output after year
of war and twice as large as the Brit
ish output after two and one-half
years OF war. It is a larger produc-
ton than has ever been achieved by
any country In similar period, and
itAneans more than adequate supply
for all of our soldiers now In France
end in training here, For we have
production capacity for creating. in
due time, \ reserve Of rifles at the
rate Of 10000 monthly, providing for
ian increase In our army. II necessary,
at the rate Of IS war-strength d.
visions of approximately 27.0Oo SOL
diers each month, as approximately
only so per cent Of the troops in d.
vision are armed with the rife.
Back Of this achievement there are
two interesting stories. First comes
the Industrial story Of rifle production
in such large quantities-the careful
redesigning of the standard British
Enfield rife to take Springfield am
munition; and, second, the story Of
the superiority of the Springfield rife
over those used by all other armies.
Including the German Mauser.
4, Could Not Make Army. Rifles.
!, When war came to Europe in 1914
not single firearms manufacturer in
the United States had equipment or
workmen for making army rides. Only
the government arsenals at Spring
ifieid, Mass, and Rock Island, H., were
capable Of making anything better
than sporting arms.
/ The difference between sporting
irlfie and modern army rifle Is great
| Sporting rifles are sold to single pur-
ichasers as Z rule and call for little
Iexactitude In the interchangeabillty Of
parts. II something breaks on the
Isporting rifle, the owner sends 1t back
Ito the factory to be repaired. An
army rifle, however. must be rlgidly
interchangeable In all its parts, SO that
pieces Of mechanism Of one rife can
he used to repair another in the field.
Its parts must be machined to toler-
iance Of one one-thousandth Of IN inch.
This calls for exact and expensive
,gaugeszin large quantities. =,
! The Springfield 1903 Is composed Of
about 100 different parts. and the ear
trfdge-receiving mechanism, including
the bor, alone requires 120 gauges for
Its manufacture. These gauges Can
only be made by expert tooimakers, Of
whom there are only limited number
in the United States, and the magni-
tude Of the problem is realized when
one knows that thousands Of duplicate
gauges, must be made to equip ma
..chinists and inspectors for large guam
tity production. First, there must be
what Is known as grandmother
gauge, flawless in its dimensions. The
grandmaster gauge is used only to
check up number Of master gauges
and these master gauges In turn are
relied upon to keep the large number
iof actual working gauges up to the
standard. Not only are tens Of thou
sands Of gauges required to equip =
factory for the production tof arms
and anlniun;tt Hon On the modern scale.
hut these gauges must be regnlnrly
tfsplacad 4 II estimated that the