The Colorado statesman., 1918-06-08
AVIATOR F. p. MAGouN RELATES
AN INSTANCE OF THEIR REAL
sPoRTsMANsHIP
ONE FLYERS LUCKY ESCAPE
American lnfantryman Has Advantage
over the German in His Ammunition
Equipment-FInger Prints Of Ger
man Allen Females to Be Taken.


There are no better sportsmen in the
world than the allied airmen, and
American aviators now fighting In Eu-
rope always play fair game, as they
learn ii from the allies. F. p. Ma
goun, a former Harvard student, now
a member of the Royal air force, re-
Gently wounded, tells how the lives of
German observers escaping from bal
looms have been spared.
1--WE caught three Hun balloons
above the allied grounds in a mist,
which prevented their gunners seeing
u.s." said he. "It was a cinch. You
should have seen them hustle out their
parachutes and abandon the balloons.
AS they came falling down through
the air we circled about closely but, of
course, didn't open fire, as that's
against the rules of the game. AS
soon as they touched ground they took
cover like rabbits"
Magoun is the only American in his
squadron, having Joined in February of
last year He has bagged five German
planes. While carrying bombs for low
attack in the recent offensive he re-
ceived a bullet through his left arm,
but managed to return to his own
lines. Magoun tells of q companion
in his squadron who had one of the
luckiest escapes during the war. He
was put out of action 1000 feet in the
air when a bullet perforated his gaso-
line tank. He was rendered uncon-
scious by the fumes and his machine
took nose dive to earth, but he es-
capped without a scratch.
A section of the Royal air force op-
Grating in the Ypres salient has lost
Its only American member, who had
been with the squadron only ten days
when he went on a bombing raid at
low elevation. He was hit by ma
chine-gun bullet and his plane fell in
flames. He was taken prisoner.
The efforts of newspapers to pro-
mote good feeling between the people
of England and the thousands of Amer
leans received official backing when
Sir Randolf Baker, member of parlia-
ment, offered to take charge Of the
American troops welfare department
of the British government. His plans
contemplate continuous program OF
healthful recreation in every Ameri-
can rest camp and training camp in
England. Special London theatrical
companies will be sent out. An or
ganization known as "Sammy's Blighty
league" is being formed.
The American infantryman In the
expeditionary forces carries 200 rounds
of ammunition in the pockets of his
light canvas webb belt and his bando-
leers. The German soldier has only
100 rounds, and 80 of these are in his
knapsack. To secure them at critical
moment he must lose valuable time.
The American webb belts, according
to the war department, are far su-
perior to the German leather bando-
leers. They are not affected by pro-
longed rains nor torrid weather. The
manufacture of these belts is one Of
the most intricate of the operations in
the textile field. United States army
belts are made almost entirely of cot
ton.
The exact weight of the 900 rounds
carried by the American soldier in
France is II pounds. With the Spring
field rifle % aimed shots can be fired
each minute. Firing from the hip 40
shots can be fred minute. The new
United States model 1917 (moditied
Enfield) does even better.
The registration of German alien
females, to begin Monday, June II.
and end Wednesday, June 90, will be
conducted in cities or municipalities
having 5000 population or over by the
police officials. In communities hav-
Ing a population of less than 5000 the
registration will be handled by post
masters.
In general the plan of registration
is the same as that followed In the
registration in February of German
alien males. Each person who must
register will be required to register
her finger prints. This method of
Identification is also used in the mill
tary and naval services of the United
States.
Boy scout organizations are active
in locating black walnut trees. Black
walnut lumber is needed by the war
department for use in making air
plane propellers and gunstocks.
Enough heavy Browning machine
guns for instruction purposes have
been shipped to every National Guard
training camp and National army
cantonment in the country where
troops are In training. Heavy Brown
ings for overseas training have been
shipped.
Light Browning rifles sufficient in
number to equip the machine-gun
units Of more than four army divisions
have been manufactured, and over
seas shipment of one half has begun.
The ather half of the niltnnt nnes to