The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-23
Rridgenort. Conn.

DAAOSSpOtbs OOull- S7HAvE come here to tell you about
 the machine guns they are now making for our soldiers in Europe.
 They are the most rapid and most efficient man killers that have yet been put into the battlehelds, and when our soldiers are fully equipped they will SOW death as they go over the top. These guns are being manufactured in differ ent parts of the country, but at this writing the biggest and best equipped factory for making them is that of the Remington Arms Union Metallic Cart ridge company, here at Bridgeport. The establishment consists of AS buildings of brick, steel and glass, all of which hum with the machinery for making fire arms. The shops cover four or five times as much ground as the national capitol at Washington, and I am told that it is 10-mile journey to go over them all. The buildings are walled with glass. It took solid acre of wire glass to equip them and more than 10 tons of putty to hold in the panes. They have enough electrical wiring to reach from Washing ton to Albany via New York, and their power plant would supply all the needs of a city of 1500o0 people.
 Imagine structures like this filled with the newest machinery and about 15000 men and women at work, and you have an idea of one of the new plants which have sprung up almost in a night for fighting the Germans.
 say in night That is not technical iy correct. The actual time of creation was less than one year.
 In March, 1915, the ground where the plant is was nothing but marsh and COW pastures The cattle grazed in the fields. and the only other inhabitants were chickens and pigs.
 Then the "cry from Macedonia" came from the allies. and the United States began to supply their munitions. Within few months the land was drained, and the buildings went up and before the end of the year To per cent of the machinery was WorK- ing. At one time the establishment had 1S,000 men making rifles for the Russians. and it has now many thou sands engaged upon machine guns and rifles and pistols.
 But first I would like to give you some ideN of what machine gun IS and it's terrible efficiency in the kill ing of men. I have seen the several kinds now in use on the battlefields, and have shot one of the new Brown ipgs, in the rifle pit of the plant here, sending the bullets forth at the rate of 200 per minute. or eight and one third every second. Put your wa.cn to your ear and split each tick into eight parts. and one of those parts Will give you the speed at which the balls fly forth from the gun. The Brown ing I fired was mounted on small iron tripod. and rapid stream of fire seemed to fly from the muzzle. The gun was aimed at a square hole iI a steel plate 225 feet away. The balls passed through this hole into sand bank beyond and as turned the gun slightly some of them struck the plate, cutting it's half-inch hard steel as though it were cheese. After the shoot ing I climbed up ladder on the side of the plate. and saw where some of my bullets had struck. The edges around the hole were chewed by the bullets, and in several places the balls had made holes through the steel.
 This shooting was done inside the factory and the noise was terrific. It would have been less out of doors, but, as it was, plugged my ears with raw cotton and thus saved my hearing. ] was surprised at the ease of shooting the gun. A three-year-old baby could fire it as far as the force required is concerned. All that is needed is the touch of your finger on the trigger and the bullets fly forth until your finger is raised. At one time I shot a dozen cartridges in less time than 1t takes to dictate this sentence. and then one. two and three and then 20, and then a long stream of lead which went forth like the water from hose. In shooting the gun from a tripod il can be moved back and forth so that 1t sprays lead. sowing death as it goes. One could put 1t on wheels and run it