The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1918-08-29
BROWNING MAN" FOR us
Just as Edison the Wizard of Electricity So is John
Browning the Wizard of Firearms
By John Bruce Mitchell, in The Forum

Mister" after that. However, the
Englishman was correct. Mr..
Browning has every right to be
addressed as Sir" because, early
in 1914, King Albert of Belgium
conferred upon him the decoration
of "Chevalier de POrdre de Leo
pold."
1t is an attractive decoration -
so it is said. Mr.. Browning has
tucked his away in some mysteri-
Gus place and Dever even exhibited
it, much less worn it.
So it is of no use to look in the
"Almanach de Gotha" or even in
Who's Who in America" for in
formation concerning Mr.. Brown
ing. His name does not appear in
those interesting volumes.
Not one in a thousand. probably
not one in ten thousand, who has
carried Winchesters, Remingtons,
Colts. Stevens. and such familiar
firearms into the woods during the
game season, or used them at tar
get practice, coupled the name of
Browning, when they read about
his machine gun. with their weap-
ons. But despite the fact that
various names and corporations
appear on these guns. the man who
created them, the man who modi-
fed and improved and simplifed
them, was this same John M.
Browning.
There is no Browning arms plant
in Ogden. There is well-aquipped
shop where Mr.. Browning "putters
around" as he himself puts it, but
he does not manufacture firearms.
He doesn't have to. He invents
them and lets the other fellow
manufacture them while he banks
his royalties.
Sixty-six years ago, however,
there was a gun shop in what was
then the little town of Ogden. 1t
was owned and operated by Jona-
than Browning, father of the in
ventor of the Browning machine
gun. The Brownings are Ameri-
cans through and through, In the
early forties Jonathan Browning
left his hcme in Tennessee and
journeyed to Council Bluffs. Iowa.
where he piled his trade as gun
smith and general tinker" He
set up shop there and made guns
for the pioneers. He also mended
broken plows and leaking kettles
and did all sorts of tinkering. In
1852 he packed his shop equipment
into an an OK cart and set out for
Ogden. This equipment con-
sisted of bag full of tools and an
ancient wooden foot. power lathe.
1t took him month to make the
trip.
John M. Browning was born in
Ogden two years later, and almost
from babyhood he played in his
fathers gun shop. Back of this
old lathe was scrap heap, such as
is found in every shop of this kind.
1t contained old broken and other
wise seemingly useless gun barrels,
bits of flint and percussion cap
locks and other "junk." This scrap
heap and the ancient lathe were
destined to play a big part in the
worlds history of firearms.
When Jack" Browning was
thirteen he wanted a gun. The
only way to get it, so far as he
could see, was to make it. He got
busy with that scrap heap and be-
fore long he had turned out a gun
that seemed to suit him. His faith
er examined it carefully and it is
said that the old man almost wept
with pride and JOY and told his boy
that he had 'done WE'LL" It is also
said that this was high praise in
deed from the sturdy old gun
maker, but that secretly, to friends
when the boy couldn't hear and
become spoiled" by praise, the