The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-06-22

NAR1MW Already the deadly accuracy Of
WHpRNW American craftsmanship has taken
MHMWI its toll of German victims, for the
NE%hMI rifle is the favorite weapon of our
The reasons for this are several
The American is a hunter by. tradition. 1t is in
his blood because his father and grandfather be-
fore him won the wilderness with the old muzzle-
loader. Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett and
Kit Carson are all old friends of his. The wild
West is familiar territory, even though he may
never have crossed the Mississippi. For he has
read the tales of trappers and hunters and prac-
ticed them on a small scale in the woods out
side his village.
The American is a marksman by training.
What boy has not spent long days in the woods
with q gun in his hands? What youth, excepting
only some born and reared in the largest Cities
has not come home at night in triumph with a
bag of cottOntails?
The third reason why Sammy sticks to his rife
in the trenches is that 1t is the best military arm
in the world.
For these three reasons, then-because the rifle
IS his weapon by tradition and by training, and
because the one he carries is the best manufac-
rured-our infantryman backs the rifle against the
hand grenade and the bayonet. He can use any
OF the three, but for choice give him a clean 600
yard shot at a moving spot of gray outlined
against the dun Flanders background of a scar
torn hill.
1t has been acknowledged for years that the
American regular army, small though it was prior
10 1917, is the finest body of marksmen in any
army. Our teams competing at Camp Perry and
at Risley against the best shots Of Europe and
the western hemisphere, proved conclusively that
the superiority still rests with us.
The United States government has made for its
army the most perfect military rifles ever pro-
duced. These are the Springfield model of 1903
and the 1917 model, both of which are beyond
question better guns than those used by any other
urrov in fhn NrorI1 Tho nortri1paa for those
weapons are the best now in use. Orders have
been placed for 100000 rifles. The production
now averages $4,000 a week, sufficient to equip
three divisions. One billion cartridges have been
ordered for practice in the training camps. Our
manufacture of rifle cartridges excels in amount
that of any other country. One firm alone turned
out 125, 0 5000 during one month.
The policy of the government has been to ap-
propriate about S13 n year for the rifle practice
of each soldier in the army. Target ranges have
been built in all parts of the country. These
were available not only for the use of the army
and the National Guard hut also for rifle associ-
aticns.
Germany has not been able to do this. With
a standing army so great as the one maintained
by the kaiser In peace times, such an approprta-
ton would have in~terfered with other plans. II
S13 a year had been spent on ammunition for the
rifle practice of each man in the German standing
army and reserve, the Teutons would be far bet
ter shots than they are today. But this gain
would be at the expense of the funds necessary
for the supply of munitions the general staff was
accommodating against the day of need, Prior TO
the war the German soldier fired only about IL
ball cartridges n year on the range.
The rifle ranges in Europe are few and inferior.
Land is far too valuable to permit of much be-
ing used for such purpose. Scarcely any of these
ranges are suitable for practice at a distance of.
over 400 yards. An appropriation of $13 to the
man for ammunition would not have made Eu-
ropean soldiers anything like as expert as ours.
The lack of opportunity to shoot under the field
conditions. which are the foundation of a good
rifemnn's work in actual battle stress, would
necessarily have debarred this.
The American is a hunter. He used to be a
rifeman from necessity, since his safety and his
food depended on his skill. He is now one from
choice. There are few of our yungsters who do
not own or have access to a % rifle. and but few
who do not get an occasional chance to use a
shotgun. The hunting instinct is still strong In
US. 1t is estimated that about 100000 sports
men in this country hunt every year with a rifle
or a shotgun.
Even In thlckly settled districts game is still
plentiful enough to offer enticing sport. The IL
cense fee is small, amounting usually to only 81.
Ammunition is cheaper here than elsewhere. The
finest and least costly machine-made guns are
produced in this country. Most important, we
have no established aristocracy which controls the
shooting preserves, 10 the exclusion of the gen.
eral public.