El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-01


[. its proving grounds and terminals.
, / covers Isl acres. 1t employs about
Z. $4,000 hands and Il fires 25.00o.000
J rounds Of ammunition every year in
, testing its output. There is another
) factory making American Enfields at
/. Ilion, y. Y. It is one OF the oldest
! and largest rifle plants Of the coun-
B. try There is a third at Eddystone.
near Philadelphia The springneIds
,i are being made at the United States
J armory here.
Government Owns Springfield Arsenal
in order 10 show you how the guns
OF our soldiers are manufactured 7
have gone through the great arsenal
at Springfield. 1t is owned and oper-
ated by the United States government,
and it has been our principal gun
factory since the presidency Of Gen
I George Washington An army lab
oratory was esta blished here two
] years after the signing OF the decll-
ration Of independence. and during
large part Of the revolutionary y ar
. this was the general depot OF sup
plies for all the troops north Of Phil
adelphia- The arsenal itself was es-
/ tablished in 1884 and the first money
. appropriated was SIS, 900. The same
I president should have the right TO
/ spend $4,000 for small arms and am
: munition, and that the yearly ex-
] penses Of the gun factory should not
/ exceed S22S65. These figures show
something as TO our military expenses
I 1T the beginning OF the government.
{ They are in striking contrast 20 the
3 billions OF dollars we are spending
] today.
The buildings Of the Springfield ar
j H.
[ than factories. Some NJ them are al
most 100 years old, a1i the main
building was modelled after he East
India house in London The grounds
altogether cover 300 acres, shout ore
I third of this being devoted "a the ma
chine shops, which are in the heart
I Of the city, and the remainder % the
] fOuudries and forging csta5iishme
[ in the United States water Shop. about
I a mile sway. The plant normally
now 1000. and q works day and light.
Each Has % Parts.
Everything connected with the
army gun is made here al Springfield
Many Of you have seen the rifles IN
the hands OF the soldiers. They seem
I TO be simple, and It Is hard to re-
aIiZe their complicated construction
and the careful workmanship re-
ouired in their making The new
Springfield has 90 parts. ranging in
size from screws not bigger than
those Of q watch TO the tubular barrel
inches in length One OF the most
important parts OF the gun is the bolt
used in the firing. This is OF nickel
steel. and il is stronger than that OF
any other gun now in use It has 10
rbe so carefully made that 40 rliffer-
ent cages are required 20 test its ac-
curacy-
The gun OF the latest model is a lit
tie over IS inches long and without
the bayOnet II weighs just 10 pounds
Of well seasoned walnut wood brought
from the forests Of the middle west.
and the metal is OF the toughest Of
steel which is forged. hardened and
tempered 10 resist the enormous
shock Of the firing. The gun barrel.
for instance, must Withstand a pres
sure OF % tons 10 the square inch The
huge army tanks, which have been
running about over the country 10
stimulate subscriptions 70 the Liberty
loan. DO not weigh much more than
that and you could balance one Of
those tanks on any square inch OF the
gun barrel and q would not affect che
steel
BayOnef Has Needle Point.
The gun is loaded with metal clips. I
each containing five cartridges 1t /
takes but an instant TO throw in a 1
new clip. It has sights made 10 the /
accuracy OF an astronomical instru- /
ment. and the whole is a combination I
OF mechanical wonders The bayonet I
weighs just two ounces over one /
pound. Il is a short sword with 1
point Ike a needle, and OF steel so I
tough that It viii cut a cent In half /
IL welded just right The hayonet is I
so accurately made that il can be put |
in OF 5erked out Of the gun with a /
twist OF the wrist. and still IL IS as /
tight as though It were a part OF the I
barrel
7 began my visit 70 the factory At /
the water shop. going through one !
vast room after another, where the |
forEinEs. brought from the steel !
plants OF different parts OF the coun- l
try. are pounded into shape by enor- l
nous hammers run by electro CITY !
These hammers knead the steel, as !
though Il were so much dough, into /
the parts required Tor the gun. A !
bayonet. for instance. viii start into /
the forge as square bar an inch |
thick and perhaps two inches long 1t /
viii be laid red hot under the hammer /
and pounded into the long thin knife |
which forms the end OF the gun The /
hammer is directed by a mechanic, /
who LAYS the hot metal under IL and /
sees that Il shapes the bar into bay /
onet
Making the Barrels.
70 IS the same with the barrels ]
They start in as red hot billets and /
pass through steel rollers, which /
make them longer and longer until /
they come out in round bars a little |
longer and thicker than the barrel Of 4
the gun They are cut off TO just the l
right size and are then run through /
other machines which press than 70 1
the cylindrical shape OF the barrel. ]
After this they must be ground T
smoothed and polished, and the holes /
are bored through them with electric |
steel drills. In this work the drill
remains stationary and the machine
whirls the barrel around against the
drill until the hole is bored through [
Then comes the rifling. This is done
BIZ automatic machinery. which runs
back and forth through the barrels
cutting the grooves that give the bull
let the twist as & whirls or bores its
way through the air.
In other departments saw them
grinding and sharpening the bayo-
nets, and in Others they we're testing
each bayonet TO see that Il would slip
on and off OF the barrel OF the gun
with the least possible exertion on
fra mart of the soldier The nawOuefg I