The Washington herald., 1918-04-14

rife requirements for the year 1918.
estimated that we would need some
2,3sS.OO0 guns. To provide this number
and give a slight surplus. orders were
placed for 1.920.0cO rifles, 10000 of
these TO be of the modified Enfield
type. 10000 to be our standard SPRING
fields. The orders were placed as fol-
lows:
stone plant, as. 900.
Remington Arms Company. lion
plant, 900.
Winchester Repeating Arms Com
pany, $4,000
Springfield armory. 10000.
Rock Island Arsenal, 10000.
These orders gave US. on hand and
under order. 2.4S6, ,4S1 rifles. or some
1900 rifles more than our outside
estimated needs
A revised estimate made February
I3 places our requirements at 2,325. 600
for the first half of 1918.
Despite the delays resulting from
the changes required in the British
rifle and the extensions necessary at
the Rock Island and Springfield
plants. there were produced on these
orders before January /, 1915. the f0l-
lowinz guns:
Remington, Edystone plant. 1884
Remington. Ilion plant. 17.6l1.
Winchester, 1O2, 0lS
Springfield armory, g7,47e
Rock Island arsenal, 2.230.
Making a total new production prior
to January /. of 406,9l2 rifles or a total
on hand January /. including Spring
fields hand NJ tho hraaE nf
war, of 9S3.373.
The Remington and Winchester
plants. however, were Just getting into
quantity production at the first of the
year. In January the output of rifles
was slightly above I75,0oo The Feb
ruary schedule called for $1,000 guns
from the Eddystone plant Of the
Remington alone, 5000 from the Ilion
plant. $500 from the Winchester, D.
4e0 from the Springfield arsenal and
s.4e0 from Rock Island.
10000 Rifles n Day.
But instead OF the guns scheduled
for February. production is actually
running ahead of schedule, and is now
approximately 1900 per day.
Despite the delay resulting from
changes required. our daily produc-
tion of rifles at the end of the first 10
months after entering the war was
four times as great as the daily pro-
duction in Great Britain ten months
after war was declared and twice as
much as the daily production in Great
Britain two and one-half years after
she entered the war.
In addition TO the 2.4S6, 461 rifles now
ordered or in the hands of troops.
estimates have been prepared for the
production of an additional 1.4c9. 400
rifles. This would make a grand
total OF 3,9O5.S6 rifies-all OF which,
under present established capacity.
can be produced before January, 1919,
Inasmuch as less than 50 per cent
of the men in service carry rifie;.
this would provide two rifles for
every man who should have a rife
in an army of more than 3.250.ooo.
While service rifles were being pro-
duced in quantities to supply all
troops on the field or in training,
use was made of 1eO. 200 krags. 100. 900
Russian rifles and 20,0o0 Ross rifles
for training purposes only.
Today. however, all men in camp
are equipped with the new rifles.
every man abroad has his full equip
ment and there is at home and
abroad a rapidly increasing surplus
more than sufficient to replace vast
age and supply new increments of
troops as they are raised.
Our rife program has not for one
day delayed the sending of troops
abroad.
The net result of the changes made
has simply been to give our whole
army weapons of a superior type to
those they otherwise would have had
and TO supply them in quantities
sufficient to give every man his gun
before he was ready to take his place
on the battle line.