El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-28

] to the nearest QuartermaSter depot
within Is days after discharge by
franked label. furnished by the off
Ger making the discharge. according
! to 4 recent southern department or
the decision to call many men early.
/ secretary Baker said;
so the determination, Ultimately.
was upon an attempt t. meet the
need for training. It was deemed
wise to put men into camp 10 learn
camp living and the essentials of
soldiers life little in advance before
{ they could be fully supplied with
Regarding senator Chamberlain-s
statement that rifles originally sent
to camp were a motley collection"
+ secretary Baker said he cid not object
to the term. but that the facts we're
that I'VE had about 100000 Spring
field rifles and something over 100.-
600 Krags.
says Germans Tralu With Old Guns.
The German army, best prepared
in the world" he added, furnished
an obsolete rifle for practice until
men learn 10 take care Of better
weapon"
I do not mean to say" he added,
''that the question was decided IN
fallibly But I do mean TO say that
it was decided conscientiOusly and
that now every man in this country
intended to carry a rifle has one, and
q rifle Of better caliber than IL We
had adopted the existing type at the
And" ne continued, although we
have sent soldiers to Europe much
more rapidly then we ever thought
we would or could. every solder mas
not only a modern rifle. but has had
practice with IL. That also Is true OF
/ every soldier who Will 90 to Europe
Discusses the Lewis Gun
Turning to the machine gun ques-
ton. M Baker said that UP TO last
Aprfl the Lewis gun had not been
satisfactorily tested with American
ammunition. although widely used BY
England The French. he said, never
took the Lewis gun in any large num-
Testing The Lewis Gun
fFThe board" he added. referring 20
the board he appointed in the fall OF
1916 to test machine guns. never de-
layed for one second the procurement
of additional machine guns
He told OF the nayy's test OF the
Lewis gun last April with an army
officer present and added:
As q result of that test an i'm
mediate order was given TO the saw
age Arms company for Lewis guns
Large orders for Lewis guns have
been given. We are advised, however,
by Gen. Pershing that he does not de-
sire Lewis guns for use on land Gen
!
only for aircraft
Get Arms From France.
IN the meantime" said Baker, the
French government is able to supply
us with light French guns and heavy
Hotchkiss guns for the troops that
are abroad and that Will be sent for
I'VE have ordered all the Lewis
guns we could get and have en-
couraged the company to extend its
1nHr
has not yet begun to eXrand to the
extent we would like. Our army
abroad is provided with the guns it
selected as adapted for its use, and
our supply IS TO supplement that
. Camps Short OF Machine Guns.
Obviously, he said, there we're not
as many machine guns for camp
training as was to be desired He read
a table showing that on November l
each camp or cantonment had been
shipped 80 Colt. 65 Lewis and 40
Chauchat guns and in addition each
regular cavalry regiment had been
supplied with ten Lewis guns and
each infantry regiment with ten
Chauchat.
shipped before the troops were ready
for them; that is before November l.
Mr.. Baker said
Before Troops Ready
Senator Reed asked if before the
that the men needed preliminary
training or before they had been
Secretary Baker said he believed
that it meant that the ranges had not
been completed and also that prelim-
mary training was necessary.
Senator Kirby asked why Lewis
guns had been sent to the camps when
it had been decided not TO use them
with the land forces.
Secretary Baker said it was so the
men might learn the complicated
mechanisms Of as many types as pos
tible.
On the question Of big guns, secre-
tary Baker recalled that Gen CrOzier.
chief Of ordnance, had urged congress
and the various secretaries Of war
continuously for larger programs be-
cause Of the time il took to make the
guns The record served, he thought.
to show that Gen. Crozier had real
lied the delay that must be faced and
sought TO prepare in advances
Reading from a letter from N. Tar
dieu, French high commissioners, I
Baker showed that France entered the
war with more than 5000 pieces OF
heavy artillery but only 40 quick
firers- Great effort vas made, Tar
dieu said, to get the slow firing guns
from the fOrtresses into service for
the field, and this policy proved TO be
a mistake as quick firers were needed
for field work
Demands Exceed All Surmises.
An appended list Of orders for heavy
artillery placed by France. the sec
rotary said. showed that 1t did not
lie IN the Imagination Of anyone to
realize that the ordnance program OF
the war would become-not even
France, the very seat Of the conflict
with the enemy at her throat"
Allies Ready to Furnish Arms.
Gen T. II. Bliss report on ord
part follows:
1T was agreed by Representatives
Of Great Britain and France that their
production OF ordnance is now estab-
lished on so large a scale that they
are able to equip all American troops
arriving in 1915 with ordnance Of the