The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-01-03
Americans in France Know Every
Part Of Weapons Except
Secret Of "75."
TRAININGS MOST THOROUGH
No Stint OF Ammunition for Practice
Work-Tarsst Shooting In the
Morning, Maehine.shop In.
structionln the Aftsrnoon,
10 The Program.

- SAtA0AAS0A 04SAAAoAJ S0AOk ~
HI lce.--Eiring stops 1t eleven o'clock
exe4y morning. By that time every
gun captain has finished his allotment
Of shells for the day. 1t does happen
sometimes that a gun breaks down,
and in that case its shells are distrib-
uted among its neighbors. There 10
no record Of a battery commander who
has been kept on a bound boy allow
ance Of ammunition by his own gov
eminent falling to take advantage Of
the prodigal son privileges which wal
has given him. He is right, of course.
The more shells he shoots the soone
his battery will be at for action, writes
Herbert Corey in the Chicago News.
The better part of an hour is used
in getting into camp for luncheon. The
meal itself is over at one o'clock. Then
business starts again. The afternoon
program never includes firing, but deals
with the fundamentals Of learning how
to fire. The men take the guns apart
and put them together again. They
know just what part each bit Of metal
plays, so that when it ceases to func-
ton the, gunners will know what is
wrong. The officers are at work at
other things. Some are taking a course
of map making, some are at wireless
t%elegraphy and others are scattered
about the other schools.
"Let us have a look at the three
inch school," said the colonel.
A machine shop had been turned
over to the use of the specialists in
the French "soixante-quinze" field
piece. The French officer who acted
as instructor here is one of the finest
artillerists Of the French army.
Secret Of Efficiency.
One part only Of the seventy-fve is
not taken down-the recoil mechanism,
in which lies the secret Of the wonder
full efficiency of the piece. Before the
war it was a secret in reality.
Nowadays, Of course, the secret is
a secret no longer. The Germans have
captured hundreds Of s~eventy-fves, and
know it inside and out. But the rec0il
mechanism is SO delicately adjusted
that no attempt is ever made to repair
1t in the field. II it breaks down, it
is taken off the gun and sent to the
nearest factory for readjustment. In
the next shop, where the 6-inch guns
are being elucidated to the newborn
soldiers, everything is shown.
1t should be thoroughly understood
at home that the artillery, along with
every other branch Of the army here,
is making wonderful progress toward
fitness, but 1t must also be understood
that these men are not to be hurried
into the trenches for permanent occu-
pancy. They are physically at as prize
fighters, but they are still short of the
full knowledge required Of them.
In normal times, the artillery has
been the corps d'elite Of the American
army, but today 1t Is suffering from the
same lack Of preparation which char
acterizes every other branch Of the
services lack Of preparation which
must not be charged against the army
heads. In the artillery units here
Each regiment Ia short thirty officers.
Of it's quota.
Not mora than E pex cent Of the