The Alaska daily empire., 1918-11-07
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(By PETER p. CARNEY

The trench shotgun is America 5 greatest contribution to the war.
 Through the expert handling of the trench shotgun the Germans learned that the Tanks were coming.
 At the first taste of the pellets the Huns began to whine and then to write notes calling us "barbarians," Germany, tool
 Originator of the Big Idea
 Three score years ago it was the handy piece of the sheriffs who hunt ed the outlaws, prison guards, ex- press messengers and stage coach guards, and it did yoeman service.
 When America took a hand in the war Georgia engineer by the name of Eegor began ruminating on ways to stop the Hun. His ruminations brought him to the discraded weapon of the days of mushroom mining towns It was the BIG IDEA.
 The suggested the utilization of the short barrel shotgun to the War Department and the suggestion met with favor. The improvised Winches- ter riot gun, 1897 model six shot, hand operated, single barrel pump shotgun was examined and found to be worthy
 But there was one problem to be met. That was the placing of the bayonet. The barrel of the gun was quite thin and did not offer much support for a bayonet. This is where Yankee ingenuity asserted itself and made the gun the dealiest short range weapon ever conceived or used by man.
 The weakness of the barrel was overcome by providing an outer steel coat or jacket, which is perforated and held short distance away from the barrel proper and forms an air chamber that acts as a cooling jack ct. To this reinforced jacket is the bayonet attached.
 The jacket prevents the scorching of the shooters hands and permits rapid fire. The magazine holds five shells and there is one shell in the chamber, making it capable of firing six shots as rapidly as one can pull the trigger and work the pump handle. This we might assert is mighty fast when in the hands of trapshooter.
 Will Fire 50 Cartridges Minute
 These shells contain 31a drams of smokeless powder, % buckshot load, 9 pellets to each cartridge, each pei let about the size of a .32-calibre bullet. It is possible for one man shooting, and others loading for him to fire 50 cartridges minute, which means 450 slugs veritable shower of lead, would be sprayed over a 100- yard sector With hundreds of these guns in use one can imagine the result
 No column of troops could stand at close range before a line of men armed with trench shotguns. In the past these guns have cowed mobs and upset mass formations. It is unwise to stand in front of them especially when they are in the hands of one who might pull the trigger. The gun weighs 71s pounds and the bayonet IF pounds pounds. It is the 12-gauge pattern with barrels 20 inches long made from rolled steel, cylinder bored. The >bayonet can be removed and used for closeup | fighting. A sling is attached to the gun, the same as to the rifle, so that it may be thrown over the shoul- der An idea of the effectiveness of the gun is shown in these tests on a | two-inch pine board. At 50 yards the pellets wormed their way through the wood to depth of 1% inches. At 75 yards the shot went in a4 of an inch and at 100 yards the shot went in A of an inch.
 When General Pershing requested the shotguns we are of the opinion | that the idea was to try to keep Fritz at home in the evenings. Thou sands were supplied and those in the hands of men who coAld use them not only have kept Fritz at home nights but have kept him sleep less more than one night. Will Not Replace Rifle or Machine Gun
 Tn shotguns are more effective than rifles for sentries. The guns will not replace the rifle in warfare nor will they perform the functions of a machine gun It is purely an emergency weapon which has done all that it was intended to do-and some more.