The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-07-15
Explaining ORDNANCE
TO AMERICAN PEOPLE
What Had Hitherto Been Considered
Army and Navy Secrets Are to Be
Explained by Four Officers.
and SO Men Detailed for
the Purpose
the Purpose

Caldwell, N. j., July 10. Four officers
and SO men of the United States army
familiar with the construction and oper-
alton of machine guns, rifles and long
range field pieces have been detailed here,
it was announced to-day, to explain to
the American public for the first time
since the beginning of the war, what have
been regarded heretofore as highly inn
portant ordnance secrets.
The detachment will be in charge of
an exhibition of rifles, three-inch NOR
tars, Chauchat machine guns, hand gre
nades and 81 -kilometre field pieces, to be
held in connection with the national rifle
matches which are to be contested on the
United States rife range here during
the month of August. 1t will be the
purpose of the forty experts to lay bare
the most minute working details of the
weapons, large and small, that played
such an important part in defeating the
central powers. They will illustrate, in
a specially constructed building, by
means of lectures and objects, how the
United States went about the task cf
building up her ordnance department
after it entered the war. They also will
describe to the civilian visitors the art
of gunsmithing
Lieut.. Colonel William G. Harllee of
the United States marine corps, execu-
tive officer of the 1910 national matches,
who is now here, said that heretofore the
rife contests, which have been partici-
pated in by several thousand gllnners,
have been held on ranges that have been
more or less inaccessible to the general
public but that this year they would be
only 20 miles from New York and within
easy reach of 100000 persons.
Another interesting feature of the
matches will be the air meet in which
not less than six army and navy flyers,
and including, possibly, Lieut.. Ormer
Lockyear, the mid air acrobat will par
ticipate by authority of Major General
Charles I. Menoher, director OF the Unit
ed States air service. Two two-seated
and four one seated airplanes will be
provided by the federal authorities
The air meet will include both ground
work and flights. In the first classified
tion there will be exhibitions of ammu-
milton, aerial ornaments, synchronizing
gears and the most recent telescope
sights. Methods employed in bore sight
ing, it is said will be explained in de.
tail. Aerial photography and its appli-
cation to surveying. civil engineering, the
location of fires and other purposes, will
be another feature.
The flying personnel, in addition per-
haps to Lieut.. Lockyear, viii include
several other faces" of the American ex-
peditionary force, all of whom, it is ex-
pected, will give demonstrations of the
accuracy obtained in aerial machine gun
fire during hostilities. Parachutes and
captive balloons will serve as targets and
now are being made to incorporate the
air shooting into the list of events sched-
uled by the National Rifle association
While the primary purpose of the air
service participation is not to have the
flying personnel enter the rifle matches
as individuals OF in teams, the men Sc
lected for duty it is said, will be chos.
en- with view TO their qualifications as
marksmen, General Moneher having ex.
pressed himself, it is said, as being de
sirous that they participate in, actual
firing.