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Show JOHN M. BROWNING, INVENTOR; HIS CONTRIBUTION TO WARFARE Something of the Ogden Man Whose Weapons Are Heard the World Over. ASKXSK of curiosity was awakened awak-ened in one of the most humble creatures of the western plains, a jack rabbit, during an aimless, aim-less, meandering journey on u sprint; morning moie than fifty years ago. The visit of the little creature to a small Kiinshop within pistol shot of the sand dune it considered its home has had a great part in the collapse of miiditv 'thrones ir ross the seas aud will plav no mean share in the titanic struggle' strug-gle' by which the world will be made safe for democracy. Onlv a few days later the rabbit U'st its sillv head, but its curiosity was directly di-rectly responsible for the inventions in firearms that for veals' have dominated the sporting- world and for small caliber ordnance that is used by the fighting men of every civilized nation. On its trip the animal's curiosity was aroused by sounds from the gunshop of Captain Jonathan Browning and therefore- it continued to visit the vicinity of the pliice from which issued the strange and fascinating clinkiugs and clank-ings. clank-ings. It would sit for minutes at a time upon its haunches, gazing at the shop aiul wrinkling its nose in wonderment. These visits were soon noted by a keen-eved, barefoot boy who resolved forthwith to prove his prowess by taking tak-ing the scalp of tile elusive visitor, tn those days guns were extremely valuable valu-able and 'were not to be endangered by the whims of little hoys. "I will make a gun of my very own,'' he said. Invents First Firearm. So from the castawav materials in his father's shop. John Moses Browning invented his first firearm aud all unconsciously un-consciously began the cultivation of that inventive genius that later was to revolutionize the small caliber gun world and bring him fame and decorations decora-tions from monarchs whose kingdoms to him were then only vague colored splotches on the map of Europe. Plavitig a part in the war, among his scores of other gnus and pistols, are Mr. Browning's .45 caliber automatic pistol, which several years , ago was adopted for use of the United States navy, army and national guard, and Ins machine gims, the one which weighs fifteen fif-teen pounds being selected for the aviation avia-tion service, and the twenty-pound gun for the, infantry. Mr. Browning's father, Captain Browning, was an inventor of no mean ability. He had put out several guns of original design and after coining to Utah from Council Bluffs, Iowa, enjoyed en-joyed a readv demand for ,his arms. The old shop, "near which Mr. Browning was born, stood at Twenty-seventh and Adams streets, Ogden. The town then was but a small cattle town and. the names of the streets then were Seventh and Adams. His first gun made, the boy, who fifty years later was to receive the. decoration dec-oration Chevalier dc 1 'Order de Leopold from King Albert of Belgium, and to see his inventions so well known in some Kuropean countries'that the name, Browning, was used interchangeably with the term pistol, began work in earnest. Before he was fourteen years old he had designed at least three breech mechanisms, making the models of wood, and at the ago of twenty-three had turned out the first gun that was marketed. Established in 1847. From the old shop, which Captain Browning established at Ogden in 1847, and practically all tools made by Captain Cap-tain Browning and himself, Mr. Browning Brown-ing evolved ideas from which resulted the manufacture of more guns than were manufactured by all other gun and pistol designers combined. Hardlv any of the popular- ideas regarding re-garding the personality of inventors is borne out by Mr. Browning. In this he is a thorough iconoclast. In the first place, and incidentally where most inventors in-ventors fail, he is immensely successful. He has never known discouragement and defeat, as from his youth his inventions inven-tions have been eagerly sought by the most powerful of the manufacturers. With the aid of a brother, M. S. Browning Brown-ing of Ogden, who arranges the business details. Mr. Browning has been wonderfully won-derfully successful financially and ranks among the millionaires of the country. Mr. Browning is not an "eccentric genius," as the popular idea of inventors inven-tors runs, but is as natural and normal as the average city man of affairs. Ideas do not "come to him" at weird and inconvenient in-convenient hours, but are the result of definite and carefully planned efforts toward certain results. Mr. Browning notes a need and studies it until he is able to fill it. Having inherited the old shop of his father, Mr. Browning and his brother, when very young men and working with the most primitive tools, made as their first venture some (100 rifles. This consignment was sold rapidly, rap-idly, and from that time there were always orders in advance far ahead of the limited facilities of the shop. Devotee of Hunting. A tall, well proportioned man of h':i years, Mr. Browning is a devotee of hunting and trapshooting when he has time. He is practically a, stranger in Ogden and in Utah, most of his time being passed at the different, factories in this country and Kurope manufacturing manufactur-ing his guns. Before the outbreak of the war he was much of the time at the plant of the Fobrique Xationale d 'Amies de Guerre of Liege. Belgium. When this factory was taken by the Germans the machinery was sent into Germany. Mr. Browning has headquarters at present, at Hart ford. Conn., and has not been homo since leaving for the cast two years ago. Members of his family - JOHN M. BROWNING ' s i 1 'I v J I IK' , 1 I r v ' k ' " 51 ' i I . , A - 1 , 1 1 L s 1 ' A J i i -t' , j M visit him as he lacks the time to come wost. His models ;ire made and his ideas worked out in the shop at Ogden. Among the more recent distinctions' conferred con-ferred upon Mr. Browning is the John Scott legacy, awarded hv the Franklin iustitute of Philadelphia." , Th e first mac nine gn n invented b v Mr. Browning was supplied to the allied n-ovemmeuts in large numbers since the outbreak or' the war. Although he made this guu more than twenty years ago and has added no improvements to "it I sin.-e, it still ranks as one of the most : efficient weapons of this character. His I automatic pistol, the standard arm of the three branches of the service, is being be-ing turned out in large numbers for the new army. This pistol was adopted in competition with all other makes, and is the first small arm which ever underwent under-went a government test with'a perfect score. Bear Name in Europe. When the war so closelv demonstrated the efficiency of the machine gun, Mr. Browning again turned his attention to it with a view of correcting faults in existing types. The result was the recoil-operated, water-cooled gun recently ndopted for the army. A" little later, seeing the need of a machine rifle of lighter weight than any turned out, he developed the gun which weighs only fifteen pounds, and can be fired from the shoulder just as a military or sporting sport-ing rifle. In the I'nited States Mr. Browning's inventions are put out under the name tf the manufacturers, but in Europe thev bear his name. Though Mr. Browning by no means bears out the popular conception of: an inventor, some of his traits tend to set him even further apart from the average, av-erage, uninteresting individual. Tn common with practically all men who accomplish much, Mr. Browning is able to concentrate all his attention and energy upon whatever problem he is seeking to solve, and when at work in his experiment shop does not besitj-te to soil his hands and sometimes his face also. An amusing incident arising aris-ing from these characteristics is told .by Mr. Browning's friends. An eastern capitalist made the .journey .jour-ney to Ogden for the purpose of a conference con-ference with the inventor. The eastern east-ern man ranks high in his world, is accustomed ac-customed to receiving the deference ac- ; corded his position- aud dignity j He was directed to the shop, in the rear of the mercantile establishment conducted by a son of Mr. Browning. "You will find Mr. Browning at work there," he was told. ''Oh, I have met Mr. Browning in the east. I will just go in and find him," the .stranger replied. re-plied. He reappeared after an interval, stating that evidently Mr. Browning had gone out. Only Man in Overalls. "Yes, I am sure he is not there," the eastern man asserted. ' ' There is no- i body in the place but a man in overads, the janitor, I suppose, who paid no attention at-tention to me, but just continued to whistle. ' ' It was Mr, Browning, but he had become deeply absorbed in the work before him, which to the uninitiated uniniti-ated seemed to ba nothing more important impor-tant than a means of smearing his clothing with machine oil, and was oblivious ob-livious to all else. Tie does not make acquaintances readily, read-ily, and this fact, together with his frequent fre-quent and prolonged absences from home, have made him something of a stranger to a great number of the residents resi-dents of Ogden. He shuns publicity and avoids, whenever possible, listening" to fulsome and unintelligent praise of his achievements. While on a . voyage to Europe some time ago Mr, Browning was shown a machine gun of his own invention which hapencd to bo on tlic ship. The gunner gun-ner in e-hargo of the weapon showed its inventor the method ot' operation and the mechanism ot the ynn. Mr. Browning listened solemnly to the lecture lec-ture on his invention, lint did not dis-. elose his identity. "He seems to understand un-derstand it," was the only remark he made. Mr. Browning is .very fond of hunting and trap shooting, but his work has more ami more encroached on his time so that of recent years he has had very little opportunity to indulge his fondness fond-ness for these sports. When at home lie js fond of taking long tramps in the tiills about Ogden and reads when he has opportunity, French and English authors ;beinr- his favorites. |
