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Show H J BEFORE AND AFTER THE H BROWNING GUN TEST. On March 1, the day after the Browning rifle was tested near Wash-ington, Wash-ington, the following editorial ap-peared ap-peared In the New York World: Hf There came under public clcm- onstration yesterday near Wash-j Wash-j ington -what is known as the Hi; Browning machine gun, a nc.w (. American weapon of the rapid-firo order. It had figured prominentias prominent-ias ly in the ovldenco lately mar-shalled mar-shalled through tho senate com-mitteen com-mitteen on military affairs to prove that tho war administration Kt of the government had practically stopped functioning." It had been denominated a "paper gun" by no less a military authority than Col. Roosevelt. To tho fact that it had commanded any attention what-Hl what-Hl ever from the ordnance bureau Hl has been attributed such other H well-known facts as the failure so B; far to get any American troops B Into France or the impossibllty of B ever arming them with weapons of Hj American make othcrthan wood Hft should any ever reach ihe front, t The "story of the. demonstration is elsewhere told and it must carry ItB own comment on all that has been said of the ne-w weapon, oither as one of paper or as a monkey-wrench monkey-wrench thrown into the American AYar machine, with the effoct, if not for the purpose of making it ceaso to function. Evidently the World considered the test so conclusively in favor of the Browning gun that tho unadorned story of the demonstration would be moro eloquent in praise than anything which it might say by way of editorial analysis. The secretary of War, just prior to the lest, said: "The board which tested tho Browning Brown-ing rifle last May, prior to its adoption adop-tion by the war department, called particular attention to the manufacturing manufac-turing problems involved, and ono of its recommendations in favor of the rlflo was that tho inventor had approached ap-proached the subject with a full knowledge knowl-edge and comprehonsivo program to meet the problehis or manufacture. "The Browning machine rifle is now in process of manufacture in three gun factories. "Production of the Colt-Browning machine gun, model of 1018, water cooled, familiarly called the Browning Brown-ing heavy machine gun,' and intended moro as a defensive weapon, will begin be-gin within a few -weeks in four factories factor-ies on a quantity basis by machine processes. pro-cesses. The ordnance department is In receipt of assurances that manufacture manufac-ture of this type will progress on terms favorably comparing with the production now in view for the Browning Brown-ing rifle. "These two types of machine guns, the inventions of John M. Browning, whoso achievements as a fire-arms designer de-signer have given him world renown, supplement each othor in their respective respec-tive fields. The official tests that havo been made by the ordnance department de-partment of tho Browning guns, taken in connection with general machine-gun machine-gun equipment and plans, assure to the United States army supremacy In this field of equipment." - on |