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Mi' HKGINALD FOSTER.
should establish shooting
. galleries In all the large pub
lic and military schools; we
should maintain national target ranges
In different parts of the country; and
,we should in every way encourage the
formation of rifle clubs everywhere in
the land."
So wrote President Roosevelt In his
message to Congress a year ago. Today
his recommendations are bearing fruit.
The schoolboys of the country are
.really learning how to use a military
rifle some 100,000 of them are. daily
' .practicing ' how to shoot to shoot to
'kill. '. .-
It is no air rifle o.r shotgun prac'-
tice, either. The boys'are being taught
to use the Krag-Jorgensen and the
new Springfield, the arm of the regular
oldler In battle. Experienced shots
Are their Instructors and all the the
ory and practice of marksmanship Is
taught, not only at the. targets In
the field, but with books and machines
which teach the . novice his errors In
wind, elevation and holding.
' Schoolboys all over the country have
been shooting in New York City
throughout the holidays in air sorts of
contests for .bronze trophies, cups, re
volvers, rifles and other thoings dear
to the youthful heart. Toung men
"from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and George Washington University
have been shooting for a shield of
bronse and oak, following the Presi
dents recommendations.
" They came from many of the big
cities, from publio schools and private
schools and military academies every
where. A representative of the War
Department opened the match with of'
fleers of the regular Army and the Na
tional Guard as scorers and referees.
It la t very business-like proposition
this teaching the American boy to
hoot straight.
A Patrlotio Association.
, The National Rifle . Association of
America, a patriotic organization, first
took up the President s proposition and
- has now put it into practical opera
tion. Arms have been obtained from
the dovcrnment, V ranges have been
built, medale and cups have been ar-
. ranKPd for and the by-laws bf the as
sociation have been amended so that
college and schoolboy clubs may be
Ncomo members.'
.- These young j marksmen are divided
Into two classes those who are at
tending universities and colleges which
give degrees, and those who are In
schools. A code has been drawn up
which has the approval of the National
'Board for the Promotion of Rifle Prac,
'lice and the Secretary of War.
The plan now Is to give medals to
such clubs to be competed for by their
member's." A course of rifle ehooting,
..both Indoors and outdoors, has been
arranged. Students who shoot through
these courses receive a junior marks
man's decoration, and their names are
enrolled at Washington fos use in time
of war.
Approrfil by Roosevelt.
This schoolboy shooting movement
has been inaugurated - In New York.
There the first Indoor tournament was
held at the Grand Central Palace, from
December 23 to January 4. It had the
sanction and the approval of President
Roosevelt, who at once joined the asso
'ciatlon as a life member.
Tile majority of his Cabinet followed
suit. Others who have joined and con
tributed to the movement are Judge Gary,
Vice-President of the United States Steel
Corporation; Seth Low. ex-Mayor of
New York; - Gen. Charles P. Roe, com
manding the National Guard of the Em
pire State; Clarence H. Mackay, presi
dent of the Postal Telegraph Company;
Mortimer Li . Schiff, the Wall Street
banker,' and many other men of promi
nence. .
The boys who came to shoot were from
pretty much all .the Atlantic section of
the country.
Now President' Roosevelt has accepted
the honorary vice-presidency of the As
sociation. He has announced his inten
tion of writing a letter to the boy who
attains the greatest skill In the matches
during the year. What American boy
wpuldn't bite at such a bait a letter from
the President?
Ambrose Soharfenberg, of the Manual
Training High School, Brooklyn, won the
President's first letter. He made a per
fect ecore with the eubtarget gun ma
chine; 63 out of a possible S8 In the In
dividual match on .the Creedmoor' Range;
and 45 points out of 60 In the team match.
His aggregate score was 158 for the three
competitions.
And this is the letter the lucky boy re
ceived from President Roosevelt:
"'My Dear Young Friend: I heartily
congratulate you upon being declared by
the Public Schools ' Athletio League to
stand first in rifle shooting among all the
boys of the High School of New York
City who have tried during the last year.
"Any grown man Who regards himself
as a crack rifle shot would be proud of
such a score. Your skill Is a credit to'
you. ' and also to your principal, your
teachers and all connected with the Man
ual Training Schqol which you attend,
and I congratulate them all.
"I am especially glad with what the
Publio Schools Athletic League has done
In establishing Instruction In rifle shoot
ing. The United States has a very small
standing army. In time of war it must
depend for defense upon hasty levies of
volunteers, and it Is a, prime necessity
that the volunteer should already, know
how to shoot if he Is to be of value as
a soldier. In no modern war would it be
possible effectively to train men to shoot
during the brief period of preparation be
fore the army takes the field. In conse
quence, the training must come in ad
vance and the graduates from our schools
and colleges should be thus trained so as
to be good shots with the military rifle.
"When so. trained they constitute a
great addition to our national strength
and great assurance for the peace of the
country.
"With all good wishes, believe me,
"Sincerely yours.
"THEODORE , ROOSEVELT."
Spirited Contest.
This was for the first outdoor shoot.
With the Impetus of the President's let
ter boys came from all the Eastern states
to ty". for a place In the W'lnter Indoor
matches.
Nearly all the Eastern colleges Sent
a team. Culver Military Academy, of
Culver, Ind., entered and so did St.
Matthews School, from Burlingame,
Cal. There .were teams from the
Paterson, N. J., and Stanford, Conn.,
High Schools. Other entries were ths
Hamilton Institute, New York City;
St. John's School, Manlius, N. Y.;
Kemper. Military School, Boonvllle,
Mo.; Riverside Academy, Pough
keepsla, N. Y., and the New York
Military Academy, Cornwall, N. Y.
Other schoolboys teams came from
New York. Baltimore, Washington and
Jersey City.
There was a challenge cup for New
York boys alone, and bitter was -the
contest. Young Scharfenberg won
again. Every boy who made 20 out of
25 in five shots standing, and 22 out
of 25 In flvesbots lying down, received
the "Junior Marksman's" decoration.
Other prizes were rifles presented by
wealthy members of the association.
But this Is only the beginning.
. The movement Is being extended
rapidly all over the country. ' Schools
may now borrow the death-dealing
Krags from the United States Govern
ment weapons that are sighted for
shooting to hit at 1400 yards and have
killing power at two miles.
Sub-Tcrget Machine.
Then there Is the. -new sub-target
machine . which teaches boys how to
shoot without firing powder or bullet.
These- have already been Installed In
many of the public schools of New
York and other cities. The personal
equation Is what the Instructor wishes
to. seek out. By the aid of this ma
chine he finds it readily and can cor
rect . errors without difficulty. Boys
who have never fired a gun loaded
with powder and ball, after a few
weeks' Instruction, can go out into
the field and Jiit .the. target with con
summate ease. - .-' . ''"'
- This machine consists of an upright
standard having at the top a. horizon
tal rod In front of -whjch lsplaced a
miniature target about the size of a
visiting card. To. this is attached the
ordinary Krag military rifle, which,
while capable of being-Treely 'moved,
U so adjusted! that when aim is taken
with the rifle at a regulation target
down the range or -across the room,
and the trigger is pulled, the rod
punches a hole .In the miniature target
in the exact relative place where the
target aimed at would have been hit if
the gun had been loaded.
Furthermore, the instructor la able
to see just how the boy holds the rifle
whether he pulls it off the target
when he snaps the trigger or whether
he is unable to sight directly into
the bullseye. Standing alongside the
boy he Is able to follow the movement
of the roi on the miniature target to
see the manner in which he is aiming,
and to. correct his defects in holding
his rifJe, which is impossible to do
when a loaded gun is being used.
Teaching How to Shoot to Kill.
Gradually it is planned to extend
this new Idea of teaching boys how to
shoot to hit all over the country.
President Roosevelt is heart and sonl
in it and so are many prominent men
of all parties. S. R. Guggenheim, the
New York millionaire, has presented
six schools of New York alone with
complete shootlrig outfit?, ana other
New Yorkers, Col. Leslie C. Bruce,
Warren Crujkshank, Col. Robert' B".
W'oodward, Borough President Bird S.
Coler, and Horace J. Morse have lilted
out others. Henry Payne Whitney,
son of 'the late William C. Whitney,
formerly Secretary of the Navy and a
multi-millionaire, has presented the
prises. .Capt. G. W? Corwin. inspector
of rifle practice of the Seventy-flrst
Regiment, N. G. N. Y., one of the best
shot in the United States, Is general
instructor for the schoolboys.
- In each school he selects a teacher
who is interested as superintendent of
shooting. In each class four boys who.
show proficiency are . made ' sergeant
instructors. At first the boy who made 40 out of
a possible 50 wa's enrolled as a marks
man. But so' fast did the 1oys im
prove that It was found necessary to
raise . the . standard. It was increased
to 42, later it was 43. and now it is 44.
- Today there is being placed in the
hands of every schoolboy in New York
and wherever else the schools are tak
ing up President Ttoosevelfs idea, a
manual of Instruction in shooting.
Windage,, elevation, atmosphere, mir
age and a thousand other little things
are taught thpoys. The mathematics
of shooting fs explained; a general
knowledge of 'how to shoot to hit and
to kill imparted. -
There are 600, J00' children In the
schools of New Ybrk. practically the
population of St. Louis, the fourth city
in the Union. Of these 300,000 are
boys. It is the aim of the National
Rifle Association to teach everyone of
them to shoot straight, and eventually
extend . the system- from the East,
Where it is becoming the recognized
thing, to the West and South. .
To Insure Peace.
setire-
Sald Lieutenant A. S. Jones
tary of the association:
"Thinking men appreciate the fact
that nations' insure respect and confi
dence only in proportion to the meas
ure of . their strength. The. commer
cial nation, relying in wealth alone
and the good will of other powers to
preserve it from. Intervention in its
affairs, while lacking the military
strength to protect its citizens, and to
preserve the honor and dignity of the
commonwealth, faiis in .its duty and
leaves itself open as a prey, to other
nations composed' of an aggressive
people," desirous of Increasing or ex
tending Mteir power, by not fostering
a military spirit -among th young men
and bo.ys. - Conflict and warfare can
not be . avoided, because all men and
nations are. not-peaceful or willing to
BUbmit themselves always to the die-,
tates of reason and conscience. It- is
wise and necessary, therefore, to fol
low the advice of Washington 'In
time of peace, prepare for war.'
"It may be assumed that 60 or . 70
per .cent of the aggregate strength of
a large body of volunteers would be
under the age of 25; consequently
military training should begin with the
youths. They are really the backbone
of a nation. In cities where boys often
commence business careers at the age
of IS or 20, it is oftlmes hard for them
to get the time, even if they desired,
to practice with small arms; there
fore, if they get any considerable meas
ure of ground work for our scheme of
riflo practice, we must commence with
boys at school, and offer, every en
couragement which will conduce to
that end. . It 'is therefore essential,
wherever possible, indoor ranges be
provided in public schools and other
institutions, and that a special en
deavor be made to. promote the use ot
private and other ranges by schools.
. Military Science Voluntary.
"In this country, where all military
service, including that In the regular
Army, is in itself voluntary, the mili
tary training and education of all its
men is more .important than in any
other country. In other nations there
Is a compulsory military service for
every able-bodied citizen, and, in case,
of conflict, we must, by voluntary en
rollments, meet the soldiers of those
couiitries trained for service In the
field, with soldiers equally as good or
better. We may therefore consider the
value of an education and training in
rifle, shooting not only to the citi
zen himself as an individual, and its
value to the state, but as to its actual
necessity for the safety, and welfare
of the Nation."
And General George W. Wlngate, he
of the foremost military xperts in the
United States, follows this up" with:,
"While -there is no difficulty, in case
of war in getting all the volunteers
the country requires and they can be
taught a reasonable amount of drill in
a few weeks, it takes a long time to
teach them to shoot. Unless they can
shoot accurately they are of little
valuv as soldiers.
"If,, however, the boys who . are
graduating from our . schools In tire
different states .should be slfllled rifle
men, the country can rest "content with
a small standing army, knowing that
In case of war it can put in the
field at short notice an army of vol
unteers whose skill In rifle shooting
will enable them to be fully the equal
of any army which may be brought
against them The system is therefore
a great factor for national peace." -
In the' United States today there are
11. 000. 000 schoolboys. Work will not
stop in teaching tlrcm to shoot until
everyone an shoot.
THE BRITON AS A MARKSMAN
Comment on Killing of Deer as a POpnlar Sport.
London Csrreipondent In Arms and the Ma.
POR at least a decade the rents or
deer forests have been decreasing. At
the same time grouse moors have, certain
ly retained their valuVs, which in some
cases have gradually increased. This re
mark has reference to the dog moors
of the Highlands; there the exclusively
driving grouse moors are too scarce as
yet to have found a fixed Value.
Forest owners who look to the rents of
their deer ground for Income are not
entirely of one opinion as to the causes
of the drop in the rents.' nor do they all
agree as to the methods to be followed
to change the tendency of values, prob
ably the chief cause of shortness of
money for deer stalking is to be found
In the poor '.specimens .of antler growth
of most Scotch forest deer.' There are
various methods by whlcn -the heads
can be, and are. Improved, but ail of
them are calculated to depreciate the
sentiment of romance and- wildness
which had so much 'effect in making the
killing of deer popular as a sport.
Although the deer at one time all be
longed to N the Kings of Scotland, and
great drives, which lasted for days to
gether, collected the beasts ;for the
pleasure of the court, as in the time of
Queen Mary, the . pursuit of deer by
gentlemen did not last over the period of
Stuart trouble, when the pursuit of men
was considered to be more suitable for
a gentleman. We have It In record that
one young laird who took to the pursuit
of deer with the gun, was remonstrated
with, as his occupation was held to be
unfitting for a gentleman, and- because
the procuring of meat should be left to
the servants. . ;
Also, we ar.e tola by Boswell. that Mr.
Grant, of Glenmoriston, allowed anybody
to go after -his deer, in the full belief
"that nobody could do them much harm.
As this occurred only 25 years before the
opening of the 19th century, it may be
affirmed that the fashion for deer stalk
ing Ib no more than a- century old.
Scorpe's deer stalking ought to have
created the fashion, but it did not, and
I am inclined to thmk that the interest
taken in it by the late Queen and Prince
Albert, together with the brush of Sir
Edward Landseer, really set .the fashion.
If that Is so, then it is noteworthy that
fashion at Its height has lasted less than
60 years, and it cannot be assumed that
there is anything Inseparably associated
with the sport that insures for it a con
tinuance of favor. Its apex of popularity
may be said to have been about 35 years
ago, when the rifle was not-the thing of
precision it is now, and- when the deer
hound was often called In to finish oft
the blunders of the shooter. Truly, the
deer without the deerhound would have
appeared unplctuuesque to Sir Edward
Landseer, and not practical besides, since
his own shooting at deer 80 yards away is
recorded to have been anything but cer
tain, and on some occasions to have re
quired the services of the brace of
hounds to course and to bring to bay the
unwounded or "cold" .deer. The gun in
his hands was of as little use as the
crossbow when a law of Queen Mary for
bade the shooting of deer under pain of
death; but we are not to suppose that
this law was honored .by- the keeping
when the deer were driven and coursed,
and probably shot at when they could be
hit, for the delectation of the fair Queen
In the forest of A thole.
The decadence of prices has set In with
a greater quantity of deer With the aboli
tion of the deerhound, with the- coming
of the small-bore, high-velocity rifle, with
the hand feeding of the deer in Winter,
with the crossing of the wild deer with
park stags, and with the subdivision of
forests. -.
The abolition of the deerhound was
necessary in the reduced forests. The
deer was the shooter's only so long as
they were upon his ground, and the deer
hound had a nasty way of driving them
off. Consequently, a collie In a string Is
now preferable to a pair of deerhounds
coursing down the wounded beast,' per
haps through the sanctuary, and may be
away Into the next forest, to spoil the
stalk of a neighbor. The change is to
ward .economy, but away from the pic
turesque and l oman tie.
The greater quantity of deer .is- also
practical rural economy, because the
tenant demands 100 stags where the
ground will only feed BO good ones. This
demand also compels the . Winter hand
feeding, which Is good for antler growth.
But when photographs of wild deer ap
pear in the illustrated papers, and hunger
compelled stags are seen to be as tame
as chickens fighting for a mouthful In
the presence of their feeder, it IS apt to
spoil .deer stalkers In the making those
who have not tasted blood and do not
know the various moods of the wild deer.
These animals that appear so tame in the
photographs, are wise enough to know
when they are in danger, and are none
the less difficult to approach In Septem
ber because they -have been hand-fed
in March.
Each 6f these modern phases of the
forest detracts only a little, perhaps, from
the sentiment of sport. When, however,
they are added to. by the crossing of
wild deer with park stags, sentiment is
subjected to a severer strain than ever
before. There is a -school of Highland
sportsmen and deer ground-owners who
are hostile to the Introduction of new
blood. What they say 'Is that If the
type of the wild deer's head Is, to be
changed; if the fashion is set for some
thing resembling a park deer's antlers,
then the raison d'etre of the Highland
trophy is gone, for If It is to be judged
as a park, a German, or a Hungarian
stag, the Highlands . will not. produce
even a fair- imitation.
The soil of the mountain Is not good
enough to grow the accessary vegetation.
It is nothing to the point to say truth
fully that some park deer cannot be dis
tinguished from the wild Highlanders,
even by the forester themselves. The
true Highland wild head never ap
proaches the type of " the . best park
antlers, and . it is these, not the worst,
that the other school desires to see in
the Scotch forests. Forest-owners are
in this dilemma: If they remain content
with their little, stags and dwarf antlers,
nobody will pay high rents; If, on the
contrary they cross, and get heavy heads,
then it is said, as it was said of Lord
Burton 20-polnter in 1893, that the beasts
that bear the better antlers are park
deer. Some years before Lord Burton
had received a present of Stoke park deer
that had been purchased by the late Lord
Ilchester at the breakup of that remark
able herd, so that there might have been
some foundation for the statement. All
the same, it Is to be noted that deer
stalkers . were generally anxious to
possess themselves of a Glenquolch head.
Nevertheless that does not dispose of
the fact- that there Is the other view
that which , ranks Highland type of bead
before masslveness and points, beam and
span. Unquestionably, the problem Is a
difficult one, because it Is these same
qualities-that the Highlanders admire up
to a certain point. That point Is not the
same for any two individuals, but is
passed when the antlers suggest park
bipod. In Germany, where they have an
annual exhibition of all the best heads
of the year, there Is kept a strict divid
ing line betwen the wild and the park
trophies. .
There, too, they speak of breeders of
deer In the same sense as we mention
breeders of shorthorns. Artificial . horn
producing foods are used bv some of these
breeders, who are as proud of a place In
the Berlin show as an Englishman Is or
winning the Derby. What they depend
upon are food and freaks, and artificial
manures to create the food. Food alono
always does something to improve stags'
heads, but that Is not enough to rely
upon, especially In the Highlands, whers
food Is never as rich In nitrogen and
bone forming matter as that of ths
parks of England.
There is one park in particular whera
both food and antler freaks occur. This
Is Warnham Court, in Sussex, pne of
the first of the freaks there occurred
shortly after the park was first annually
manured with bone dust, and It- is quits
possible that not only was the vegeta
tion mads rich in antler forming matter,
but that the deer actually consumed the
bone dust Itself. Be that as It may, from
a very ordinary herd of deer, that of
Warnham Court Jumped Into the first
rank, with the rest nowhere, on mere
weight of antler.
A Servitor's Soliloquy.
'Washington ta.r. .
I waits upon d white folks, an' I sho' ad
mires deir looks;
Dey's all dressed up like people dat you sees
In picture bQoks,
Dey sits down to de table aa' moi' all d
time" dy feeds
Dey's tajkln' 'botifde country an'-its dif
ferent kinds o needs.
I gets so much excited dat I 'specks to wake
nex' day
To and de various troubles of dls world all
swep away.
But now I's learnin' better. When dem white
- . , folks stants to dine
Dar Isn't nufCin' doln'-, but the conversations
- line!
It's Jes" like heaxin music when you listen
to dat talk
X purty neah stahts dancin', 'cause I feels
too sood to walk,
Commenoln' with de terrapin, -as sweet as
any sons.
It keeps on getttn finer till de coffee comes
- along.
De wAy dey smites de sinners an' rewards
de good- ts irsod
It soun' like we Is llvln' In de sho' nut?
promise land.
Ob course, de world will be de same nex'
day, 'bout eight or nine. ,
Dar Isn't nutria' doln', but de conversation's
fine.
A syndicate has been formed for the
purpose ot making roads out of London for
the use ot motor cars.