PISTOL

during the period 1910-26 the auto- matic pistol has been gradually perfected and adapted to replace the revolycr as a military side arm, despite the fact that there are many who maintain that the revolver is the more dependable i51 and revolver was extended to include many branches of the serv- ice not armed with riiles, particularly by the united states, british and german armies. the large calibre weapons of the former armies gave them a great advantage in pistol fighting, anil their use confirmed previous opinions that a large calibre heavy bullet of short range and low velocity ts more elfective in a pistol than a high velocity, small calibre bullet. the prin- cipal and best known systems of automatic pistols, most of which are manufactured in several calibres, include the following: colt, browning, webley, savage, remington, luger, mauser, mann- licher and steyr. automatic pistols have now been adopted by the armies of the united states, belgium, spain, italy, denmark, portugal, switzerland, germany and <austria. the british navy has adopted the webley automatic pistol. automatic pistols and their cartridges rg s/s muzzle barrel weight re ae wo energy cartridge | = |length, of bullet, melee, of bullet, : | inches grains ft. ft.lb | seconds tics 22 long rifle rim fire ' a a ae ea -22 colt auto. target model. . : ; ; ; | 65 40 765 51.8 25 auto. colt, webley & scott, harrington & richardson (also interchange- able with 6:35 mm. browning (fabrique nationale), mauser, pieper, clement, steyr, victoria) re aa a a ar a5 50 ¥33 59°7 7-63 mm. mauser, borchardt 52 86 1,397 373 por (wcco es de se ee ek ee ts, es a i ee 43 93 1,173°5 284°3 -32 auto, colt, webley & scott, savage, harrington & richardson (also inter- changeable with 7-65 mm. browning (fabrique nationale, bayard, mauser, pieper, schwartzlose, clement, steyr, frommer) : : ; 4 74 964 152° -35 smith and wesson : 33 7 809 1105 9g mm, luger : ; 4 i2 i ,039-2 299°8 48 auto. colt, bayatd 2." ses mu @ oe we ee ee ee one 52 13 1,146°3 379-4 -380 colt auto., savage, webley, browning 9 mm. (short), remington, bayard. ; : ; : : ; . 3} 95 887 116 -45 colt auto. : 5 200 q10-2 368 ‘$5 colt auto., u.s. govt. 5 230 809 335 -445 webley naval automatic an 220 710 ch 455 colt automatic me . (eh. o'l.) weapon. the automatic pistol, like all complicated mechanisms, occasionally malfunctions, usually due to a defective magazine or cartridge. this disadvantage is, however, offset by the fact that from the pistol about three times the number of shots per minute may be fired as from a revolver; its magazines are changed instantly, thus giving sustained fire while loaded magazines are at hand. this gives a great advantage to the user of a properly working pistol, as a revolver is often useless at close quarters, such as obtained in trench raids, after its six shots have been fired. in such positions the volume of fire from a group of pistols is much greater than that from an equal number of revolvers even if a pistol is occasionally disabled by a jam. owing to its simpler mechanism, the revolver is more reliable for civilian self-defence where more than two or three shots are seldom required; the weapon then being unused and often neg- lected for long periods. the revolver is also considered superior to the automatic pistol in safety. in the latter, the loaded car- tridge automatically inserted in the chamber after cach shot 1s liable to be forgotten and left there when the magazine ts taken out. to prevent accidental discharge from this source, some of the newer models have a ‘‘ magazine safcty,” which prevents the pistol from being fired when the magazine is out. in addition, a ‘grip safety,’ which prevents discharge unless the rear part of the grip is pressed in at the same time the trigger is pulled; and a safety catch, which locks the slide and hammer, are often used. recent models of revolvers show no improvements of note, and it is probable that with the attention now being given to the design of the automatic pistol, that weapon will eventually be made as reliable, safe and quick to get into action as a good revolver. in european armies previous to the world war, the pistol was used almost exclusively as an officer’s side arm. their weapons were of small calibre, ranging from 7-63 mm. to 9 mm., and lacked stopping power. during the war the use of the pistol pitch: see coal tar products. pittsburgh, pa. (sce 2¢.678), had (u.s. census, 1920) a population of 588,343, increased in 1925 to 631,563. the in- crease over igqio was 54,288 or 10-2%. after the 1920 census was taken, st. clair borough and parts of chartiers, reserve and lower st. clair townships were annexed. within the metropolitan district of a ro-m. radius, but outside the city limits proper, there was a further population cqual in number to that within the municipality ttself, and within a radius of 30 m. the total population was 1,800,co00. in allegheny co., of which pittsburgh is the county seat and business centre, there were in 1920 1,184,832 persons (1,252,344 in 1925), 13-6% of the total population of pennsylvania. recent developments.—the soth anniversary of pittsburgh, elaborately observed in 1908, marked the beginning of a new period of corporate, educational, social and material develop- ment. by legislative enactment (1911) the former common and select councils gave way to a small council of nine members, elected by general vote of the entire city. the mayor continued to appoint the heads of departments (safety, works, health, charities, supplies, property, water, treasury). the comptroller also was elected as formerly by popular vote. the expansion of public business in the city and county exceeding the capacity of the city hall and the court-house led to the erection by joint action of a new city-county building, a fine structure of nine storeys. the county in 1923 completed a twin tunnel—each tube 25 ft. wide and 5,889 ft. long at a cost of $6,000,c00o— under mt. washington to connect the southern hill district with the city by a high-level bridge over the monongahela river bringing that district within 15 minutes’ transit of the centre of the city. two new bridges across the allegheny were completed in 1925, and two others under construction were expected to reach completion in 1926, thus providing the city with 16 bridges across the two magnificent rivers. 152 the value of pittsburgh products in 1923 was $1,883,447,400, being 21-8% of those for the entire state. in 1924 the city held fifth place in bank clearings ($8,036,960,343) and first place in the following manufactured products: iron, steel, glass, electrical machinery, steel cars, tin plate, air brakes, fire-brick, white lead, pickles and preserves, corks, aluminum, railway signals and safety devices, vanadium, bituminous coal and coke. in rort the legislature adopted a new school code for the entire commonwealth, coming into operation on nov. 11 1911. under this code a board of education consisting of 15 members ap- pointed by the common pleas judges took control. separate school districts were abolished; a new city superintendent with associate superintendents were appointed; the scattered and unrelated school agencies were consolidated: new high schools and junior high schools established. new ward schools were erected. between 1920 and 1925 eight new high schools were built and eight grade schools. the public-school system was supplemented by parochial schools. in addition to the high schools there are a number of academies and other schools, 77 in all, on private foundation. the recent development of higher education has been notable. the university of pittsburgh raised $7,000,000 toward the erection of a 52-storey cathedral of learning; completed the stadium and in 1921-3 added 32 ae. to the campus. the carnegie institute continued its service to the community through its central library. in the institute is held each year an international exhibition of contemporaneous paintings. pittsburgh has altogether 20 hospitals, modern in construction and equipment, with 4,500 beds. there are 196 clubs, 511 churches, 263 social and welfare agencies, 50 play- grounds and 28 parks. a city planning commission and board of appeals control the height and character of all buildings. a bureau of traffic relief and a trathe commission were created in 1924 and, in the follow- ing year, a dept. of city transit charged with the regulation of traffic conditions and with the matter of recommending sub- ways and a comprehensive system of rapid-transit lines for the entire city. (si be scg) pius x. (1835-1914).—although the pontificate of pius x. (see 21.690) lasted only 11 years (aug. 4 1903-aug. 20 1914), it has been said that his work for the church, reconstructive and reformative, surpassed that of any of his predecessors since the days of sixtus v., who died in 1590. in the defence of the faith, his condemnation of the 65 propositions of modernism in 1907 will rank as a parallel to the condemnation of the 68 propositions of molinism by innocent xi. in 1637 or the ioi propositions of jansenism condemned by clement xi. in 1713. the activity of the pontificate may be judged by the fact that its output of papal bulls and greater official papal documents (counting only those published) exceeded 3,322. these bear upon undertakings and reforms of the first importance—the codification of canon law; the protection of the liberty of the conclave by the abolition of the exclusiva; the simplification and security of the conditions of marriage by the ze iemere legisla- tion; the restoration of the rota as the supreme court of appcal; the regulation of the triennial or quinquennial visits of bishops to rome; the legislation as to church music; and the decree as to first communion, and the encouragement of international eucharistic congresses; the reform of the roman breviary; the founding of the biblical institute for the work of scriptural re- search; the regulation of studies in the seminaries; the creation of the commission for the great work of editing the true text of the vulgate; the reconstruction of the official machinery of the roman curia; the transfer of the english-speaking countries from the propaganda or missionary regime to the normal govern- ment of the church. to these may be added in the domain of discipline the unflinching vindication by pius x. of the church’s right to depose delinquent bishops, carried out even at the cost of rupture of diplomatic relations with france; an apostolic visitation rigorously carried out through the dioceses of italy, resulting in four bishops being made to resign on account of pious: xxx. fius: x. neglect or inefficiency; a further regulation by which no one can be proposed for a bishopric unless his promotion receives the visa of the holy office, which means that his past life has been free from ecclesiastical censure or reproach. the well-known personal characteristics of pius x. were his piety, charity, deep humility, simplicity, pastoral zeal, combined with great charm of manner to all who approached him. for war he had nothing but horror and it was the shock of the outbreak of the world war that hastened his death, which took place in rome aug. 20 1914. it is said that one of his last acts was to refuse the request of the austrian emperor to bless his cause, saying, ‘‘ i do not bless war: i bless peace.” (j. mo.*) pius xi. (1857- ), pope since 1922, was born on may 31 1857 at desio, a small town north of monza, in the environs of milan, on the road to como, and was named ambrose damien achille. his father was francesco ratti, the manager of one of the great silk factories of desio, and partner in the firm of gadda. achille was educated at the seminaries of san pietro martire and of monza, and at the college of st. charles at milan, where he graduated. feeling that he was called to the priesthood, he studied for two years in the greater seminary. his life at this time was profoundly influenced by his spending his vacation months with his uncle, don rodolpho, the venerable and exemplary parish priest and provost of asso, a village in the promontory of the bellagio. from his windows he could see lake coma and the alps, of which later on he was so strongly to feel the lure. it was also here that he came under the personal] notice of the archbishop of milan, mgr. nazario di calebiana, who was staying as the guest of count de herra, and was a frequent visitor at his uncle’s presbytery. the archbishop was much struck by the future pope’s earnestness and maturity of judg- ment, and was wont to call him his “ young old man.” ever afterwards he took a deep interest in his career. he sent him to the college of st. martin and then to rome to study at the lombard college and attend the lectures at the gregorian university. here achille ratti took with distinction the de- grees of doctor of philosophy, of theology and canon law. he was ordained priest on dec. 20 1879. at the lombard college his fellow student and closest friend was alessandro lualdi, later cardinal archbishop of palermo. these two were mentioned to the pope by professor liberatore as the most brilliant of his students. they were the first to win the doctorate at the angelico, the new thomistic college founded by leo xiii. at rome. the pope sent for the two students and while passing through the clementine hall, from his chair in which he was being carried to the vatican gardens he delivered to them an impressive lecture upon the vital im- portance of a sound philosophy and of their mission in pro- moting it in the years which lay before them. in 1882 dr. ratti returned to milan and was appointed for some months to a curacy at the village of barni. following up the intentions of leo xiii., the archbishop transferred him to the great seminary, where he filled for five years the post of professor of dogmatic theology. in 1888 he was admitted as a member of the college of doctors at the great ambrosian library. this appointment gave a new direction to his scholarship. in this task, dr. ratti found a congenial field of labour under the guidance of the prefect of the college, the learned abbate cerriani. he became an expert, especially in latin palaeography and published several studies, and con- tributed numerous articles to the learned reviews. in 1907 he succeeded cerriani as prefect of the library. he was made domestic prelate by pius x. and canon of the milan cathedral by cardinal ferrari. during the years 1905-7 he undertook and carried out a reclassification of the library upon modern methods so as to facilitate the work of consultation and research. his success in this enterprise was recognised by the king of italy, who bestowed on him the knighthood of the order of saints maurice and lazarus. from 1888 onwards he was chaplain and director to the nuns of the cenacle, an order specially devoted to the work of ar- ranging spiritual retreats or conferences for all classes of women. plague at their convent he was brought into contact with all that was most distinguished and zealous among the laity of milan and became an active organiser of their manifold works of charity. at the same time, he spent the hours that he could spare from his library in teaching the catechism to numbers of poor chil- dren, including the little chimney sweeps that annually come down from the tirol. he clung to this work during the 30 years that he remained in milan. he more than once visited england. in june 1900 he stayed for a time with his intimate friend, bishop casartelli, at man- chester. ife studied at the bodleian in oxford and at the british museum and said mass in westminster cathedral. in his summer vacations it was his custom to make climbing excur- sions in the alps. the bolletine of the italian alpine club relates how, in 1889, he discovered a new way of ascent by the eastern slope to monte rosa, and how on one occasion by his courage and promptitude he saved the life of his guide. the ascent is commemorated by a monument erected by the club at macugnaga. in 1908, during the riots at milan, he was active in pacifying the turbulent elements and intervened success- fully to save the capucine convent from destruction during the bombardment. cardinal ferrari had made him his trusted counsellor in the government of the diocese and in 1909 appointed him to a can- onry in the cathedral. in tor2 pius x. called him to rome, made him vice-prefect of the vatican library (where he served under cardinal gasquet) and at the same time promoted him to a canonry of st. peter’s. on the succession of benedict xv. he became the familiar friend of the new pope, who, with a keen appreciation of his qualities singled him out for the dip- lomatic service and entrusted him with the delicate mission of apostolic visitor to the new republic of poland. here his clear judgment and tact and his fluent knowledge of german and polish enabled him to achieve a marked success in deal- ing with the complicated claims of the various nationalities in poland and the bordering russian territories. it is related that he himself had shrunk from this task and pleaded for a whole hour with the pope to be excused from it. benedict xv. only listened in silence and simply asked at the end ‘‘ how soon can you start?’ and mgr. ratti’s only reply was simply “ to- morrow.” | in june 1919 ratti was made nuncio apostolic in poland and titular archbishop of lepanto and on july 3 was consecrated in warsaw by the archbishop, mgr. katowski. it was a mark of the confidence reposed in him by all classes that he was chosen by the interallied commission to act as high ecclesias- tical commissioner for the plebiscite of upper silesia by agrce- ment of both the polish and german governments. during the bolshevik invasion, when most of the embassies withdrew from warsaw, the nuncio remained and carried on his work of conciliation and of succour for the poor in devastated regions. pope benedict xv. sent him the pallium, the polish govt. decorated him with the order of the white eagle and the university enrolled him amongst its doctors. on the death of cardinal ferrari, benedict xv., in june 1921, appointed him archbishop of milan, and made him a cardinal under the title of s.s. silvestro and martino ai monti. on sept. 2 he returned from a pilgrimage to lourdes and on the following day was solemnly enthroned. milan gave him an enthusiastic reception. his carriage was drawn by the people and was ac- companied by the civic authorities and the military and clergy. the vast procession was enhanced by the novel feature of an escort of aeroplanes encircling above it along the route to the cathedral. | pope benedict xv. died on jan. 22 1922. on feb. 2 the cardinals entered into conclave and on feb. 6 cardinal ratti was elected pope. he chose the name of pius xi. and was pro- claimed from the balcony of st. peter’s. he received the triple obedience of the cardinals and on feb. 11 was crowned in the presence of an enormous concourse in the basilica. since then the life of pius xi. may be summed up as one of constant ac- tivity, in which his encouragement of all high ideals and good 153 works has been marked by staunchness in matters of principle anc the spirit of pacification and conciliation in administration. during 1925, the year of the jubilee, he was brought, per- haps more than any other pontiff, into personal contact with his spiritual subjects by receiving more than 1,250,000 pil- grims from all parts of the catholic world. by all he is revered for his learning, his charity, piety and width of sympathy, his courtesy, tact and charm of deportment and, most of all, for his untiring devotion to the duties of his exalted pastorate. bibliography.—he has published climbs on alpine peaks, transl. by j. e. c. eaton, with introd. by bishop l. c. casartelli and a foreword by douglas w. freshfield. see also annuaire catholique (1923), ed. by mgr. a. baudrillart; acta a postolicae sedis. commen- tarium officiale (1919-25); and documentation er on (j. mo.