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The Model 1919 was originally designed for heavy canvas "cloth" belts, like all the early belt-fed MGs. The use of disintegrating links is a later development, first used in aircraft guns, where the empty belts tended to get in the way of propellors and things like that. German WWII and later guns used link belts, but not disintegrating links, so they had some of the same problems as cloth belts.
Obviously, a cloth belt is not compatible with push-through feed systems like the M60, so that development put an end to cloth belts.
(The M1919A6 was a "light" gun with a sort of shoulder stock - IMHO a monstrosity.)
Jim
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