The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1883-06-14
THE rowEI OF DYNAMITE.



has been added to tue agencies With
which men make war upon one an.
other. The murder OF the Car OF
Russia, two years ago, the blowing
up a few weeks since, Oft Govern
mcnt building in London, tue seiz-
ure Of explosive machines in the
bands of suspicious characters, have
called the startled attention of The
world TO the terrible power of dyna'
mite.
What 10 this immensely dcstruc-
tive substance ? 1t is compound,
usually made in the form of II paste.
of nitro glycerino aud gun cotton.
Nitr.-slyceriue, as the reader may
know, is an oily liquid OF highly ex
plosive and dangerous qualities.
Gun cotton is cotton saturated III
certain acids, which makes it also Il
very explosive agent. The two,com-
bincd in tho form Of dynamite, make
substance which carries death aud
destruction peut up in II worry small
compass.
The glass bomb Of dynamite which
not only killed the Car Alexandria,
but wounded half-a"dozcn Of his cs
cort, and broke tho window paues Of
houses several hundred feet away,
could be carried easily concealed III
the palm of u mans hand of medium
size. No doubt the cNplosivo agent
whatever il was-H hich dealt such
havoc in London, was quito small
and easily concealed.
There are many possible forms
aud combinations Of gun cotton, hi
tro-glyccrino will not explode by tho
mere application of fire; on tue con.
trary, if lighted, it will burn slowly
and harmlessly. But it will explode
by n sharp concussion, A dynamite
bomb, too, supplied with n small
percussion cap, will explode il thrown
violently, just as does toy torpedo.
The most common way Of cXp'od-
ing one OF these agents 1t to have u
short fuso attached to it. The fur
ther end of the fuse is lighted, and
then the operator hastens away. By
the time the fire reaches the destroy
ing agent tho operator IL able to get
to safe distance, aud defy dctcc
ton.
The explosive power of dynamite
or nitro-glycerinc is generally stated
to he about ten times "a great as
powder of the same bulk. The
explosion produces no smoke what
ever, but creates u deafeniug dctona-
ton.
Dynamite, and other forms OF nj
tro-glycerine and gun cotton, are
taking the places Of gun powder III
many practical directions. They
have been substituted for gun-pow-
dor, to n large extent, in the opera
tions of mining and blasting rock ;
and this kind Of work is moro rapid
ly done by their means. Such ex-
plosive agents are also being INTRO"
duced into the operations Of war-
fare,
Gun-cotton is used in artillery
operations and in naval actions, II
, being found far moro cloan IN ITS
use. 1t is also adopted in tue opc-
rations of military engineering.
Thus We SEQ that tho discovery OF
nitroSglycerine, gun, cotton aud dy
namite, with their various combina'
, tions and the improvements con
stantly made in them, has given tc
I men new and most potent materin
force, which they use both for wlckeC
aud for bencficeut ends,
Henceforth, not only will mining
blasting, and similar work be don'
; more rapidly with less labor, bu
wars will be shorter tecause more
destructive.
But wo cannot regard the tremen
duous destructive power of dyna
mite, and the case with which enough
of it to destroy palace or u prlsol
can be carried concealed about the
person, without preceiviDg what
terrible weapon it supplies to th'
criminal and assassin.
Nor cau we wonder that the Eng
lish and other governments are earn
estly considering how the manufac
ture and sale ofagents so Formidable
in their action, and indeed in thei
very existence, can be restricted witt
out limiting their proper and bene
y Go;,l ,,aa IN On vino, hurnan lailnr A N,