The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-22
sAIOKELEsS POWDER.

1t must not be inferred from the silence
of the newspapers On the subject that the
War Department at Washington is paying
no attention to the improvement in weap-
ems Of war that is going on in Europe. For
several years attaches Of the department
have kept close watch Of the improvements
in small arms that have been adopted at
various times in France, Germany, Italy and
England. Models of each arm are in the
possession of the Ordnance Bureau, and in
the event Of war the American soldier would
soon be equipped with as efficient weapons
as any enemy-whoeYer he was. The chief
difficulty which our war authorities have eX-
perienced has been in keeping track of the
various smOkeless powders now supplied TO
European troops.
SmOkeless powder was first invented in
this country some ten years ago. Little was
thought of the invention at Washington and
the inventor took it 30 Paris, where the War
Office took it up eagerly. Several years
were spent in experiments and in mOdifica-
tons Of the original powder. At length
powder was made, which, from being used
in the Lebel rife, has gone by the name of
the Lebel powder. All the troops in France
are, OF were until lately. supplied with this
powder. It's composition is a secret which
is so zeaIously guarded that its export is
forbidden, and a soldier who opens a car
fridge is liable to ten years Imprisonment in
the galleys Simultaneously a smokeless
powder was invented in Italy, and the Ger
man Army was supplied with similar pow
der which has been known as the Dutten-
hOfer. Following the example of France,
Germany fOrbids the export of the precious
IN
reconciled to their priyation Of the new
engine Of war by the knowledge that both
the Lebel and Duttenh ofer powders were
experimental and not wholly satisfactory
Within few months a new powder,
called after its inventor the Wetteren pow
der, has been invented in Belgium and is
said to be superior to all its predecessors.
By cutting little red tape the War Depart
ment succeeded this spring in buying 800
pounds Of this powder through the house Of
Dupont & Co. and having it shipped from
Antwerp 10 New York. Il has Just arrived
aud has been distributed among the Govern
ment armories. The tests show that its
repute had not been an eXaggeration. With
100 grains Of this powder a projectile had
an initial velocity Of 1913 feet per second,
and with 10 grains an initial velocity of
1888 per second. These results are re-
garded as very promising. They have stimu-
lated American makers Of smokeless pow
ders-Dupont d Co., DR.. Emmons, Profess
sor Schuppans, Mr.. Houghton and others
TO renewed exertionS to perfect their re-
spective inventions.
The advantages Of the Wetteren powder
over ordinary gunpowder are three: First,
it does not obscure the battlefield; second,
ignition consumes the powder entirely,
leaving gritty reSduum to foul the bar
rel of the gun; and third, it causes a less
violent strain on the gun and leads to fewer
explosions. Ordinary gunpowder explodes
instantaueOusly throughout its mass, and of
course imparts shock to the weapon which
is proportiOnate to the initial velocity Of the
projectile. Wetteren powder is slower of
combustion. It's prOpelling power is exeIted
for an appreciable fraction of a second, and
thus. while the projectile gets its full i'm
pulse, the shock to the gun is less sudden.
But the main merit of the smokeless powder
is that it does not shut out the field of battle
from the General in command. Civilians
who have witnessed a battle in progress
have been surprised to find that they could
see very little and could not make out what
was going on. Soldiers familiar with mill
tary evOlutions catch occasional glimpses OF
movements of men, but even they are often
at fault from the fact that they can neither
see their own troops nor make out where
the enemy is. At Inkerman the Russians
were enabled to creep up to the British
lines under cover of the smoke from the
British guns, and our own battle of Shiloh
was fought in a cloud of smoke, which hid
the combatants on either side from the Gen
erals commanding. With battlefield clear
of atmospheric obstruction military maneu-
vers could be conducted with more accuracy
and precision.
Every invention which renders war more
deadly makes for peace, aud is therefore to
be welcomed by friends of civilization.