Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-03-12
an INplARueeER NAVY.
The fN-Auditor of Indiana Thinks Iron
clads Must Give way to Rubber.

The fN-Auditor of Indiana Thinks Iron
clads Must Give way to Rubber.
As the man was going out of the big
hotel he whispered to me in sepulehral
tones, col. Rice is not right in his
upper story he is clean daft.
In a few minutes | saw the full
moon iocund face of Col James H.
Rice eN-auditor of Indiana, coming
from the elevator lie looked per-
fectly sane, and | asked him who his
friend was that had just departed
THAT man. said the colonel, sis
promoter and has not given me "a mo.
SCENTS rest since | arrived in the city.
I've just let him in on the ground floor
of an idea of mine and have shown
him illustrations of IT, | offered tu
have him elected vice president of a
company that is not formed II my
idea is put into execution it viii reyo-
lutionize naval warfare, and an iron
clad will be as harmless as a barge
carrying a load of sunday school eN-
curslonists"
The colonel invited me TO his room,
where saw a number of illustrations
in the rough OF queer looking ships
asked him TO explain them, His eyes
beamcd with pleasure as he proceeded
TO elucidate his ideas "Ihe cuts, he
said, represent war vessels armored
with tough indiarubber. Each vessel
is protected with rubber seven feet in
thickness and with enough give or
elasticity to il TO send the largest ball
ever fired against it bounding back in
to the water. admit that the com
mon rubber is not Of sufficient tough
ness TO resist the impact of the ordi-
nary cannon ball, b.. mind YOU the
rubber | intend TO use is not common
Every man who makes an innovation
and relegates established methods to
the past is in the beginning considered
a crank. But do not mind any little
epithet of that kind"
"What is the tall spire in the YES
sels?o
THAT" said the scientific colonel
ais the lookout. 1t is tower that eau
be telescoped in a second TO the surface
of the vessels deck and erected in the
same space OF time. 1t is 800 feet
high. There is only one smokestack
and it can be taken down in a minute.
Cannons2 Ali that is a secret, but
shall tell you because you are not
promoter. In the rear Of the vessel
there is a turrct tower with four de-
structiye guns. You don't SEE it, eh p
Well, neither 10 !, but If the en,ug
appeared by manipulating machinery
there would rise from the hull Of the
vessel turrct, protected by ludiarub-
Der and ready 10 sink fleet of IRON
clads. Everything on the deck Of my
idiarubber vessel can be dropped be-
low in a few moments"
"Haye you ever studied that branch
Of mathematics which treats Of trajec-
tory"
The colonel had, and added: "My
boy, a ball dropped on the deck Of one
Of my vessels would bound mile
high. There is absolutely no powder
or force strong enough to drive a ball
into the rubber"
zone more question, colonel How
long have you had this peculiar elastic
idea?'
1T came TO me as an inspiration five
years ago. ] was in Chicago and
weakened faced man with voice that
sounded like the noise made by tear
ing calico made life miserable to me.
He had a scheme and for a week he
became my shadow, trying to get mo
TO 20 into it, | worked out the india
rubber vessel and for three hours !
earnestly explained to him the fortune
in it if he would accept the vice presi-
dency. From that time be has never
said scheme to me again have
shown il 70 dozens Of promoters and
have talked so much about it that |
really think some kind of rubber can
be made to resist and throw back can
non balls
"Haye you mentioned your idea to
Gen. Tracy, secretary Of the nayy?"
Il am a democrat" said the colonel,
proudly. you wait until democratic
president is elected"
Col. Rice is humorist and practi-
cal ioker.-M YHeraid.