Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-18
ELECTRICITY IN WAR.
Bow Mr.. Edison Would Annihilate
the Enemy With 10000 Volts.
DEATH In A STREAM OF WATER.
Men Moved D wn by Thousands With
absolute Precision.
OFFICERS COULD BE SIMPLY STUNNED

out of the workshop smiling cheerfully and
vet frowning at the same time, the sort of
thing that only scientist can do whose
thinking mind keeps frown all the time
on his forehead and whose jolly disposition
keeps laughter working out through his
eyes The distinguished friend of the thun-
derbolt and lord of the duplex wire had a
big splash of oil on his forehead, Just where
the heavy gray lock falls over in an indie
pendent, anarchistic sort of way. His
hands were black and dripping with oil,
and he held them waving helplessly in the
air. lust as a lady fresh from the waShtub
holds her purple, wrinkled fingers when she
stops for a moment to talk with friend.
First. the reporters gratified Mr.. Edison
bv informing him that he was an able man
and that it was pretty fine thing for him to
have contrived TO make two telegraph oper-
ators talk to each other at sea with no wire
between them. But Mr.. Edison said that
it wasn't
'It is Just done by induction" quoth be.
'I have done it before on moving railway
trains through grasping BY the tail the same
everlasting scientific truth which renders
possible the operation which you allude TO.
On a moving train at the rate of so miles an
hour the operator sits calmly ticking away
in his car, on the outside of which there is
little strip of zinc From that strip the
message hons by induction to the wire and
goes to the car of the train dispatcher, or, if
necessary, To another operator in another
csr. which is also moving at the rate of 80
miles an hour.
He Could Kill Rabbits With Loaded Wires.
As it was evident that Mr. Edison was de-
termined not to be amazed by his perform
ance of telegrsphing at sea, it was necessary
10 endeayor TO start his enthusiasm by bring
ing up something else.
''Mr Edison, they offer big reward for
the man who will kill off the plague of rab-
bits in Australia. Couldn't YOU kill off
those little pests by stringing loaded wires,
with nice wet carrots attached to them,
which, when the rabbit ate the carrot, would
shock lie steffing out of the rabbit"
''Yes," said Mr.. Edison, 'fthat could be
done easily. You wouldn't need carrots or
special wires. The thing could be managed
with the bgrbed wire fences they have down
there. At the same time it doesn't do to
Judge too hastily the intelligence and scien-
tifc knowledge of rabbit which knows
enough to grow an extra hooked toe on his
foot to help him over hsrbed wire. Did
you know that the Australian rabbits have
done that? They have. Wouldn't it
tickle Darwin to death if he could know
about it?''
Mr.. Edison laughed so loud that he could
hear himself in spite of his deafness.
The prospects of killing all the rabbits in
Australia did not stir Mr.. Edison to real
Edisonian enthusiasm, but the proposition
which followed did
Some Destructive Toys for War Purposes
''Mr Edison, you are so full of patriotism
that the French couldn't help but admiring
vou for it. We are threatened by those
little Chileans who say they are going to
thrash US They are bigger than rabbits
and more worthy of your current. What
will YOU do to defend this glorious country
if they attack us or if anybody else attacks
us? What plans have you on hand for keep
ing the rude turmoil of war from shattering
the delicate globes of your incandescent
lights all over this fair land?"
The face of Mr.. Edison grew as fiendish as
il ever does That is to say, about as
fendish as the inside of a nice ripe water
melon.
'That," said he, 'T want to talk about
1t is true have invented. an electric tor
pedo, the Sims electric torpedo, which We
have sold out to the Armstrong Gun CON-
panv. 1t is very fine thing. 1t is put on
a wire, as of course YOU understand, and
moved by electricity. It can be run out
two miles ahead Of the man-ofwar's bow
and be kept at hat distance ready to blow
IN anything in reach. 1t is a very pretty
and destructive toy. But it is aot in that
kind of 5biog that L take pride What
want TO see is some foreign nation coming
20 this country to attack us on our own
ground.
Mr.. Edison's eyes danced with martial
ardor
Electricity VIII Play a Part in War.
THAT is what want to see, and / think
that electricity will play such a part in war
when that time comes as shall make gun
powder and dynamite 90 sit in humble OBJ
scurity with the obsolete flint arrow head
and call Kim brother. Every electrician,
when that times coues, will have his plant
for making the life of his enemy electrically
uncomfortable. Here is one item of de-
fense which have in mind.
at is simple as 4, b. c. 1 haze never
spoken or written ABOUT it before. With |
% men in a fort L can make that fort abso- |
lutely impregnable so far as an assault is |
concerned, and / should only need 25 men |
in the fort to do it. This is not guess work,
but matter of absolutely scientific GER !
taintv. In fact, 25 men would be a very |
liberal garrison. Some years ago, when the |
wires loaded with heavy electric charges |
began to 90 up everywhere, predicted that /
there would be danger o. the fremen re- |
ceiylng deadly shock by the electricity run |
ming down the streams of water which 1
might cross the wires. The insurance peo- I
pie laughed at the idea. But tried it on q |
ca, and the cat and found my theory to be |
true. That is 10 say 1 did, and the cat ]
found ii out if there is another world for :
cats. He never knew anything about it in
this world.
'In each fort 1 would put an Alternating
machine of q, 600 volts capacity. One wire |
world be grounded. A man would govern /
stream of water Of about 400 pounds
pressure TO the square inch, with which the
u, 1000 volts alternating current would be
connected. The man would simply move
this stream of water back and forth with his /
hand, playing on the enemy as they ad- /
vanced and moving them down with abso-
Lutte precision.
No Man Would Know What Struck Him,
Every man touched by the water would |
complete the circuit, get the full force of
the alternating current and never know
what had happened to him. The men try
ing TO make fort by assault, though they
might come by tens OF thousands against a
handful, would be cut to the ground beyond
any hope OF escape. Foreign soldiers under
taking to whip America could walk around
such a fort as mine, but ther never could 90
through it. 1t would not be necessary 10
deal out absolute death unless the operator
felt like 1t. He could modify the current
gently so as simply TO stuu everybody, then
walk outside his fort, pick up the stunned
Generals and others worth keeping for ran
som or exchange, make prisoners also of the
others, If convenient, or if not convenient
turn on the full force of the current, play
the hose on them once more and send thsla
to the hanpv hunting grounds for good -