The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-23
ELECTRICITY IN WAR.
How Mr.. Edison Would AnnihiIete the
Enemy With 10000 Volts.


thinking mind keeps a frown all the time
on MS forehead, and whose jolly disposition
Keeps laughter working out through his
eyes The distinguished friend Of the thun-
oerDolt and lord OF the duplex wire had a
big splash of oil on his forehead. lust whera
the heavy gray lock falls over in an indie
pendent, anarchistic sort of way. His
hands were black and dripping with oil.
ana ne held them waving helplessly in the
ar, just as 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
by informing him that he was an able man
and that 1t was pretty fine thing for him
to have contrived to make two telegraph
operators talk to each other at sea with no
wire between them. But Mr.. Edison said
that it wasn't
ut is just done by induction" auoth ne
Il have done IL before on moving railway
trains through grasping by the tail the
same everlasting scientific truth which rem
ders possible the operation which you alIude
TO. On moving train at the rate of fifty
miles an hour the operator sits calmly tick
ing away in his car, on the outside of which
there is a little strip OF zinc. From that
strip the message hops by induction to the
wire and goes to the car of the train dis
patcher, or. if necessary, to another oper-
Ae1bCA IA hAOAASI CdT, WHICH IL also moving
at the rate Of fifty miles an hour"
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 telegraphing az sea, it was neces-
sary to endeavor to start his enthusiasm by
bringing 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 the stuffing out of the rabbit?n
YES" said Mr.. Edison, that could be
done easily. You wouldn't need carrots or
special wires The thing could be managed
with the barbed wire fences they have down
there. At the same time it doesn't do to
judge too hastily the intelligence and scien-
titic knowledge of a rabbit which knows
enough to grow an extra hooked toe on his
foot to help him over barbed wire. Did
you know that the Australian rabbits have
done that? They have. Wouldn'tit tickle
Darwin to death if he could know about
itw
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
Edlsonian enthusiasm, but the proposition
which followed did.
DESTRUCTIVE TOYS FOR WAR PURPOSES.
"Mr. Edison, you are so full OF patriot
ism that the French couldn't help but admir-
ing you for it. We are threatened by those
little Chieans, 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 keeps
ing the rude turmoil of war from shattering
the delicate globes Of your incandescent
lamps all over this fair laud?
The face of Mr.. Edison grew as fiendish
as it ever does. That is to say, about as
fiendish as the inside of a nice, ripe water
melon.
That" said he, 81 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 Com,
pany. 1t is a very fine thing. 1t is put on
q wire, as of course you understand, and
moved by electricity. Il can be run out
two miles ahead of the man-of-war's bow,
and be kept at that distance ready to blow
up anything in reach. 1t is very pretty
and destructive toy. But it is not in that
kind of thing that | take pride. What l
want to see is some foreign nation coming
to this country to attack US on our own
ground"
Mr.. Edison's eyes danced with martial
ardor.
ELECTRICITY WILL PLAY A PART IN WAR.
THAT is what want to see, and think
electricity will play such part in war when
that time comes as shall make guppowder
and dynamite go sit in humble obscurity
with the absolete flint arrow head and call
him brother. Every electrician. when that
time comes, will have his plant for making
the life of his enemy electrically uncom-
Portable Here is one item Of defense which
have in mind:
at is simple as A, B, C. have never
spoken or written about it before. With
twenty-five men in fort | can make that
fort absolutely impregnable so far as an as
sault is concerned, and | should only need
twenty-five men in the tort to do it. This
is not guess work. but a matter OF abso-
luteY scientific certainty. In fact, twenty
five men would be very liberal garrison.
Some years ago, when the wires loaded with
heavy electric charges began to go up
everywhere, / predicted that there
would be danger of the firemen re-
ceivine a deadly shock by the electricity
running down the streams Of water which
might cross the wires. The insurance peo-
pie laughed at the idea. But | tried 1t on
cat. and the cat and l found my theory to
found it out if there is another world for
cats He never knew anything about it in
this world.
"In each fort would put an alternating
machine of 10000 volts capacity. One wire
would be grounded. A man would govern
a stream of water of about 400 pounds
pressure to the square inch, with which the
&c. 900 volts alternating current would be
connected. The man would simply move
this stream of water back and forth with his
h0nd, playing on the enemy as they sd-
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 Oh
the alternating current and never know
what had happened to him. The men try
ing to take fort by assault, though they |
might come by tens Of thousands against
handful. would be cut to the ground beyond
anv hope OF escape. Foreign soldiers UNDER
taking to whip America could walk around |
suoh a fort as mine. but they never could go |
throngh il. 1t would not be necessary TO |
daaI ont absolute death unless the operator
felt like it, He could modify the current
gently SO as simply to stun everybody. tne9
Walk outside his fort pick up the stunned