The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1893-07-14
GUNS AT THE FAIR.
Objects of Special Interest to
the Visitors.
BIG KRUPP GUN DISAPPOINTING.

When You See 1t You Do Not See What
You Expected, but Still 1t Is the Largest
Piece of Ordnance in the World and
Fires n Shell Weighing More Than q
Ton-Other Guns.
WORLDS FAIR, July A. [Special.1 -
On this day we can find nothing better to
write about than the big guns of the fair.
A vast crowd is on the exposition grounds
today, and when the tickets of admission
total attendance for the day will be found
to exceed anything in the history of inter-
national expositions. 1t is great day,
sure enough; day to be remembered by
all who are fortunate enough to partici-
pate in this unparalleled celebration in
this unprecedented spot. To many thou
sands of visitors the big guns have been
objects of special interest today. 1t is in
America day of guns, of gunpowder, of
noise, of martial spirit. Every Fourth OF
July we feel as if we could lick all creation,
and every other day of the year we are
quite sure we don't want to lick anyone or
anything except Columbian postage
stamps, and that is task enough for the
majority of us.
When it comes to big guns we are not as
far behind the world as some people think
we are OF course the biggest guns here
are those shown by Herr Krupp, the fa-
nous German iron founder. You have
read so much in the papers about his
mammoth gun, and, no doubt, have seen
so many pictures of it, that don't feel
called upon to give you very careful de-
scription of the monster. To tell the
truth, it is not as big as L thought it was,
and when you come to the fair 1 dare say
you will experience a distinct sense of dis
appointment in the magnitude of this ia
nous shooting iron. This is largely due to
the fact that the gun is mounted. If it
were lying on the ground, where you could
stand beside it and note that its thickness
at its thickest part is q foot greater than
your hight, you would be less disappointed
in its size. Mounted on its great carriage
the big gun is high in the air. 1t stands
in the center of q huge structure, and is
surrounded by other great guns, enormous
castings and forgings, steamer shafts and
screws, steam hammers, etc. The effect
of these surroundings is to dwarf even
the greatest piece of ordnance in the
world.
The truth of course is that this gun is
monstrous. Just comprehend the signif-
canoe of these figures, if you can: Greatest
thickness, feet inches; length, AZ feet;
bore, 1917 inches; weight, 100000 pounds.
Krupp had some big guns at the Philadel-
phia exposition, and though they were not
nearly as large as this monster they were
more sensational. In trying to discover the
reason for this spent good half hour, and
finally it dawned on my brain that the
difference was in the bore. The Krupp
gun of 1876 had but a little more than one
half the weight of this piece, but its bore
| was so wide a boy could walk straight into
| its muzzle. That gun had much less
strength than this, and that meant less
power. 1t could not throw such heavy
projectile nor could it throw it so far.
| Thus even the dullest layman may note
| that the effectiveness of ordnance does not
| depend upon bore. A 16-inch bore, sup
ported by vast strength in barrel, may
| have double or treble the effectiveness of a
| bore of three feet in lighter and weaker
gun that is not able to sustain the shock
of powerful discharge Of explosives.
| This biggest of all guns is a marvel of
| strength. The shell fired from it is about
40 inches long and weighs a little more
than ton. 1t is of forged steel, with a
sharp conical end, and it is lifted to place
| by means of steam derrick. The gun
will throw this one-ton shell a distance of
sixteen miles, with great accuracy and
effectiveness at distance of twelve miles.
Imagine the mighty play of forces re-
| quired to hurl such mass of steel through
sixteen miles of space!
considering Tie cosu or nrIng Jnls mon
ster one is surprised to learn that Herr
| Krupp has amused himself by firing it no
fewer than forty times. Every discharge
cost him thousand dollars, and forty
| firings cost one-half as much as the orig
inal cost of the gun itself. The machinery
| for manipulation of the piece is of course
on large scale. Nothing else would do.
1t is like fortress in itself-a fortress
with a steam plant and machine shop in
it. The gun rests upon q carriage which
runs upon track and along which it may
be moved backward and forward. The
| point of contact is about two-thirds of the
way from the muzzle to the breech, and
| the piece is balanced on n pair of trun-
Mons or projecting arms each two feet
| long and two feet thick. Hydraulic ma
chinery disturbs this balance at the will
| of the gunner and moves the muzzle up or
| down in range-fnding.
There was a rumor some time ago that
Herr Krupp intended presenting this giant
gun to the city of Chicago, and on the
supposition that the rumor was well based
some patriot has suggested that the piece
should today fire salute to the free and
independent states of the American union.
1t is scarcely necessary for me to add that
the big gun is silent today, and that the
rumor concerning the generous intentions
Of its owner was not well founded. When
/ asked the superintendent of the building
If his master were going to present the
great gun to Chicago he replied with
characteristic vigor:
| "Nsw-pouf-nix We are not giving
| guns away this year"
| While Herr Krupp makes the greatest
| guns in the world, 50 far as size is con-
cerned, it is disputed hat he makes the
best guns. The cons ant tendency of
modern gun-building is not toward great
size, but to lightness ana ease of manipu-
lation and, above all, rapid fire. Only n
certain percentage of discharges from ord
nance can be expected TO be effective, at
best. The necessity for repeating is OBJ
vious, if much damage is to be inflicted
upon the enemy. A single shot from
Krupp's monster might cripple an ap-