Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-04-09

~ been made nc Vienna. and the Aus
trian premier Count Tuanc. has declared
that these experiments were successful.
II remains 10 be seen, however whether
Austria viii follow up these tests by
clothing her regiments In protective ma
tcrial
Dow. a tailor, ~ the inventor OF the
new nrmOr His idea IL that soldiers
should wear In action bullet-proof, tlex-
lble composition. faced with cloth, and
huttoned over or under the uniform He
clNims. aud Count Taaffc substantintes
the claim, that steel-f0ced bullets from
modern rifles have failed 20 penetrate the
stun at amy distance over 100 metres AZ
less thnn 200 metres the shock OF bull
let might render man clad In the armor
unconscious. Whatever may be the real
value Of the Invention, IL is certain TINT
a Berlin firm has offered Herr Dove an
enormous sum for the patent
MnJorGcnorhl Howard. Of the United
| states army, does not believe that arinor
VIII be Introduced into modern warfare
during the ncxt two decades at least.
For years. lac said 1--WE have been
told Of experiments Of this nature being
made They are favorably cOmmentod
upon at the outset, but prove failures
| eventually aud ARE forgotten. The last
important battle in which armOr figured
| was Waterloo. You remember the results
| thercf Napoloon's stool-clad cuirassiers
| -
| hsh' Their amor proved no protection
! whatever, and although the English and
! Irusslans had urmord troops on tbs
Held they kept Them almost entirely out
| Of the action
There Is nothing In the law of nations
| prohibiting the use of armOr / fancy
there viii never be any need for the in-
| Aertion OF such a clause The chief OBJ
| locuons 10 armor are easily summed up.
~ ne 9rinor be strong enough to bo
! heavy for marching. NJ II be light enough
! for marching 10 canont be strong enough
! 20 adequately resist bullets. With re-
/ gard 10 Ilurr Doves invention, j am in-
! clined TO think that 10 is an Improvement
on the invention of Herr Karl Scarned,
| which was tested in several countries
some years ago. Scnrnod's armOr was Of
undreascd hemp, stitched together and
! put under hydraulic pressure. IL was
thoroughly tested, and found 10 be useless
In time OF war The Dove invention ~
probably the same stun, with the addi-
ton Of wire netting"
General Howard was asked II any
branch of the American army had even
| worn prmor, and he answered;
Some regiments Of Federal troops dur
ing the Civil war tried chnin armor. It
did not turn ont 20 be success, and was
soon abandoned"
Said Lieutenant IT. Bean. u. s. A.. ex4
| government Instructor TO state militias:
"ShOuld armor, or modification OF
nrmOr, ever be rlentrOdueed, the art OF
war will be rey0lutionized. Cnndidly, 1
do not anticipate any such event. ] witt
messed the tests made with the Scarned
| arnorpd uniform Scarned exhibited his
hempen material with bullets twisted in
IFS mcshes, yet when the nrm0r was
placed on sheep the nnimal was killed
by an ordinary rifle bullet, iired from a
| distance OF somewhat over 100 metres.
Armor Of any kind woud be cumberaome
To infantry soldiers. Armor of this kind
would be Of no use Whatever against the
| bnyOnet The caYnlrymen might wear
arnor advantageously enough II Il DO
introduced NJ all | should think that the
experiment would be made with tina
| mounted branch Of the service"
The Scarnod ariuOred material was
made TO be worn under the uniform. lt
covered the entire body, saving only tho
| hands. feet ana face Being quite light
Il admitted Of the free movement OF tb0
| muscles The nrmOr was made IN threa
| pieces. which oyerlapped each other and
were secured together by hooks.