The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-01-17

or War of the Present Dsy-InterestihS
Reading.

modern soldier be armed? In Clden days, the
warrior was content with spear ana shieiu'
The wars Of this republic have peeh loosn''
on land, with cannon. small arms anu Siue
arms; on sea. with heavy ordnance ana cut
lass or boarding pike. When Gushing Dew
M the confederate war vessel. he national
izcd the subna rie methods Of warfare,-out
II Is safe to say that the CONNECTS OF tle
world have been carried Oh Win Ee!''S oIu-
nance, small arms ordnance, porta'he "lihS
OF projection, or, more remotely, WIN oiiei-
siye weapons Of steel in hand-tohand en-
gagements. The world moves, however, IllS
is age Of progress marked, In peace by
telephone, electrical agents and their hu-
juncts. The progress in novel war lnFciitloh'
is 20 less marked. Exactly what the iiulitat!
gladiators of the twenty-first century VIII
carry when they go forth to war. no man can
tell. Invention and Improvement IN the art OF
war has more than kept pace with the agents
for communication, transportation and utility
that have borne no apparent relation TO Inc
god, Mars.
Let lis see what some of these inventions
are, and, as we scan the list, doubt whether
or not Frank -. Stockton, Jules Verne ann
the other wEters Of that ilk were not pro-
phcts
General Grant probably never heard or
aluminium Of paper rs q material where
from TO make gun barrels. Lieutenant Derby
John Phoenix" didn't know that horses
would ever have automatic firearms cinchen
between their front legs; whoop-sh"lis ana
fireworks were suggestive only of Srotesque
celestials quarter of century ago; bl-
cycles not used adjuncts of an army
when Abraham Lincoln made president;
the expression war dogs" in our grand
fathers time, referred to veterans, not ca
mines; airshlps meant balloons; chloroform
bombs were unheard of; gunpowder was not
smokeless; airguns were Juvenile toys; armor
,tIt MI orf lr1I
side by side with stuffed mummies smoke
was never purposely created on the battle
fields as q mask for tactical disposition of
troops; microphones and Photographic ap-
paratus used only in the laboratory or
gallery; and machine guns-thc invention Of
Dr.. Calling ana Benjamin Hotchlss, pre-
cursors OF the mitraineuse, were In embryo
when Fort Sumter first fired on.
The devices Tor the prosecution or terni-
nation OF war include the appliances named
IN the preceding paragraph and also include
human rockets. liquid explosives, india rubber
boothees, aluminium shields body protec
tors, electric motors automatic ordnance.
sef-acting recOl guns, bullet-proof mattresses,
pneumatic gun carriages carrier pigeons and
disappearing cannon. Even Skobeletf advised
the use of dogs as aids to scntinels. The
French, like our North American Indians
have long known the value OF CANNES for
reconnaissance or surprise tactics, and dogs
regularly trained for military use in
Germany. Spain Belgium and elsewhere.
When Admiral Worden was blinded by the
explosion OF Il shell fred at the Monitor. the
four and half-inch thick iron plate of the
cheese box in which he stood kept out the
projcctic but nowadays armor penetrating
cannon balls weigh 1.oVo pounds and more,
and will pierce twenty inches % the most
carefully forged arnor plate as easily as a
rife bullet pcrforate8 n pumpkin.
Notwithstanding this tremendous energy of
modern 1l0ton guns. General Brialmont
clHi!lS that his iron cup0las, protected by
three yards of concrete will surely shield
artillery ncn or naval men from the most
violent explosives and energetic or kinetic
projectes.
Captain Zalinskis pneumatic dynamite gun
viii propel i0O pounds Of explosive gelatin
three miles and blow up the largest man-of-
at that range. Another American, Lieu
tenant Grayden, makes similar claim for
the aerial torpedo The motor, in each case,
Professor Emil de Lavelcye and Herr Hugo
Iilntze say that modern battles will be for
the other leaves the field cripple
Forms of grenades are made which Will by
their explosion destroy Il ship even when the
ship is not hit.
Captain Mcguire. OF the Second Lancers.
British service, and Captain Hannay, Third
United States infantry, believe in smoke as
war material. The latter meets the argu-
ments and facts used in favor OF smokeiess
that soldiers employing such arc visible 70 an
enemy hence targets for a return firc-therc-
fore should be provided with machines . or
fessor Tyndall deemed these smoke tubes to
have practical military value and he invented
an electric machine to precipitate smoke
when produced for tactical causes or
when 1t issued from the muzzc of heavy
gun-as on shipboard or near an embrasure
Military pyrotcchny embraces hollow balls
filed, like bombs, with igntible composition
and used either to give light. or to produce Il
odor: The Chinese call these last stink >, balls
"War is not carried on by arms alone, SAID
Francis Lieher. Edward Weston suggests nj
trate OF amyl bombs. The latter says 1T
is we'll known that nitrate Of amyl possesses
the power OF causing insensibility to human
being breathing it's fumes. 1t is cheap and
plentiful. | propose to fire. or drop, shells
flied with this chemical instead of gunpowder.
BY their aid y shipload CT the enemy could
boarded the crew disarmed, the ship vcnti-
lated and the insensible men imprisoned OF
Mr.. Holmes, Of Kansas. has invented an
airship: Herr Won Pricadsky, Of the aero
naue corps Of the nrEsSnn aTg has sso fGe
eight persons and our Hiram s. Maxim -
sangune that the aeropianc will nayigate
purposes 1t is claimed for these aerial craft
that they can be utilized TO reeconnoitre an
enemys position and paralyze him by, drop
ping within his lines bombs charged with high
explosives, by destroying bridges, armories,
arsenals gas and waterworGs, railway sta
TONS, puDlc DUliulIlHS. uHth SoIOS, ShIpIihE'
ETC. rs we'll as human life 70 any necessary
or desired extent The prospective use Of
these appliances is painful to contemplate.
Mr.. Edseile, Of Callao, Peru, however, pro.
poses to expedite the transportation or
soldiers, to simplify siege matters md
to Offset the aerial navigation
schemes OF Edmund Clarence Stedman, OF
New York, when dostructively intcnt-by
means Of saddle sivtOcketS. The Edsei!e
PATENTED invention consists Of rocket Ct
great power asiride OF which the conl'atant
is to st II has a parachute attachment
which folds over the apex. Tubes connected
with the framework contain explosives and
weapons TIL" motor is said not to be de
tonatlng. II is claimed for the Invention that
the motor will throw the mechanical and
human rocket 5000 Yards into the air; verti-
rav or in any desired direction. and that the
rocket rider is then in position to collapse
the inhuman c0ntriyanccs of Messrs. Holmes,
Won prigadskv & Co.. after which he may.
at will. gently land about five miles from the
starting-firing rather-p0int. The applfca-
bilitv OF Mr. Fdsclie's machine has been by
the writer Of these lines strongly recommended
TO Charles s. Re!nhart. carcaturst and artist.
For bird's-cyc crvation-providedt the rocket
don't upset burst, or steer wild, or land
improperly. few other things, the
Edselle invention is quite an invention.
A COLD LEADS
It's Victim Direct to Consun ptlon.