The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-16
ANEW BULLET-PROOF COAT
It's Inventor Wears 1t While He Is
Shot At.

Its Inventor a Brooklyn Stair
builder.
From the Yew York Sun.
An American rival to Tailor DOVE has
appeared with a coat which he saysis SUI
perior to Doves as backstop for bull
lets. That he has the courage of his con-
victions he showed yesterday, when he
put on his bullet-proof coat and let a man
fire heavy caliber rife at him from
distance of thirty-fve feet, after bullets
from the same gun had perforated thick
planks of wood and sheets of the best
steel as if they were so much paper
The man is w. J. F. Lennard, a stair
builder, who lives at OIL Park place,
Brooklyn Mr.. Lennard, besides being a
stair builder, is an inventor, and comes of
a long line of inventors. This present in
vention, he says, is only side issue. A
year and half ago he conceived the idea,
and was unpleasantly surprised when he
read the reports of Doves enterprise, 1t
proved to him what he hadn't thought of
before, that because one man thinks of
certain thing, it doesn't by any means
follow that any other man cannot think
of the same thing subsequently.
MIR Lennard decided to give an exhibit
tion of his coat at once, and as a prelim-
mary step he made affidavit before COM
missioner of deeds that the American
bullet proof coat, as he calls his contriv-
ance, contains neither iron, steel nor any
other kind Of metal plate whatever in its
cons truction, but is secret com bination
of cotton, felt, wood and a chemical com
pound of parts mineral and vegetable.
a. -.srr
private exhibition at Atlanta Park, in
Brooklyn. The trial was made yester
day in the presence of a crowd of fifty
| people, and was apparently a success.
The outfit for the trial consisted of the
| bullet-proof coat, 45-caliber army rife,
a box of 45-caliber cartridges loaded with
| seventy grains of powder and 405 grains
of lead. sharpshooter to do the firing,
| and some test marks to show the force of
the bullet. The rife range is thirty
feet long, and at the end of it mark was
| put up, consisting of two Pinch oak
| boards an inch apart. The marksman,
! William Richards, put three bullets into
| this mark, two of which went through.
| Then piece of fluted steel three
sixteenths of an inch thick was set up,
and the bullet not only went through
| that but also cut cleanly through one of
the bolts that held it. The next test con-
| sisted in fourteen l-inch boards set at in
! tervals of an inch, with a steel plate at
the back. The bullet went clean through
the wood and tore off the plate, flattening
! out against it. After the newspaper men
present had examined the various targets
Mr.. Lennard produced his coat.
II will put this coat on wooden fig
ure,' said he, latter having given you an
opportunity to examine IL, and Mr.. Rich
! ards will fire at it with cartridges which
! you yourself may select"
The coat was then reproduced for in
spection. 1t looks like large pad, and is
! suspended from the neck by straps. 1t
! is II inches long, ID inches wide, and a
trifie less than 2 inches thick. To the
| touch it feels like wood covered with
| cloth. The outside of it is cloth, and
about one-quarter of an inch in from the
front is plate of some hard composite
material. similar plate was just be-
meath the cloth at the back. After the
thing had been shot at the Sun reporter
J explored the bullet hole with
a pin, and discovered what
was apparently succession of
one-quarter of an inch apart. The whole
| contrivance is somewhat flexible, and
weighs eleven pounds while Tailor
| Doves weighs sixteen pounds. Mr.. Len
nard hung the pad about the neck of a
rough wooden figure of a man, and
strapped it on. Then the marksman
! fired three bullets into the coat. One
! bullet perforated. one and three-quarters
inches apparently stopping just short of
| the last plate, which bulged little, indi-
| eating the position of the bullet. The
other two bullets went in about an inch.
| The bullets were not removed, as that
would have necessitated ripping the coat
apart, but the inventor had with him
some bullets which had been fired into
similar garment. They were fattened
out and partially fused.
! After those present had examined this
coat, Mr.. Lennard produced another just
like it, except that the second one instead
of being fat, was slightly convex on the
outside and concave on the side which
was to come next to the body of the
wearer. This was fastened to the figure
and fired on with the same result. The
bullet penetrated about an inch. After
taking the coat down for inspection the
owner of it turned to the newspaper men
and said:
"Now, gentlemen, if any of you would
like to have me put on the coat and be
shot at l will do it. You have only to
ask"
No one asked. 1t is one thing to see
bullets stopped short of a wooden figure
and quite another to ask man to take
that figures place when slight imper-
lection in the shield or the wavering of a
very few inches on the part of the marks
man would mean sure death. After wait
ing few moments Mr. Lennard repeated
his offer, saying that unless Mr.. Richards
objected to shooting at HIM there was no
reason why the test should not be made,
especially as it might add interest to the
trial.
The newspaper men assured Mr.. Len
nard that, while it would be interesting
to see a man shot at, yet there was no
disposition on the part Of any one present
to ask him TO put himself in that posi-
ton, Notwithstanding that all were sat
isfied as to the bullet-proof qualities of
the coat. After consultation with Mr.
Richards the inventor put on the convex
concave coat, having previously strapped
a belt tightly around his waist, and took
his position in front of the target
Mr. Richards chalked a mark on the
center of the coat to assure his aim. At
his request the Sun reporter selected a
cartridge from the box, assured himself
that it corresponded in weight to the 9TH
ers, and handed it to the gunner, VINO
slipped it into the rifle. Then without
cooking he sighted for Mr.. Lennard. Not
liking the way the sunlight fell, he had
his mark moved few feet TO one side,
and having sighted again he expressed
himself satisfied. He cooked the gun.
Are YOU ready" he asked as he drop
ped his head to bring his eye level with
the sight.
UAlI ready - renlied Mr. Tennard