Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-06-18
AN EXTRAORDINARY COAT,
GERM ANY'S MILITARY AUTHORI-
TIES FIND IT IS BATTLEPRooF.
Too Clumsy for Soldiers Wear. but
May Prove a Valuable Protection
in FOrtresses and Batteries.

luhu autumn UDuI ne nNtt
succeeded in devising a
coat that was absolutely bulletproof, his
statement was received with general
incredulity. Most people thought that
the invention" was nothing more
than an advertisement or "fale" of
some kind, and the German War Of
flee authorities declined even to ex-
anime it. Tailor Dove then resolved
to convince an unbelieving generation
by means of experiments which could
not be gainsaid. The police would
not allow him to give public exhi
tion, so at first he gave private Sc
auce during which, clad in his coat,
he allowed himself to be twice shot at
with an army rifle, the bullet each
timeremaining imbedded in the armor.
These experiments were followed by
others of similar kind before the
Surgeons Congress then in session in
Berlin, and again in presence of the
Russian Ambassador. Bullets, it is
said, which were fired at Doves breast
failed to injure him, even those hay
ing steel points being turned aside or
iattened by the cloth.
1t Is said to have been observed dur
ing the trials that the steel point of
the projectile dropped as soon as the
bullet struck, and that the lead CON
tents fell in liquid form. On cooling
down the lead became a large i'll
shaped mass, the steel coating fiat
tening down to the shape of short
tube. The reports of these extraor-
binary experiments caused great pub
lie excitement, and when the coat was
placed on exhibition in Berlin it drew
crowds of curious sightseers.
At last the German War Office took
the matter up, and Herr Dove sub
mitted his material to tests before an
exclusively military assembly, which
included twenty officers OF the War
Ministry, general staff and the ar
tillery and engineers, besides the
President of the German Rifle Testing
Committee, who took precautions to
have genuine test. Two non-com-
mIssioned officers of the jaeger Bat
TALON at Colmar were present with
their own rifles. The cartridges to be
used were brought in sealed packages.
Herr Dove was willing TO offer himself
as n target, but this was refused on
the ground that slight mistake
might cause an accident. The bullet
proof stuff WAS placed against block
Of oak on n table in such way that
it formed an obtuse angle with the
table top. 1t was desired to see
whether the bullet stuck fast in the
stuff or whether it would rebound at
The same angle as that at which it
struck. The sergeaut's rifle was load
cd by Lieutenant Colonel Brinkmann,
and the former then fired two shots at
the centre of the object The bullets
stuck fast in tho stuff. After this
Sharpshooter Martin, with his military
rifle, fired shot, this rife also being
loaded by the lieuteuant-colonel. AL
together fourteen shots were fired at
distance OF only ten PAGES. They
struck different spots, some close to
the edge. The back of the stuff
showed no signs OF being pierced and
the opinions exchanged among those
present after the experiments were
very favorable.
One fact which these repeated trials
have made clear, and which is ad-
mitted by the inventor himself, is
that his material cannot be used as
coat. The stuff is about half an inch
thick and is not flexible, 50 that it
cannot be used as garment. Doves
own idea is that his stuff, which one
correspondent has described rs wire
netting encased i'll cementlike mass.
should be made into plates of which
every soldier would carry one in his
knapsack, and at the commencement
of fight fasten it to that part of the
body which most required protection.
That the material seems likely to
prove of value rs n shield or screen
against bullets is shown by the deter
mination OF the German War Office to
continue the tests with view to util-
izing the invention in fortresses and
ship batteries The so-called coat
with which Herr DOVE has conducted
his experiments weighs six pounds
and costs fifteen marks, or about 50 to
manufacture.
Two rivals to Tailor DOVE are in the
field. One OF these is fellow clbI-
zen OF Mannheim, certain Herr
Reidel, who claims to have invented
II material which is much lighter and
cheaper, besides being adapted for in
sertion into ordinary uniforms. Inc
other is an Austrian engineer named
Scarnes, who brought out II similar
invention some years ago. His work
was rather pooh-poohed by the mill
tary authorities, and he did not i'm
prove his position in regard to them
by using insulting language which
landed him i'll prison, but he claims
nevertheless to have invented coat OF
mail such that the new steel clsed bull
let on striking it was torn TO- pieces,
the penetrating force OF the proiectile
being absolutely annihilated. "Fhe
means by which 1 achieved this, he
said, in recent interview, "were very
simple. | used hemp automatically
pressed over which [ laid sort OF
railing of hattened English wire,
against which the bullet must strike