The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-02

| highly trained AnglO-SaXOn would not be
so apt to make blunders in action as Rus
SLAMS, Austrians or Italians, but the
French and Germans might prove them
selves to be quite as good as the Anglo
! SaXons In a modern man-of-war, with
guns and machinery worked by steam, the
men that are the best stokers, that under
stand machinery best and those who are
the least liable to become excited in action
will be the ones who will win the fight,
everything else being equal It is not
question OF bravery, nor one of boarding
ship with cutlasses in their hands. 1t is
simply a question now of manipulating
machinery. The machinery does the
| fighting"
Chow do these rapid-fring guns apply
on land? They might, it seems, place
lines of automatic guns in position and let
them do the fighting in case both sides are
armed with them ?'
al can tell you story about that. When
the first automatic gun was made and it
became known that it would really load
and fire itself the German Government
asked me to make one which could be
regulated to fire all the way from 1 to 600
| shots minute. The idea was that such
| gun could be mounted in a certain place,
| charged with say 20G0 or 5000 rounds and set
| to fire 100 shots minute, for instance, and
| that the gun would continue to fire even if
the men were killed or ran away. This it
was proposed to use in fortifcation or to
.
| aimed in the daytime and arranged to con-
tinue firing all night if necessary. I sent
| one of these guns to Germany. It was
loaded with belt of 1888 cartridges, aimed
at the target and the trigger pulled, it
being regulated to fire at its highest speed.
half minute. Then a detachment
examined the target and counted
the hits. AS they were descending
from the target, and removing the ladders
the officer in charge of the gun placed an
other belt in position, when the gun in
dropped their ladders and scattered in all
directions. The whole belt went through
! the gun before any one could think what
was necessary to be done to stop it. An
other gun was ordered also having regu-
lator and so arranged that when the last
shot was fired the trigger became de-
| tached. But there was more machinery in
the regulator than in all the rest of the
gun, and only two were made. AT pres
ent the guns have no regulators"
"H men go on improving upon and de-
veloping these engines of destruction and
as they by so doing render the possibilities
| OF war between nations more and more
remote what will become of the ayocation
OF the gunmaker"
81 think that a few of the leading ma
lions of the earth have become so highly
civilized that there is very little chance of
their making war upon one another. For
instance, the United States England and
with each other. l do not think that
any one of these nations would go to
war either for the sake of going to war or
for glory. l am of the opinion also
that such nations as France, Austria, Italy
and Spain will soon follow suit, but we
should not reckon from that war is to
cease. Other nations have yet to pass
through the same stage of civilization
that we are Just emerging from, and they
must of necessity fight it out. Moreover,
| we have not yet finished; because we no
sooner reach point where great nations
will not be prone to fight each other than
international disorders arise"
DO you think that the Improvements
IN ordnance really contribute materially
to lessen the prospect of war;"
We'll, yes but you must still remember
that the most deadly instrument as far as
actual war is concerned was the Roman
short two-edged sword. 1t was then neces-
sary for the armies to come very close
together In order to injure each other at all.
10 be defeated meant to be vanquished.
But with modern warfare, where we are
: able to kill A man three miles away they
aboutit. But if by any chance they should
get very near each other there would be
| great slaughter. There has been no great
, war since the invention of the Maxim
J gun. suppose now that the Frenchmen
J had had Maxim guns when their country
was being invaded by Germany. We hear
that occasionally some brave old French
man would secrete himself in clump Of
bushes and kill twenty Germans before be
himself could be killed. Suppose they had
had Maxim guns and smokeless powder
!, The gun could have been concealed in g
, ditch, a house, behind hedge or boulder
or almost anywhere, and one man would
, have been able to pour out such deadly
fire that he could have completely ami
hilated a battery of artillery or squadron
of cavalry before his position would have
, been found out. That is, there would be
no smoke, they would not be able to see
: him, and no man has yet been able te
take sight at sound. Thus mar
with a Maxim gun would be able to kill {
great number say at 600 or 800 yards range
!, without his position being more than sus
pected by the enemy, whereas if the firing
was at 1900 or 1900 yards they would mo-
even hear the gum"
1.-THE English have used these guns il
Africa, have they not?"
i "Quite extensively. In fact it is due tt