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

The interview with Hiram Maxim which
we publish this morning will be found Of
more than ordinary interest to all who have
an intelligent curiosity concerning the
probabilities of future wars. The eminent
inventor sees no great or promising future
for the present style of warship. No matter
how heavy may be the armor put upon a
vessel, it never can be made heavy enough
to resist the proiectiles of modern guns
that may be fired against it. A warship is
always compromise. What it gains in
weight of armor, it loses in speed, and il
the armor is carried beyond q certain point
the structure would cease to be of service as
ship and become merely sort OF slowly
moving fort. In fact. Mr. Maxim declares
the belief that warships have already
reached the limit of armor weight, and
expresses the opinion that in future the
aim of navy builders will be to increase
the power OF attack rather than of defense,
and will provide war vessels with greater
rapidity OF fire instead of thicker armor.
More significant still of the future of the
warship, however, is his estimate OF the
results that will follow the construction
OF flying machines. These machines
would render navies useless for the defense
of nations and would expose cities to an
easy bombardment from the clouds. OF
the possibility OF constructing such
machines he has no doubt. "They are
sure to come in time" he said, ''because it
is possible to make them. and what it is
possible to make is sure to come, espe-
cially if there is great demand for it. !"
That demand will come with the next
great war, and the nation which first sue
ceeds in perfecting such scheme will be
practically master of the situation.
In his forecast of the future it is COM
forting to learn that America has COM
paratively little to fear The flying
machine will hardly be able to operate
more than a thousand miles from the base
of supplies. The United States, there
fore, could not be attacked by machines
starting from Europe. Our only danger
would lie in the possibility that European
colonies in this hemisphere might launch
airships against US. Consequently if such
machines should become reality in war
the Monroe doctrine would have to soar on
the wings OF an eagle to head off the
fying-ship, for it would be necessary for
the United States to take possession of the
whole continent and all the neighboring
islands as protection against the pos
sibiity of aerial bombardment.
Mr.. Maxim attributes the past failures
to construct successful flying machine to
the fact that the work has been left hitherto
to charlatans, amateurs or men without
sufficient means to carry it on. He has
himself expended upward of $50, 900 and all
his spare time for four or five years in such
experiments and knows the difficulties to
be confronted. His expectation OF mans
eventual success not only in this but in
other directions of endeavor is founded
upon the fact that the domain of invention
is no longer left to illiterate or unscientific
workmen. AT the present time men of
science are working at all these difficult
problems, and, as Maxim points out, most
OF the later patents of real merit have been
granted to inventions which emanated
from highly trained and scientific engi-
neers. Such men are bound to succeed
sooner or later. The aerial warship may
be developed much earlier than is antici-
pated, and then there will probably dawn
upon the world an era OF prolonged peace
among civilized nations founded strictly
upon mutual respect for each others
powers