Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-05-07
EDISON ON WAR.
The Great Inventor Said to Hav.
Schemes.

YORK World reporter THAT wouId
annoy us no doubt, but think nv
pan would annoy them. I should run
cut cables to intercept the passage of
the vessels on their cheerful lombard
ing errand. l feel sure that the cables
could go out at least fifteen miles
1hey would run on wheels placed at
: the bottom of the water
ITO these cables would be attached
torpedoes at short intervals, I'd .pedoes
~ great destructive powel. The cables
could be moved back and forth from
subterranean workshop on land.
shifting the positions of the torpedoes
beneath the waves as they moved.
With range-fnder, it would be
simple to ascertain the exact spot at
which the ship would cross the hidden
loaded cable. The cable would he
moved along so as to place one or more
torpedoes just under the ship as she
PASSED.
The torpedo, held to the cable.
would be released by a magnet and
would shoot to the surface. Being pro-
Vlded with pressure diaphragm. that
is to say with an apparatus causing it
to be electrically exploded as soon as
the pressure of the deep water should
be removed, it would burst as it got
beneath the ship, and that would be
one Warship that would never lombard
New York.
l should think that a great number
OF these cables could be laid for a
small fraction of the cost of even a
small navy. The cost of one English
battleship would supply cables and
torpedoes enough to blow a whole navy
into the air. Their exact location
would be kept a secret Such cables
stretching out from Staten Island from
Sandy Hook, from Long Branch. or
wherever they might be wanted would
make this port uninviting to strange
ships in time of war
L rather like my idea of fving for
pedoes, and | think that they might
prove eventually to be great pacifers.
lhey would move by electricity. and
once being launched, they would fall
quite unlike the gentle dew from
heaven and blow everything to pieces.
The trouble is that they would be more
useful to the invading English than to
ourselves. The English would learn to
make the flying torpedoes, bring over
shlps loaded with them, and send them
up to drop down on u.s. 1t would be
hard or Impossible for us to drop them
with sufficient precision on the enemv's
ships.
"If we had them first, however, we
coulu Send them over to England on
fast cruisers and drop a few on London
or windsor in a manner persuasive.
think that when the art of war shall
enable lighting countries to drop fly
ing dynamite torpedoes on queens. and
presidents, when no retreat will be safe
and the sending of common men to
be shot or subsequently taxed will No
longer be the whole story-arbitratio
( will become marveIously popular
My plan for using stream of water
with an electric current attached would
! be OF especial value in defending a fort
/ against assault
1T is as simple as A, B, c.. With
! twenty-five men in fort | can make
! that fort absolutely impregnable so far
+ as an assault is concerned, and should
need only twenty-five men in the fort
to do it. This is not guess-work, but
matter of absolutely scientific GER
talnty. In fact, twenty-five men would
be a very liberal garrison.
I'm each fort I would put an alter
mating machine of 10000 volts capacity.
One wire would be grounded A man
would govern a stream of water of
about four hundred pounds pressure to
the square inch with which the 10000
volts alternating current would be con-
Etcted. The man would simply move
this stream of water back and forth
with his hand, playing on the enemy
as they advanced, and moving them
down with absolute precision. Every
man touched by the water would com
plate the circuit, get the full force of
the alternating current, and never know
what happened to him
'I am told that an English naval
NAAlNCA boo oc11u LldL lie WUulu n660
simply to put his men in waterproof
coats to make them invulnerabIe to nv
electric stream. His idea probably is
to have rubber boots as well as coats,
under the impression that this Would
prevent the current from taking effect.
He is wrong. He could not keep his
mems faces tightly covered with rubber
as they would need to breathe [
should only want to touch them just
a. little with the loaded stream. Of
course, the humane thing would be to
gauge the current so as to knock the
advancing foe senseless and pick him
up prisoner before he could have time
to get on his legs
This picture Of possible modern war
fare with rubber boots for private SOL
diers, glass-soled shoes for officers and
large rubber umbrellas for generals is
undeniably enhancing.
Queen Sophia of Sweden is one OF
L