New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-13
ADDING TO WARS TERRORS
INVENTORS BUSY ON IMPLEMENTS OF
DESTRUCTION

INTERESTING RECORDS OF THE wAsHiN'ioN
PATENT oFFIcE-NovELTIEs IN BALLOONS rs
EXPLOSIVES AND SUBMARINE
ToRPEpOES.
Wsshangton, July L HpeciaD-Even teeusn . .so
congress of the United States Goes no. 'o"ow ,
inJunctions Of the Immortal George :" 1900
an adequate system Of defence IN times Vi pe".e'
there are in this country now men VINO. year "i.e'
vesr besece the Patent Office with applications Io'
patents en- implements of destruction ana war 80"
records of the Patent once disclose the iao' ."'
IN 1861 G. impetus given to the arr Oh i'.e"'o
In this line by the Civil War In the on"eu o','.s
and since that time the class has grown un''' IN
.v.r. avt.ons there il special list OF devices TOT
,aliny human life In one way or anotaer vi
course n large majority of these inventions wouio
be of no use to the Government IN t,o VI
disturbance but among those set prominently io'
ward by the examiners there are seVerai mus III
eenious mechanisns both In the way OF pahoohs'
6,r,eiblA and otherwise high explosives set OF IN
different ways, guns Of all descriptions ana suo-
marine craft capable of sinking anything from
s,ean launch to line-of-battle ship But II rs GER
tanly true that In this latter class OF lnVeh''o"S
the United States has furnished the most success
fu implements In the world. The NUMBER oi III
ventors working implements OF war Is iafse' anu
the patents on file represent only . small proper
ton nj the applications received. most Of which are
rejected through nterferenees with other claims or
on the ground of being useless being c!assed unuer
the name Of crank" or freak" Inventions In this
respect the Government Of the United States diners
in its policy from England France where patents
are issued the request OF anybody TOR ahythins'
no matter how worthless II may be.
Perhaps the most interesting. because OF the fact
that 80 little Is actually known about 1t. Is that
class of inventions controlled by the Division Oh
Pneumat.cs relating to balloons and the exploration
Of the upper air. Men have been working on tnis
subject for many years. and not until recently has
there been any marked advance in the art. For a
long time the balloon has consisted merely OF an
inflated bag supporting a car. Devices which were
applied TO guide them failed to work. and the
aeronaut has been at the mercy OF the WINGS OF
heaven. Huge propellers have been attached below
and at the sdes OF the car for the purpose OF d.
recting Its course but experiments on large scale
have always resulted IN unfortunate accidents which
showed the defects Of such mechanisms. Recently.
however with the Investigations OF Hiram Maxim.
Professors Langley and Liienthal. the art OF upper
air exploration has made such strides in the right
direction that there be little doubt OF the uti-
mate success Of the Investigators Lilienthal has
sailed several hundred feet on pair OF wings; Pro-
lessor Langley's bird" has actually sustained and
propelled itself through the air for a considerable
period Of time; Maxims flights. although disastrous
on one or to occasions. have shown him conclu-
avely that he Is on the right track.
FRENCH BALLOON EXPERIMENTS.
All Governments are represented in the expert
ments with navigable balloons. Krebs and Renard.
officers in the French Army, have conducted ex-
periments with dirigibe balloons with official sane
ton in their country. General William Mel
son Hutchinson. OF the British Army. has met with
success In a balloon Of his own invention. which he
proposes to apply to war purposes. In England. In
deed. this is subject In the early ffties
Benjamin O'Neill Stratford. Earl of AdborouSh.
hled In this country a patent on military balloons.
He had evidently investigated the matter at some
length. for the description Of his patents and his
claims took about eighty pages OF printing Ac-
companyng the specifications were twelve large
drawings. describing the fleet tactics OF his ball
loon. In these specifications a supposed attack Of
a fleet Of hostile balloons English fortress Is
described. Methods Of aiding the fortress by
opposing deat Of balloons and the operations OF the
defending fleet In the air set forth at length.
the most powerful one md best armed attacking
directly. and those having the greatest ascending
power moving high overhead and engaging the
lighter vessels Of the enemy The Earls ideas are
nothing II not original. and for pure theory
pass the much-talked-of perpetuamotion schemes
In these specifications too ne describes an aerial
fortress held UP by large captive balloons, which
10 supposed to rain down shot and shell the
attacking feet. There are methods also OF attack
Ing vessels on the ocean by graphing with the
mainmast and turning them on their sides
show Wild flights Of Imagination, II Is believed by
those who have had intimate experience with
inventions that stranger things than some Of the
Generals fances have been demonstrated.
One Of the most interesting and successful ex-
periments with dngble balloons was that in 1888
at Coney Island with the arship OF Peter c. Camp
bell Brooklyn jeweler. whose invention at thess
public trials cd everything claimed for II. In
shape was elliptical so feet long and AZ feet In
diameter 1t was guided by propeiers operated by
electricity. and with well-known aeronaut aboard
sailed up In the face of stiff breeze. made a circle
and returned to the place from which II started
Then. according to agreement the aeronaut took
It on another trip. finally descending on the shores
Of Sheepshead Bay. showing In this way the entire
control he had over the machine
BICYCLE GUN CARRIAGES.
In the division of the Patent ONCE In which are
fled the patents relating to bicycles there have been
. number OF inventions intended to make practcab
the carrying of the gun by military cyclists. These
consist in various styles Of Clamps and chnents
to the crossbar. There also connecting bars for
use between two or more wheels. which would give
q bicycle company front stability 1t could not 9TH
erwise have. There are too patents which relate TO
folding bicycles for the purpose Of packing or for
use In the field. Similar appliances have recently
been patented In France. and they have been prac-
tically tested In the French Army.
There has been much talk recently in Europe OF
the invention Of high explosive by NJ Turpn which
resembles the explosive known as melinlte Turpin
claimed that by terrifying the Dardaneles with SUBJ
marine mines Of his explosive the combined fleets
Of the entire world could be blown to atoms in an
fncomparably short space Of time. At the Navy
Department here not much Is thought of the inven-
ton OF N. Turpin. a. this gentleman has shown an
elasticity OF conscience in his dealings with nations
which leads them to doubt his sincerity His expo-
sve 10 undoubtedly good. Chemists in this country
make more powerful powders and glycerines which
are the equal Of Turpins melnite IN all particulars
The examiner In charge Of the explosives at the
Patent Office Is constantly receiving applications
for patents for smokeless powders and explosives
some OF which ne thinks would surprise the experts
Of the Army and Navy. The great advantage which
come OF these explosives possess at this time Il
shown in the fact that they may be fired from old