The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-25

of the range at Winterthur. Further ex-
pertinent at the ranges of Thun and
Berne proved this theory to be correct;
and the remarkable discoveries made at
these trials may effect another complete
change in military tactics. Tho follow
ing account of one OF. the experiments is
given by tie Journal do Geneve:
At Thuns authorities establish ed
parallel with the riffs range, at dis
ance Of a little more than forty yards,
an electric current Of 5000 volts Of Urac-
ing the whole effect paper circlets were
placed a5 intervals CT ten yards along
the line OF fire. The first experiments
were made with the Swiss model rifle Of
1889. With this the influence Of the
| ln distance of 260 yards the bullet took
lateral deviation of twenty foursyards,
and after that the curve Of the tr alec
tory was still more marked The second
experiments were made with the Japa-
nese s. 3mm. rifle of Count Yamagata,
| and they were still more decisive, the
bullet being rapidly attracted to the cleo
trio wires and following their course
with absolute servility. Further at
tepmts were made with artillery. The
| range selected was one Of 1900 yards.
Two hundred yards In front of the tar
gets, but forty yards to the side, was
placed the electric battery. Every sshot
was diverted by its influence far to the
side of the target--to be exact the devia-
ton was one Of IA degrees"
From the results of these experiments
several interesting conclusions may be
drawn. A dynamo or accumulation of
the requisite power placed on the flank
OF a company of infantry would insure
the men complete immunity from the
fire of small arms within a range of 500
yards and upward; for all of the bullets
vun ho n tad tom au1 4Lc AZ,
field created by the electric current from
ths dynamo or accumulation. Similarly,
artillery fire could be rendered harmless
at a range of 900 yards and over. 1t
would, perhaps be premature to assert
that the consequence OF this discovery
will be the doom of the modern small
bore military rife, with it steel-jacketed
bullet for it might be practicable to en-
close the leaden missile in hard bronze or
some other metal not affected by mag
netism. Artillery would probably re-
main destructive enough on the battle
field by the use of explosive shells. IL is
in naval warfare that the discovery may
have the most important consequences.
In Conan D0lye's ''Stark Munro Letters''
the hero is credited with an invention to
render a war ship immune from the shots
OF an enemy by placing electric aeon
mulators at it's stem and stern. The
idea was to defect steel projectiles by
magnetism, just like the Swiss military
authorities have in fact succeeded in do
6. 1t would certainly be revolu-
tionary departure If, instead of encasing
our battle ships in heavy bomb proof ar
NOR, we could encompass them with an
impalpable magnetic veil which would
compel the great armor-pieroing steel
proJectiles to pass harmlessly by.
The discovery, however, will give the
military and naval expert y nsw problem
to work out. In passing it Is worthy Of
remark how frequently the apparently
impossible feats suggested by imaa NATIVE
writers have been followed by the demon
stration of their possibility. Phineas
Fogg's wonderful trip around the world
in eighty days would today be very
commonplace performance; and another
generation may soc Stark Munroe's mag
netized battleship an accomplished fact.
Fiction seems stranger than fact only be-
cause so small q part of the truth of sci
ence has been revealed to humanity.