The herald., 1897-03-21
BUYS MAXIMS
The Inventors Two New
Rapid=Firing Types
HIS DESCRIPTION OF THEM
Astonishing Number of Shots per Min
ute-New Projectiles
viii Rain a Deadly Fire on Torpedo
Boats-Maxim Goes Into Inter-
esting Details
Special Correspondence to The Herald.

Special Correspondence to The Herald.
LONDON, March 12-Hiram S. Max
i'm, the famous inventor, is receiving a
great deal of public attention just now.
He has recently invented two mar
velously effective rapid firing guns and
has brought a sensational suit against
Sir w. Anderson, director general of
ordnance factories for declaration that
certain letters patent for the manufac-
ture of an explosive known as Maximite
were valid and that the defendant in the
manufacture of cordite for the English
government had infringed the plaintiffs
patent.
Defendant denied the alleged infringe
ment, and pleaded that the plaintiffs
invention was not novel, as it had been
anticipated by previous specifications.
Mr.. Mounlton, O. c., Mr.. Roger W.
Wallace, Q. c., Mr.. A. ]. Walters and
Mr.. Cassell appeared for the plaintiffs,
while the attorney general, the solicitor
general. Mr.. Haldane, Q. c., Mr.. Ingle
Joyce and Mr.. Sutton represented the
defendant.
DR.. Dupre. Captain F. L. Nathan,
royal artillery; Mr. Reed, chemist; MIR.
Stoker manager of the Dee oil works :
DR.. Kelner, chemist to the war depart
ment al Woolwich DR.. Franklin, pro-
fessor Odling, Professor Armstrong and
Professor Crooks gave evidence in sup
port of the defendants case No deci-
sion has been reached.
Your correspondent learned that the
government of the United States had
ordered hundred of Mr.. Maxim's new
guns and called on the great inventor for
further details. Mr.. Maxim said he pre-
ferred to write out a signed statement
rather than give an interview. Here is
his signed statement, written exclusive
ly for your readers:
No. Victoria Street, London, S. W.
March IL, 1897.
To the Editor OF the Los Angeles Her
aid: The subject of rapid firing guns is
one of special interest to all governments
a the present time when the peace of
Europe is threatened and the United
States is engaged in making unusual
preparations for strengthening its land
and naval defenses.
No modern warship is now complete
without two or more supplementary
batteries of rapid firing guns, and the
United States government has just or
dered one hundred of these guns for its
navy. Under these circumstances a de-
ecription will be possibly of wide inter-
est in your country.
The gun shown in the lower portion of
the picture is what is known as the one
inch-and ahalf Maxim gun This gun
weighs 500 pounds and fires loaded pro-
jectiles at the rate of from 800 to 400 a
minute. Each projectle weighs one
pound, ard is provided with percussion
fuse 80 that it explodes on striking. This
gun has been designed expressly for
firing on torpedo boats. 1t weighs con-
sderably less than the old lO-barrel
Gatling gun, which only used ordinary
nusket cartridges with light lead bull
let's. 1t has been tried in Europe against
5-barrel machine guns using the same
size of projectie, when it was found that
enc Maxim one-and "a -half-inch gun
. having one barrel with only one mar
firing. made more hits in a given time
than was made with twenty men firing