Kansas City journal., 1898-04-18
Edison on War With Spain.

Edison on War With Spain.
From the New York Press
can produce light" said Thomas
A. Edison in his laboratory at West Or
ange yesterday, that will render absolute
ly harmless Spain's terrible torpedo foti!Ias
we read so much about. Science has found
way to destroy the mines Spain has
planted in the harborS of Cuba More i'm
portant still, science tells us how we can
march our armies from one end of Cub;,
10 the other this summer, and in the rainy
season. too, and lose hardly a man from
the dread malarial and yellow fevers."
AS to certain published statements to the
effect that Mr.. Edison had invented cleo
trlcal apparatus that will work all kinds
OF destruction in case of war; he said:
All such statements are imaginative No
such things are needed. nor does science
DO its work through any such methods
Science does its work in legitimate and
straightforward ways, and it stands ready
to-day 10 afford the United States army
and navy just what it needs
AS to the light that renders absolutely
harmless these terrible torpedo fiotillas?
Well. the torpedo boat is demon of dark
ness only. 1t is an enemy that creeps upon
its foe in the night. In the daylight it is
as useless as the eyes of an owl. In tie
daytime it can be seen and blown to pieces
before its gets near enough TO do any dam
age.
In order that an object may be observed
distinctly the light must be behind it. 1t
must appear in silhouette. Ignite bonfire
behind tree, for instance, and YOU can
see its outline distinctly.
BY the use of chemicals which ignite
and produce a. light when brought into con-
tact with water. the ocean can be lighted
up for about four square miles about any
hat iS
to render a torpedo boat useless, for the
moment the latter appears within the hori-
zon of the little span Of day thus made she
becomes easily visible. and within two min
utes she be riddled by the modern
rapid fire guns.
The chemical I suggest can be thrown
out from the ship or fleet it is to protect
from guns of peculiar construction. 1t is
all very simple and not so expensive as
might be imagined
The wizard was asked to elaborate on his
idea of protecting the health of the army
of occupation in Cuba
Science can do a great deal for that
army" he replied. II am willing to lay a
wager that l can take 100 men into Cuba
and spend the summer in the worst dis
tricts of the island and not lose a man,
no. not one. And the same thing can be
done for the army.
NHoW! Inc solution IS as simple as
stAnding the egg on end. All that is neces-
sarH is care and a little knowledge. Let
nothing go into the stomach of any man
that has not been boiled; nothing that has
not been subjected to 2l2 degrees of heat
The problem is easy. Yellow fever be =!
Excuse my emphasis, but it is as easily
whipped as yellow soldery."
Mr. Edison said he had no plans for the
destruction of the mines in the harbors of
Cuba. He would leave that to the dynamite
cruiser Nesuvius and the dynamite cruiser
Nictheroy. which. it has been reported. the
United States is to buy from Brazil. How
these little vessels can make harbor safe
by literally blasting way for our war
ships has been told in the Press. Besides.
the army engineers are well up in counter
mining. Mr.. Edison thought he could not
help the army and navy much on mines.
He said we would have a great advantage
in the mine question because Spain has no
boats like the Eesuvius and the Nictheroy.
MIR. Edison said he had no doubt that
electricity would play an important part in
the war. and he pointed out that the Span
iards have little or no inventive genius.
In this particular, he said. the Americans
would have great advantage.
All in all. Mr.. Edison isn't worried little
bit about the outcome of a war with Spain.
An Overland Sailor.
From the Chcago Times Herald.
Charles II. Walker, 4 shipwrecked whal-
er. has come to Edmonton, beyond Mani
toba. in British Ameri.s with news of four
crews that he left di@ II .ssed in the Arctic
ocean. He had tratSsd 5000 miles over
land. occupying five months in the journey.
and reaching a station in the very heart
of the Northern wilderness. 1t seems a
strange course for a shipwrecked sailor.
And yet it was the only feasible one.
Our ideas of the continents magnitude,
and even of the continents geography,
may be disturbed, but a little study of
the map will set the matter right. The
whalers were frozen in. crushed and aban-
doned when off Point Barrow, the very
northernmost land in Alaska. There was
little hope in crossing Alaska to the set
Elements of Sitka or those nearer ones be-
yond Cooks inlet. No one at thosa nIacess