The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-04-30


Five Miles.
New York, April 30.-The Brooklyn
Eagle has received a letter from Hud-
son Maxim, of London, England, con-
tanning a remarkable offer to the Uni
ted States government to furnish to 1t,
at a cost of 100000, a ship which he
claims to be capable of destroying the
entire Spanish navy. The plan in
wolves the use of aerial torpedoes, in
vented by Mr. Maxim. The writer is a
brother OF Hiram Maxim, the famous
inventor of weapons of destruction.
Hudson Maxim has worked in Coop
GRAFTON with Hiram, and is a man of
good standing and repute in the scien-
tific world. He expresses his desire to
serve his native country. Just one
cruiser built and equipped complete
with torpedo guns according to his sys-
TEN, he says, would be sufficient to de-
stroy every Spanish warship which 1t
might encounter at sea- Mr.. Maxim
offers the United States government,
or any of his patriotic fellow citizens,
who may be willing to furnish the capi-
tai necessary for the construction and
equipment Of one such cruiser the free
use, without royalty, of all his inven-
tions for the purpose, and says that he
himself will come to America and su-
perintend the building of the crusier
without any charge whatever for his
services. An opportunity to serve on
board in an engagement would be very
acceptable to him.
Mr.. Maxim holds that IL his inven-
tlons are put into practice armor will
be rendered absolutely useless. Navies
will make everything subservient to
speed and mobility. The projectile, in
stead of being an armor piercing shot,
will be thin shell, intended only as a
cover for the explosive which 1t will
carry. Mr. Maxim points out that
pneumatic guns for throwing high ex-
plosives necessarily have a very limited
range He says it is obvious that a
practical system of throwing aerial tor
pedoes must have a range substanti-
ally equal to that of high power guns.
Owing to the fact that these guns are
not intended to throw armor piercing
projectiles and that, therefore, a fiat
projectory is not necessary to their
successful operation, the charge of
powder to propel the shells may be less
powerful than that used in high power
guns.
The torpedoes, which carry half a
ton of explosive, according to Mr..
Maxim's theory, may be sent nine
miles, with ton of gun cotton can be
thrown five miles. These ranges are
equal to the effective ranges of high
| power guns on battleships.
Mr.. Maxim believes the ten torpedo
cruisers equipped with his guns may
be built at a cost of $500, 900 each, or in
other words, at the same cost of build
ing one first class battleship. He would
| equip each of these cruisers with one
"a inch torpedo gun, weighing 46 tons,
and two torpedo mortars, weighing 20
| tons each.
The cruiser would fire head on, the
exposed portion of the vessel being pro-
tected by DETECTING armor sufficiently
! thick to turn aside the projectlles of d
battleship, save those from the IL inch
guns.
The cruisers would have a speed of
| from 20 to "a knots, and could therefore
| choose their own position with respect
to battleships. He divides the average
fatal area exposed by the battleship by
| the area of the target presented by the
cruser, and finds that the latter is con-
tained in the former at least 100 times
One cruiser, he argues, would therefore
be able on an average to destroy 10e
battleships.