The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-04-23


hitherto been devised. The Spaniards
themselves not at all an inventive peo-
pie. would think that they had come up
against a nation of devils.
at is logically proper to assume any
absurdity for the sake of argument
Let us assume, then, that we were
driven from the seas actually by the
Spaniards. and that our defeat was all
solutc ana overwhelming. The wind
up Of the whole affair would neVerthe-
less bc the total wiping-out of Spain;
for We would build vessels adjusted To
requirements.
There is no telling what we might
do with electricity, which doubtless is
destined to play a part in future war
fare as an active agent of destruction.
Telegraphy without wire is as yet in
its infancy but something very sub
stantial i'm this line has been accom-
plished already. If we can convey, as
we do to a distance and without "A
wire, enough energy to communicate
intelligence, we shall be able before
long to convey enough energy to work
injury. AS our control of electrical en-
ergy becomes more complete we can
extend its reach further and further.
1t does not seem wholly improbable
that the time will come when we shall
be able to explode the magazine of a
ship without going near it.
THE VEsUvIUs.
Tho only attempt thus far made by
the United States i'm the direction Of
utilizing high explosives for purposes
of naval warfare, if torpedoes be eX-
cepted is represented by the so-called
,;,I
now in the neighborhood of Key West
This vessel has on her forward deck
three 15-inch guns which throw pro-
iectiles loaded with dynamite dis
tance of a mile. The ship is only an
| experiment, and her practical utility is
regarded by naval authorities as very
! doubtful. The problem Of throwing
! high explosives with safety to those
who use them has not yet been solved
satisfactorily. No explosive is good for
fighting purposes that can be touched
| off by shock or otherwise than by ac-
| tual contact with fire. The stuff called
! explosive gelatine,' for example, is the
most powerful of all known explosives,
being fifteen times as strong as gun
| powder. 1t is made by dissolving gun
| cotton in nitro -glyCerine, the prepara-
! ton having the consistency of honey.
| But it is very unsafe for use in battle,
because bullet striking it will set it
| off by concusson.
DEADLY GASES.
ct is extremely likely that in the
| next great war shells that liberate
| poisonous gases on explosion will be
| employed 1t has been suggested that
| bombs loaded with hydrocyanic acid
gas under pressure could be thus util-
| ized, releasing such fumes on bursting
| as would destroy all life in the neigh
| borhood. The French 'melinite' has for
! it's base coal-tar product termed pic
| rC acid; its consistency is about that
| of molasses and il is poured into shells
| and permitted to harden. This stuff is
| entirely safe to handle, though three
| times as powerful as gunpowder. The
fumes set free by the bursting of a
| bomb loaded with it are most deadly.
| A single one, fired eXperimentally at a
| vessel on the deck of which had been
| placed number of sheep and goats,
! killed by suffOcation all of the animals
that were not destroyed by the flying
| fragments. If a shell loaded with hy-
! droCyanic acid gas-thiS is the same
thing as prusSic acid, and the dead
| liest of all poisons-should be fired into
| a ship and explode inside of the vessel,
| pretty nearly everybody on board
| would surely perish
''ln the recently published novel,
| War of the Worlds which describes an
| attack by Martians upon the earth,
| the assailantS from the sister planet
are represented as destroying immense
numbers of people by letting loose a
cloud Of black vapor that sinks to the
| ground and smothers to death every
! living thing. The author may have
had in his mind bisulphide of carbon
an extremely explosive substance
which readily resolves itself into a
most deadly gas when exposed to the
atmosphere. This gas is heavier than
air. and so sinks. The newly invented
smoke grenades are filled with chem
ical substances which, on explosion
produce clouds Of dense black smoke
they are intended to be carried i'm adj
vance by skirmishers and thrown SO
as to conceal the troops following. \
novel German contrivance is a bomb
| which ON exploding. scatters highly in,
tlammable substances far and wide A
single one bursting over a town would
set a whole district on fire at once
This kind Of internal machine is de.
signed also for burning ships at sea.
BALLOONS.
Respecting the prospects of using
balloons and flying machines in war
a great deal has been said, but it is
all highly speculative. Balloons may
be employed to drop explosives hut
they are not very manageable, beins
10 "A great extent at the mercy Of all
currents. Nevertheless, ii is said thai
both Germany and France now have
balloons that can be steercd and pro-
| PEELED against a pretty strong breeze
1t goes without saying that if really
practical dying machine should evel
be devised, il would wholly revolution
iZe warfare No fort could be bull
} that would be strong enough to with
: stand high explosives dropped from
above, and ships would be equally ex
posed 10 destruction. Under such con
ditions, warfare would necessarily b,
transferred from the land and sea Il
the air, ana the quarrels Of nations
would be decided by battles between
fleets of airships.
Chemistry and physics, as | hav,
said, will be the basis Of the warfar,
Of the future. Under the former o
( these two heads comes photography
which will be largely employed Th
latest invention in aerial photogrG PHI
2 | is intended for military use. 1t is ;
bomb containing a camera and a para
chute, and is fired vertically into tn
air from a mortar When 200 feet o
| so "A Ia a. m
ing the camera, which is upheld II