The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-06-01
WARFARE 2U YEARS HENCE.
On the VERGE Of a. Revolution in the Art Of
Fighting.
PhflodelDAio Times.

Uncle Sam IS called upon TO engage
will be war of physics and chemis-
try. We are on the edge Of a great
revolution in the art of fighting and
before long the methods of warfare
most approved to-day will be regarded
as wholly out of date. Twenty years
from now, reckoning at the very far
thest, there will be 90 floating for
tress of the kind which we call battle
ships; they will be considered as rep
resenting an obsolete type Of naval
architecture comparatively small, yet
infinitely more formidable and de-
structive.
"By that time also, electricity will
have made it's appearance as an active
agent of destruction aud military en-
gines of all sorts will have assumed
forms as yet undreamed of.
The words above quoted were used
by Government official who is one of
the foremost scientific men in this
Navy, in conversation with me. I'm
posing the condition that his name
should not be mentioned. he proceeded
to develop the idea by series of sug-
gestions so striking as to excite the
utmost interest. He said:
ssTo illustrate the tendency of the
development Of warfare at present |
will refer to the wiping out of the bat
tleshig Maine. According to NY oo-
lief, Il took Just about three men to
accomplish the destruction Of that gi-
gautic fighting machine. They had
large quantity Of nitro-glycerine or
some such high explosive, packed in
bags impervious to water. In each
bag was placed just enough cork to
give the contents the specific gravity
of water. approximately. Dragging
the bags, one or more of the men swan
out to within short distance Of the
ship, then dived and swam under the
water to escape observation and came
up under the safe shelter of the side
Of the vessel. To attach the bags to
the bottom Of the ship was easy, and
chemical time fuse that would burn
under water could be ignited readily
enough, permitting the assassins to
swim away at their lie isure.
SIN some such way as this, think,
The Maine was destroyed. I only cite
the case to illustrate the ease with
which mighty warship Of this kind
can be destroyed by TWO or three de-
termined men at a minimum Of cost.
A few dollars worth Of high explosive
will wipe out 81 600, 900 worth Of ma
ehinery and several hundred lives.
If half dozen hostile vessels of war
ventured into the harbor of New York
they would be aunihilated very quick
ly, not by our own war ships. but by
small groups Of courageous men with
80 called internal machines Of one
kind or another. When this sort Of
thing can happen. and is always likely
to occur, it means that the fighting
ship of the type described is out Of
date. The modern battleship is con-
structed, SO to speak, on gunpowder
basis; in the building of them no
more account is taken of high cxplo-
sives than if there were no such
things. But it is perfectly certain
that the wars Of the immediate future
are-to be prosecuted With high e1plo-
sises.
''Y ~ must remember that as yet no
adequate tesr'of the efficiency Of bat
tie ships has been made in practice;
they are built on theory. What does
their. strength amount to-the thick
ness of their armor and the weight of
the projectiles they can throw-if they
can be so readily destroyed? They
represent putting of matter in the
wrong place. In museum Of natural
history yo" will see the skeletons OF
many extinct animals which have
lived at va ious epochs of the earth $
history. You can tell at a glance the
yer~ ancient skeletons from those
which belonged to creatures Of more
recent times, because the latter are so
much lighter and more graceful, rep
resenting improved types. In one OF
thes warships you see masslng of
material. regardless of expense and
without regard to practical conditions.
Therefore thi. species of vessel is
doomed to early extinction. like the
huge aud unwicdy mammals Of the
pliocenc.
''Th. great war ship and the great
gun are the naval ideals of to-day.
Both of them arc based on what? On
yuopowt1cr. Modern forts, both on