The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-14
BRILLIANT IbEA.
Popgun Fleet For Brisk Newspaper
Correspondents.


From the New York Press.
A wire-haired man came to the Press
office yesterday with a plan for gathering
war news ahead of all newspaper contem-
poraries and the government.
Subject to order" he said, II will have
constructed a pneumatic gun, somewhat
after the pattern of the Zalinski rifle, and
will have it mounted on a substantial sea-
going vessel that can keep pace with the
manoeuvres of the feet. The shells to be
used are hollow, with adjustable screw
caps, and will be employed for conveying
intelligence of the battle-if any is
fought"
"You mean that you will shoot the
news?' asked the bewildered home-re-
naming war correspondent to whom the
plan was being unfolded.
Just that and nothing more" assented
the inventor eagerly. II will furnish the
gun and the vessel; you must supply a
relay of boats. The gun will shoot fifteen
miles. We will need"
"A boat for every fifteen miles, put in
the correspondent anticipating the de-
sign.
Certainly. Also a gun on each boat.
same style and caliber. Suppose we have
battle between the Spanish and United
States fleets 100 miles from the nearest
cable or telegraph station Now, you can
not get a vessel to carry the news under
five hours. That will be pretty good trav-
eling-twenty miles an hour. If the sea
is rough it might take six or seven hours"
Eyes, or eight. Or we might have
hole bored through us"
"AnVthing might haDnan E0rtune of
war. But listen: You will have the first
boat anchored fifteen miles from shore,
the second thirty miles, the third forty
five miles, the fourth sixty miles, the
fifth seventy-five miles and the sixth
ninety. My boat will cover the next ff-
teen within sight of the battle, and as
soon as the description of the engagement
is begun by your correspondent on board
it will be fled in patches in a shell and
fired to the sixth boat, which in turn will
reload it and fire it on to No. 5, whence
ii will be sent in the same way to No A.
and SO on until ii is fired by No / into
Shore
But how will the relays be able to
catch the shells you hre?"
"Oh, they have been so arranged that
they will float We could not possibly
hope to drop them right into your lap, my
dear sir. If we can land them within
quarter of mile from each successive
vessel we will do wonders All that you
have to do is 20 steam around and pick
them out of the water as they rise to the
surface after sinking. Each win carry a
small flag to indicate its location"
THE shells viii not explode?"
Quite out of the question. They are
merely hollow cylinders with a steel point
for guidance and non-resistance. The
copy is rolled up and slipped in, the cap Is
screwed on, and off she goes. In this way
you could get the news of a battle fought
100 miles from shore In hess than fifty min
utes. The old way, as have stated, re-
quires from five to eight hours
would not the shells sink us IL they
happened to fall on our decks?' asked the
correspondent, who merely wanted to be
set right at the beginning.
"Never!" declared the inventor. dog
matlcally. I'm the first place, there isn't
one chance in a thousand of hitting you
and in the second the shells are too light
to go through you"
You recommend the plan as safe and
feasible?"
Il do. sir, emphatically. There is no en-
gineering difficulty involved. 1t is far
ahead of the scheme of one Of the yellow
journals"
What is that?"
IT'S going to rig up marine telephone
whenever its correspondents follow the
feet to sea. Spar buoys, long as telegraph
poles, on which the wires Will be strung
the connection being made with the shore
II isn't half bad, but the wires liable TO
tangle and break. or get hit with a shell
and destroyed. And If a storm should
come up-shuhl can recommend my plan
sir, If you'd like to try il. OF course ifs