The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-22
1T is A DEATH DEALER
GEN. MILES WILL INSPECT 11iE
O\E-PIECE COAST DEFENCE.
THE FAMOUS NORTH CAROLINA INVENTOR
Tells How a Great Navy Might be had IN a
Brief Time He is Ready to
Mount and Test His
New Gun,
New Gun.

The people Of North Carolina are III
WAYS interested III the successful career
of DR.. X. J.. GatlinG, Il native of 1t"rt
ford county. whose rapid-tirc gun has
made him famous. Now i'll his Old age
he is in Cleveland, Ohio, to see the final
work Oh the new type OF big coast dF-
Tense gun, which he has invented. Ills
views upon his work, the present inter
national situation, and the possibilities
and needs of the United States IN the
case of hostilities, as printed in the
Leader, is full of interest. Dr.. Calling
said:
Yes. | shall make evry endeavor to
hasten the work upon the gun, IN view
of the present situation" said DR.. Cat
ling. Although nothing has yet been
said to me by the government pom the
subject, | know the feeling and the ef-
forts that are everywhere being made
to hasten preparations.
THE gun may perhaps he ready TO
send East in Il week, and 1t the larhes
are not too busy at Washington, which
/ rather fear is tine case, 1T may be
rifed in about Il fortnight. 1t may be
mounted Upon any carriage. i should
think, if everything goes we'll ana the
work is pushed, the gun may possibly
be ready for testing in a month or so.
If it is favorable to the authorities,
I should very much like to see a com
u~etitive test to the death between the
one-piece gun and the present style of
built-up guns. l should not feel we'll
satisfied with II test of eight or ten
shots. for one of the great advantages
in the new style of gun, | believe, IS its
far greater longevity. While three of
these one-piece cannon could be made
while they are making one of
THE BUILT UP KIND,
which takes about u year, the life of the
new gun, | am sure. will be three or
four times greater. if not more. In
rapid work / do not believe that the
many part guns would stand tlrlnS
more than about twenty times. The one
piece guns i think will last for over
one hundred shots. | would like to see
this new gun and one OF the present
type fired until both are destroyed.
Il hardly think | will want anything
further done at the City Forge Works,
where the gun now hes, as YOU say.
and as soon as | give it an examination
to-day. it will probably be sent over to
the Otis Steel Works, where it is to be
annealed and mandrilled. The latter is
the expanding of the bore by a rotary
motion. After the gan Is reheated.
which itself will take several days, the
%mandrilling will take only about Il day,
and then it will be ready to go East.
General Miles and other members of the
ordnance bureau have expressed Il de-
sire to be present when the final work
is lone and they may be here mex
week. OF course. what the gun will dc
depends altogether upon the firing tests
to be made when it is finished, but SC
far everything rs favorable. Ihe tests
of tensile strength of the special stecl
used for the gun is very high, being 10S,
600 pounds to the square inch. The stee
Of the built up guns runs about 10000
pounds. Sometimes wrought steel has
been brought
UP TO los, 900 POUNDS.
"Englanu mas given up the built VI
gun, and is experimenting with WIFE
guns. No, | do not think these vii
prove much better.
What is the latest from Iayanna!
have Just arrived, and haven't seen tn.
afternoon papers. On the train, as
was coming from indianapolis, l had
talk with a professional diver, a frlent
of the divers who are at work on tin
Maine. He is i'll communication wit
them by mail, and he remarked ID ~
that they are all of the opinion that th'
ship was blown up from the outside
Yes, l rather think SO myself. My rea
sons? Well, one thing Of great sisnifi
canoe, of course, is the order that til
battleship should be located where i
was. If a mine was under the ship, an
blew UP from any cause, the SPANS
would be in that degree responsible.
am 10th to believe that the SPANS.
authorities did it, but l hardly think
mere crank would be able to effect til
explosion of the mine, if mine it was.
Another thing is the report of tn
sentry that the explosion came from tn
port side. Some of the magazines ar
intact, while if a magazine had blow
up. all the others would also, and til
ship would have been we'll nigh Oblitcl
ated.
If it should be proved that the shi
wac blown up from the outside. l be
lieve that we should at once seize tn
island without further parley. 1t is til
richest island in the world. 1t would b
better to do this, and disregard to som
extent the interests of bondholders. Ih
financial interest, of course, has niue
to do with the
DALIBEKATION OF The COUNTR
George Washington urged asains
territorial extension. But if he ha
lived in a time that would have give
him cognizance of present conditions.
am sure that his attitude would hay
been entirely different on this subiec
He lived i'll q time of sail boats. The
could go all around the world and |
independent of fuel supplies. Geora
Washington died in 1899. and he nevt
knew of a mi The new tv1
of vessel made a new type of need
Washington was a man of great saga
ity. and he would at once have seen RI
necessity to this country of controlling
series of coaling stations all arou1