The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-15
.CapifaI Chat.
Washington GOSSIP. Political and
Otherwise, tor the Readers
Of the Globe.

WASHINGTON. D. c., March 14.-(spe-
al.)-The leading officials in the war de-
partment seem to be of the opinion that
war In the Philippines is practically end
ed. With the exception Of bush Whack-
Ing tactics employed by the insurgents,
our soldiers there will have little oppo-
sition to overcome. or course It will give
the United States troops considerable
trouble to run down and capture the Fill
pinos who have up to this time declined
to recognize the authority OF the United
States That any great battle will here
after be fought between our forces and
the Filipinos Is doubted by war depart
ment experts. IT may be some months,
perhaps q year hence before our diff
culties on this archipelago are overcome
This will necessitate, of course, the keep
ing Of standing army at Manila and
other points on these islands. and per-
haps Uncle Sam will be compelled to
keep an army there for several years to
come.
President Mckinley is, however, CON
fident that the new commission he Is to
send to the Philippines may be able to
conduct negotiations so satisfactorily
that the belllgerent Filipinos may come
in out of the jungles and readily bow 10
the authority of the United States. AS
the new commission Is composed of very
capable men, the fault will be with the
waring natives If a peaceful settlement
of the existing trouble is not soon
brought about. In connection with the
situations at Manila, 1t will probably be
interesting to state that the belief pre-
walls in the war department that as soon
as Gen. Otis, our present commander-in-
chief at Manila, is given his vacation the
troublesome natives may give up the I'M
equal contest and submit to Uncle Sam =
rule This, at least is what is expected
by men in Washington cognizant of the
real situations in the Philippines.
It is generally conceded that Secretary
of War Root will be able to recommend
legislation for the government of Cuba,
which will be beneficial to residents of
that island upon his return from his
present visit there. As is well known, 1t
is the purpose Of Secretary Root to make
thorough investigation as to the COLI
ditions now existing on this island in
! order to recommend to congress what, III
his best Judgment, will be the proper
course to pursue in dealing with Its peo-
pie from a legislative, as we'll as depart
mental standpoint. 1t is believed that
his visit to the island is timely, and it
is likewise considered by prominent Re
publicans that the advice he will give
to congress, to the president and to his
colleagues of the cabinet will be pretty
generally followed. His report on his re-
turn will, therefore, be awaited with a
great deal of interest everywhere.
Frank H. Mason our United States
consul at Berlin, has furnished the state
department with very interesting re-
port regarding the use of liquid air as
an explosive. In his report to the de-
partment Mr.. Mason makes substantially
this statement:
kAd hot
liquid air could be readily produced on a
commercial scale, it has been hoped and
expected that one of the principal uses
to which it would be applied would be
that of an explosive material for blasting
purposes, particularly In mines, where the
new explosive would have the important
advantages of safety in handling and Of
not vitiating the air. like gunpowder or
dynamite by the gases Of ignition.
Some months ago a newspaper an
nounced that liquid air had been formally
adopted for blasting purposes in the gov
eminent coal mines of Germany, but In
quiry proved that this announcement was
at least premature. The fact appears to
be that observation-disclosures or less sue
cessful-have been made, especially by
Prof. Linde, of the Polytechnic high
school at Munich, but no formal adoption
of the new explosive by the government
bureau of mining has yet taken place.
Among the most systematic and inter
esting practical experiments thus far
made in this direction have been the Sc
ries OF tests lately undertaken by the
Vienna Crystal Ice company, In the pres
ence of experts from the Austrian tech
meal committee for the war department
The liquid air used In these tests was OBJ
tanned from the Linde company, at MI
mich, and shipped to Vienna In open
TASKS provided with the DeWar vacuum
Jacket. and packed with felt and cotton
wrappings in wooden cases, with a loose
cap of felt over the open mouth OF each
flask. When put at the laboratory
for shipment the liquid contained rs per
cent oxygen to Is per cent nitrogen, but
before it had reached Vienna and was
used in the experiments 1t had lost about
half it's bulk by evaporation, and what
remained contained So per cent oxygen to
Is per cent nitrogen. The absorbents
used in preparing the cartridges were
silicious mari CKiesel guhr) and solar oil, >
and. according to the repart. two methods
were employed By one process the mari
and oil were mixed in wooden vessel,
and the liquid air gradually added until
stiff paste was formed, which was
packed In paper cartridge shells, COW
cred with asbestus.
BY the other plan, the mixture of mari
and oil was put into the cartridge, which
was inclosed in a lead case with layer
of felt between, and the liquid air then
poured in until the paste was completely
saturated. The, cartridges prepared by
both methods were safe and readily
transportable, and their explosive power
was tested by firing at the bottom of deep
holes bored in rock. The results showed
that, while liquid air is an efficient ex-
plosive, it is less effective than dyna-
mite, gun cotton, explosive gelatin or
giant powder.
1.-THE net conclusion to be derived from
these and preceding experiments in
Europe Is that. Notwithstanding the OBJ
vious advantages of liquid air as an ex-
plosive for mining purposes, the rapid
deterioration of the cartridges and their
varying and uncertain strength are OBJ
stacles so serious that until they can be
overcome it's value and application to
that use will remain experimental and
comparatively limited"