The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-02-16
A WONDERFUL EXPLOSIVE
Its Mysteries Confided to Few
Persons Only.
OWNED BY UNCLE SAM
It Is Called Thorite, and by Its Use
the Heaviest of Hieh-Power Guns
Can at Last Be Fired With Safety
A War Terorr.

Can AT Last be Fireo with Sarety-
A War Terorr.
The War Departments adoption of
thorite is the military event of the
year. Uncle Sam will see to it that no
foreign power learns a jot as to its Sc
Fret manufacture. Its mysteries have
been confided to only handful of high
military officers pledged to solemn Sc
erecy.
ThOrite has solved vexed problems
that have racked the brains of most
Bkilful ordnance experts for five years
Or more. Uncle Sam during this time
has secured the earth for a man able
to furnish him highly explosive shell
capable of accomplishing two thi
Issuing from high power gun with
out danger of explosion from the shock
In the breech of the weapon.
Striking it's mark without exploding
from the force of impact, but at any
desired time after impact.
DR.. Hiram p. Tuttle, a wizard from
Tacoma, Wash, journeyed to the ma
tional capital last summer, and mace
the proposition to the Army's Board of
Ordnance and Fortifications that he
prove his ability to furnish the desired
article Shortly afterward Gen. Miles
Issued an order enforcing an old rule
barring admittance to government
tests. A few weeks later the wiz I'd
Of the West did wondrous things at
Sandy Hook. The official adoption of
thorite is the result
That thorite could be fired with per-
feet safety and without possible danger
to gun or gunner was readily demon
Etrated by numerous tests. 1t was
fired from guns of various sizes by
both black and smokeless powder
That intense heat brought in direct
contact with 1t could not affect it in
any way was proved by the inventor
In a striking test He heated a poker
red hot and thrust it into a 2-pound
can of the explosive without any per-
reptible result.
Other tests demonstrated that not
even the pressure of the heaviest siee g
guns--40,000 pounds to the square inch
could effect it. A Pinch service shell
with thirty nine pounds of thorte was
fired from huge seacoast rifle. No
fuse was fixed The explosive shell
caused by the explosion of 450 POUNDS
of brown powder at it's base and went
put to sea without uttering a sound or
suffering destruction.
That this new element of warfare
would not explode from the shock of
Impact, but would reap its harvest of
death at any moment desired by the
gunner, was proved in a more fascina-
ting series of secret tests. Ten-inch
Shells filed with it were left without
fuses, and were fired through huge
pieces of Harveyized steel armor plate
Regardless of the terrific shock and
tremendous friction these shells did not
explode.
In another trial an iron shell of 1872
pounds weight and seven inches diane
ter was loaded with only four pounds
bf the new explosive and placed inside
q square enclosure strongly built Of
steel. Connection was made by wire
between the shell and an electric eli
cult. The purpose of the steel enclosure
was to collect the flying pieces of the
Ehell-in other words, to test it's 'frf G.
menting power" An electric button
was touched, and after the explosion
tENClsl lllCLl WtIt utltBdleu " SdlHGl
up the scraps of iron within the enclo-
Ture. They counted 10000 visible frag-
ments.
To determine the destructive power,
shells which had bsen fused were fired
from a 2 1-2 inch Sims-Dudley gun
down the beach at Sandy Hook. Great
"craters' left in the Sand were sutfi-
eient proof that thorite is as powerful
RS the strongest blasting gelatine
Thorite Shells it was proven. cannot
explode save by aid of a certain time
fuse or detonator devised by the inven-
tor. In other words, it can be ham,
mered and battered around during
transportation and subjected to vari-
Gus temperatures loaded in either cans
or shells. No accident can occur unless
the detonator is attached and set The
new explosive, furthermore, needs no
particular make OF shell, but can be
put in any. Another advantage is that
its power does not weaken during lon,
storage.
The Ordnance Department has al.
ready shipped to Or. futile suffice
raw material to manufacture several
thousand pounds Of the explosive with
In the next two months. The finished
product will be placed in shells of S2-
inch calibre for light artillery suns, to
be sent to the Philippines.
The War Department has just pur-
chased dozen Ma kim mountain guns,
of the same type Sc used by the Brit
ish in their Khartoum, Omdurman and
Transvaal campaigns. These will soon
arrive in Manila, and shells for them
will also be supplied although the de
partment has ordered 5000 rounds of
ammunition such as used with them in
Europe. These new guns, all thro "
ing thorite shells, will dislodge the re-
bells from their ambush shelters in
swamps and canebrakes.
Thorite will be adopted for our great
coast defence howitzers, as soon as
they are completed. Large shells will
be manufactured Co fit them. After
the army shall have successfully used
the invention, the navy will adopt it.
By its means each fighting ship can
create greater havoc than did the dy-
Mantle cruiser VeBuvius in the Span
ish war.
The adoption Of thorite puts the Uni
ted States upon an equality with
France and England in respect to high
explosives. 1t has been the DO s. of
these two nations that they excel in
ability to safely fire highly combusti-
BILE shells with gunpowder. Lyddite.
the English, and nlelinite, the French,
explosive are practically the same.