Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-14
WITH DEADLY EFFECT
Use of High Explosives it
Modern Warfare.
VIEWS OF AN EXPERT
WHAT THE JAPANESE HAVE
DONE WITH sHIMoSITE.
But the United States is the Best
Equipped of Any Country in
the World.

Written for The Evening Star by Hudson Maxim.
Great report has come to us of the ter
rible effects produced by shimosite, the
high explosive used by the Japanese as
bursting charge for their projectles. In
the nature and use of high explosives the
Japanese have, as in everything else, UNI
questionably obtained their information
from the western nations.
The japanese have probably pursued the
same course with respect to high explo-
sives that they have pursued with respect
to other things naval and military. They
have selected from the western nations
that which, at the time of its selection,
was, according to the evidence they could
obtain the best; and as the time at which
they must have selected their high explo-
sive or gained the information from which
they have produced 1T antedated the i'm
portant work which has recently been done
by the United States government In this
respect and as the United States govern
ment explosives have been kept secret, II
is most probable that Shimosite was COPIED
from some high explosive employed In Eu-
rope. AS lyddte has been the most COM
monty known, and as lyddite is simply
picric acid fused and cast into shell, ana
as melinite and other high explosives used
as bursting charges for projectiles on the
continent of Europe are picric acid in some
form, or picric acid slightly modlhed by
the addition of other ingredients, and as
picric acid is one of the most powerful
high explosives known, and is sufficiently
insensitive when properly charged into
shell to enable it to be fired from cannon
with safety, and picric acid is relative
ly an inexpensive article and can be had
in large quantities, and, furthermore, as
the Japanese have been known to purchase
during the present war large quantities OF
picric acid 1t is pretty safe to assume that
shimosite is simply picric acid fused and
cast into she'll or picric acid compressed
into the shell by hydraulic pressure In
powdered state, or is picric acid slightly
modified by the addition of some other in
gredient which in no way differs from pub
lished formulas for high-explosive she'll
filters.
In This Country.
Had Germany France or England, in
stead of Japan. gone to war with Russia
we should have had the same reports of
deadly effects of high explosive. The Japa-
nese being the first to employ such projec-
tiles in actual naval warfare on any consid-
cradle scale, get the credit of being pioneers
in the production and employment of such
weapons, while a matter of fact high
explosives and high explosive projectiles
have been brought to a much higher state
OF perfection in the United States than
those the Japanese now possess
The Japanese are not originators. They
are not a nation of inventors; but they
have wonderful powers of discretion and
selection.
1t Is we'll known that inventors rarely
profit from their inventions to the same
extent that business men do who acquire
them and who are not inventors. The in
ventor, instead of settling down to make
the best possible use of what he has pro-
duced, goes on inventing, being never quite
satisfied with what he has done, and thus
wastes his energies and resources and
squanders his time in experimentation;
while the business man, not expecting per-
lection, takes what he finds to be practi-
cal ard substantial Improvement over
what preceded it, and makes the best pos
sible use of 1t, often reaping a fortune
where the inventor would not make cent
Similarly, the western nations. being the
original inventors of all implements Of war,
have become nations of tnterm1nable ex-
perimentors who are never quite satisfied
with the best they have produced, and
never dare to bank too much or depend too
much on anything for fear that something
better may soon come up, and that, conse-
qrently, the thing adopted may become OBJ
solete and the money expended on 1t vast
ed. Now, as there is no limit to the posi-
bilities of mans inventive genius and
powers of experimentation and discovery,
this condition of things is bound to con-
tinue.
Japan's Preparedness.
The Japanese, on the other hand, are like
the business man who, not being an in
VentOr, taxes anOtner man lnVenllOHS,
and without wasting any money or energy
in endeavors to improve them makes the
best possible use of them. This same ex-
PLANTATION of Japanese preparedness and of
japanese success applies to every branch of
the japan csc service which has contributed
to their success.
There is another thing that has been very
largely overlooked which necessarily favors
the japanese, and it is their small stature
as compared with that of their enemies
and their rugged, stocky build and their
ability to march and fight on rations which
would be a starving allowance for the Rus
sian soldier.
The white or Caucasian race has been
developed In broken mountainous coun-
try, divided by rivers, lakes and seas, and
these geographical conditions largely con-
tributed to the development of the fighting
instinct of that race. We were for many
ages hunters and warriors and were reared
under geographical conditions where,
wkethe by hunting or fighting or by agri-
culture, we secured abundance of food and
thus became gigantic in stature as COM
pared with the Japanese, and well adapted
ID become conquerors of the world when
physical prowess was the chief qualification
of the eonqueror.
Necessity and the requirements of ex-
pediency made us inventors, and we have