The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-02-12
MAxlM's NEW POWER.
Motoritc r. Shm,t Torpedocs and
Boats Through Sea Mile n Min.
ute.

From the New York American.
A new torpedo that will hurl itself
at a battleship's hull faster than
mile a minute.
A new submarine torpedo boat that
will bore path beneath the surface
OF the water at the ratio OF 60 miles an
hour.
A new m"tive 'rower--motoritc-t
propel the torpedo ard the torpedo
boat so powerfully that IL necessary
Il will shoot them rocket-like out Of
tne water
This trinity of Inventions. evolved
together, patented side by side by
Hudson Maxim will put at the dispos-
al OF the Unitc1 States government
the most destructive engines Of naval
warfare posse sscd by any nation OF
tho world.
After more than two years of con-
slant experiment. the famous inventor
OF sm"kelcss powhcr and Maximite
has 80 far perfected these three en-
gincs Of war that he has just applied
for letters-patent and notified the gov
ernment of his success.
The narrative of his triply crowned
achievement reads like a classic 70
nance cf adventure. for Mr. Maxim.
starting out with the sole intention of
tesisning torpedo that would sur
pass in speed tho slowm~ving Whit
head. found that he had Invented no.
cnly wnat ne sought, but also mo
tive power so tremendous that Il
{ hould ievolution,xe submarine war
fare. transpose the despised torpedo
hoat into the most dreaded fighting
monster OF the sea, and--,later---may
even be expectoi to send transatlan
tic liner between New York and
Southampton faster than the fastest
trains -aove on The land.
A delicate blend OF nitroelycerine
GIn-cottcn md one other drug. and
the application OF a new system OF
jet propulslon"-.thc game principal
on which automobiles are runs the
tecret re It all.
AZ the outset Mr.. Maxim simply per-
ceived that the fastest gasoline-driver
Whitehead torpedv-shot from the
tube of a torpedo boat-traveled to
ward its target never faster than g
,a,-o1s - ee half mile a minute. and
~. -Jf ~-ii~~ -
saw that the reason most Of tn.
Whitehcads never reach their marx
I'm warfare Is bccause q spry war
ship can steam out of the way Of them
after they have started. or. better still
can blow up both the torpedo and IL.
torpedo boat with weii-aimed rapid.
fire guns half a dozen times in transit
Therefore. 1t was Mr.. Maxim's pur
pose {" get some new scheme CT pro.
rulsion into the stern of a torpedo 81
that 1t Gould reach the warstip before
1t could be rendered useless.
The tanning Vf nitroglycerinc and
sun-c otton from high explosives int,
tractatie means Of boat propulsion
was not a simple matter. But Mr.
Maxim finally got 1t.
Ai;o he found way 20 set this mo.
tive power going in the water, sc
that the action Of tho water turned
the combustion OF the bientid .exulo.
sives into powerful Jets. projecting
the vessel forward In leaps rs the let.
thrust out backward.
The big problem with Mr.. Maum
became how 70 tone them down &C
they wouldn't shlver the torpedo to
atoms each time he LET one loose. Bit
finally he succeeded in regulating them
thrust them beneath levers under
perfect control. and when he got to
sending them out backward from the
stern Of half-ton torpedo he found
that they would send the torposo
hurting through the water at any
rate OF speed he cared to name and as
far as 1" miles with perfect aim.
Now the inventor had achieved
what he had set cut for. And in his
moment OF success II dawned on him,
that he had achieved thousand
times more. For IL half handful of
mUori.e would send d half ton torpe-
do mile and a quarter In a minute
a couple Of handfuls ought to send
a whole submarine boat through tn ,
water Just as fast.
1t took MIR. Maxim but little
While to show that It wculd-and
mere. And thus came into being the
model OF tho wonderful new motorite
torpedo boat that Is to fire the won-
derful new torpedo.