New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1908-03-25
The NO|S[LESS Gun,
smokeless Weapon Is to Be
Tested at Sandy Hook.
FIRED WITHOUT ANY POWDER

Uncle Sam to Have First Chance at
Weapon That Hurts 100000 Bullets
Hourly With No Danger of Burst
ins-Cost of Firing Said TO Be Small.
The United States government has
completed arrangements with Fred
Bangerter. inventor of the new noise
less and smokeless gun, whereby one
OF these destructive machines is to
have thorough trying out at Sandy
Hook, with the ultimate view of the
gun being taken over by the ordnance
department
This gun, which is fired by some
mysterious power which the inventor
declines to divulge, but which he says
is neither powder nor other explosive
nor compressed air, is capable of dis
charging 100000 bullets an hour
without recoiling or becoming over
| heated and with absolutely no danger
| of bursting.
| After two hour visit from Colonel
Brine and Major Dickson of the army
| ordnance board, recently, at which the
merits of the Bangerter gun were fully
discussed, the two officers requested
the inventor to build one of his guns
for tryout at Sandy Hook Mr.. Ban
gerter recently confirmed the news at
his home in Brooklyn. The new gun.
he said. will be of such a character
that for the preservation of life and
| property it can only be tested on the
| target range at the Hook.
| II am arranging now" said he. "tG
build gun that will send half inch
| ball distance specified by Colonel
Brine and with sufficient velocity to
kill or dangerously wound man The
new gun will be made of steel and the
parts will be perfect. so that the gun
can be worked to the highest speed re
quired to fulfill the maximum demands
The gun | have at present is made of
brass in all its parts, and some of the
parts are worn, so severe have been
the tests to which they have been sub
jected
Brass is much softer metal than
steel and will therefore not stand the
work that steel will. The bullets l use
now are solid steel, and, being much
lighter than lead, are not capable of
acquiring the velocity of the heavier
metal by a large percentage. The bull
lets that will be used in the real trial
at Sandy Hook will be lead incased in
steel. They will be heavy enough to
do the work properly
The inventor said he told the officers
everything about the gun except the
power which is used to discharge it.
He said they talked long while about
it, but eventually admitted that they
could not even venture conjecture as
|, to the power. Mr.. Bangerter made the
interesting disclosure that the Russian
government may take over the new in
vention if the United States does not
show disposition to move in the mat
ter. Said he:
Il know what have. No individual.
can buy the secret. because it would
take too much money to pay for it.
Only national government could af-
ford to buy such thing, and l am not
going to divulge the secret until I can
get an assurance from power able to
compensate me as 1 think I should be-
| have had all kinds of offers made to
induce me to tell how l project those
bullets, but l have also received a
proposition from a wealthy promoter
of New York city who proposes to &c
to Europe within a few weeks and lay
the matter before Russia's war minister
This gentleman offers to pay his
own expenses and to furnish S25.OOC
with which to build a complete gun,
mounted on an auto truck and equip
ped with the necessary motive power
to operate truck and gun-that is. a
hundred horsepower motor He has
transacted business with the Russian
government and is we'll acquainted
with high officials there
Other governments are also after the
gun, according to the inventor He is
disposed to give the United States the
first chance. he said but he added:
j 1T is the experience of all who have
any invention to offer to the United
States that the delay is disheartening
have had an extensive cable CORE
spondence with London. in which
am offered S5,0OO,OOO for the worlds
right, provided the gun will stand the
British government test A months
option was requested by cable, but ou
of courtesy to the chief of the United
States war ordnance board l declined
to give an option to the Englishman
| cabled him that would consider the
proposition. You see. there are severa
good reasons why am anxious to ge
some kind of an intimation from Uncle
Sam that he will do business if car
provide the gun | describe. Of course
+ even after the transaction reaches tht
stage where an appropriation is asked
for by General Crozier, it will TAX
congress months if not years to pas
d upon it. and the delay might SO mill
). tate against consideration by othe
d powers that may be prevented from
4 making any kind of Il deal with eithe
j; one of them
No date has yet been fixed for TIN