The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-08
MOTOR CAR WILL
 FIGHT A|RSHIPS Kaiser Has Machine Specially
 Designed EVOLUTION IS SIMPLE Motorman Responsible for Wreckine
SIM PIE
Motorman Responsible for Wreckins Train and Killing Passengers Is Given 21 Months lmprison-
 nent as an Example.
By MALCOLM CLARKE.

thing to chance the Kaiser has had built a motor car, specially designed to fight airships. That the precaution is wise |. one will be evident to anybody with mil- itary experience, because, whereas no air. craft is as yet a machine for use in all weathers, nevertheless there is a wide variety of aerial vessels which are ex- cellent fair weather machines, and the most powerful state in the world is un- able to control the elements; consequently it can neither guarantee that there shall be no fine days during the conduct of a war nor that it's enemy shall not seize the opportunity of such fine days as may occur to employ part or whole of his aerial fleet.
 The evolution of a land means of att taclSing dirigible air vessel is perfect ly simple and easily traced one. Those who have read of ballooning as employed by the Germans in connection with the war of 1870, and more particularly as ex-
 perimented with and developed in the immediately succeeding years, will recall that the Krupp firm built special gun mounted on a horse-h hauled carriage for firing at free balloons, while visitors to the Paris motor show few years ago may IeIneInDer IldL the CndTTOn IlTIu ln- troduced an armored motor car for em- ployment in land operations. types of ar mored automobiles having been tried by | the Austrian military authorities during maneuvers
 When 1t is had in mind that the aver age rate of a Zeppelin dirigible balloon varies between F and 60 miles an hour, according to the strength of the wind as well as to whether the aircraft is being al net nf.1 1riu tuit h hn ind | 1t will be realized that any portable gun l firing at an enemy in midair would be practically useless if it could only be hauled about by horses. Therefore, what more natural than to combine the arm ored motor car with a gun for firing at balloons?
 The machine. built in Germany, is fitted with a powerful motor, but as the total weight, with the gun, ammunition and complete crew. works out to some
 thing like four tons. 1t is scarcely sur prising that its maximum speed is not cal- culated to work out higher average than 40 miles an hour. lA>sybody who has driven on touring car will realize that an average speed of 40 miles an hour represents extraordinarily fast go- ing, for several stretches would have to be traversed at 60 miles an hour to bring complete hours running to distance of 40 miles.
 With a weighty macbine of the arm. orad type such a speed would call for an uncommon amount of skill on the part of the driver. The tires employed are very nearly solid so that the com fort of those in the car when the max. imum speed is being achieved is scarcely so great to be enviable. As a fact, the vehicle itself should present about as hard target to an enemy above 1t even when going at a considerably slower | speed, as can we'll be conceived.
 A very neat means is employed in the vehicle in question for pointing the gun, which is of the quick firing sort and somewhat small Indeed, the German military authorities seem to realize that there is ample room for development in the matter of designing & gun for firing more or less straight up Into the air. A type has been designed which is ex- pected to have maximum range of 30OOO feet, sheer up, but anybody who has had experience of ballooning will re- alize that such a weapon would prove no grave menace to free balloon, while there is no reason why dirigible bal loon should not travel quite conveniently at an altitude well above 5000 feet. As for aeroplanes, the fact that they do not at present fly at such attitudes matters scarcely at all, for it would be prac- tfcally impossible to aim a shot from un- derneath one that should hit 1t while the gun and the aeroplane were both tray cling at speed of 40 miles an hour In such circumstances it would be a mar velous achievement to hit the moving
 target at 800 feet, which Is just about the maximum height at which an aeroplane has ever flown.
 The holy synod. which has the exclu- sive adjudication of divorce in Russia is overburdened with work. Over 100 pe- titions have been presented in St. Peters burg alone in the last month
 The synod planes the ukase granting freedom of conscience for the disturbance of matrimony. Previously an orthodox Russian who seeded and joined another communion was sent to Siberia, but since the ukase many thousands have gone over to Catholicism, Lutheranism and still more to the Mahomedan faith. The latter, or their ancestors, had been coerced from Islam for political reasons by the govern ment. Those that have returned to their old faith have the right under Moslem law to divorce wife who is a Christian and many are doing so.
 A special imperial ukase will be neces- sary, to regulate the effect of the con- science ukase on marriage.
 Public opinion in Germany is applaud ing the heavy sentence of 21 months imprisonment imposed this week upon
 
 which figured in last September's ter rible disaster on the combination over- head and tube railway in Berlin. Eight cen lives were lost and a score of per sons seriously injured in consequence of collision on the overhead section of the line. The jury found the motor man of the train which plunged into the wrecked train guilty of gross crim- inal negligence and decided that an ex- amplary goal sentence to the full limit of the law was justified
 The theory of such decisions in Ger man courts is that of making @ terrible example, so that persons charged with temporary care of human lives may have before them Q convincing object lesson of the penalties of carelessness. Unlike England and America. which are. visited by periodical railway disasters of ter rible proportions, Germany is compara- lively free of them An accident in which three or four are killed is a gen. uine sensation in the fatherland. Causes of all accidents, large or small are in vestigated with thoroughness and relent- lessness.