The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-10-25
ROCK SALT FoR RIOTERS
Sir Hiram Maxim Suggests Novel
Method Of Dealing With Mobs

Sir Hiram Maxim Suggests Novel
Method Of Dealing With Mobs
1t has been suggested that some
thing less deadly than leaden bullets
should be used by our troops against
rioters. II has been suggested that
bullets might be made Of sawdust and
grease, but this is altogether imprac-
ticable as such bullets would simply
be atomized by the force of the explo-
sion and atmospheric resistance. The
suggestion is, however, good one,
inasmuch as it sets one thinking on
a subject that we shall have to face
very shortly.
The ordinary military rifle is a
very powerful weapon. 1t has been
designed for killing at very long
range and 1t is quite possible that
under favorable circumstances at
short range the same bullet might
pass through twenty men.
When we have to meet foreign
enemy in the field we know what we
have to deal with, and we provide
ourselves with the very best instru-
ments that science can produce TO
kill and wound as many as possible,
but totally different state Of things
obtains when we have lot of riot
ers, largely our own countrymen.
armed with stones, bricks, and Dot
ties. They are quite unable to do any
harm to our soldiers except at very
short range, therefore it is not nee
essary for us to have long range
arms to combat them.
Disorderly murderous mobs are
constantly increasing in numbers
and each riot is fiercer and more de-
termined than those that have pre-
ceded It. There is bound TO be a
great number of them in the future,
which we shall have to deal with.
whether we like 1t or not, therefore
hold that we should make a study Of
the subject and provide and use the
best possible arms for the purpose.
In firing on the foreign enemy we
seek to kill as many as possible; in
firing on a mob our aim is to restore
order with the smallest possible loss
of life. But it must not be supposed
for single moment that large and
turbulent mobs such as were lately
found in Liverpool, and who fight
like demons, can be subdued without
the loss OF some life Some loss is
inevitable but let it be as small as
possible, and let us, at least, attempt
TO avoid doing injury to any except
those who are actually making war
upon the soldiers or police
Suppose the officer in command
had 400 soldiers opposed, we will say
to 10000 holligans and strikers. IL
would be best to arm about 200 OF
them with very large bore, single
barrel shotguns, having rather short
barrels, and these should be provid-
ed with cartridges of the ordinary
type; but, instead of lead shot, they
should be loaded with very coarse
grains Of hard rock salt, the grains
being about the size of large peas
The salt has the advantage of being
light, so that it does not penetrate
very far. and, as it soon dissolves
and runs out of itself. and as II is al
so an antiseptic, no surgical opera
ton would be necessary.
Rock salt was used very success
fully in the early Colonial days of
New England
Another hundred of the soldiers
should be armed with the same kind
OF gun, but the cartridges should be
loaded with small charge of black
powder and a very large charge OF
buckshot. These shot would not
kill at a range of a few hundred
feet, but at very close range OF a
few feet, where all the shot are in
a lump. they would be fatal.
With these 300 guns the crowd
could in all probability be kept at
bay. or course the buckshot would
not be used until the salt had failed.
Then, again, If the attack was very
violent the whole 300 guns could be
worked with buckshot-Sir Hiram
Maxim in The London Express.