The Detroit times., 1914-11-05

oreQ men. HIS machlne-Eun Wan the
result. II could fire i.200 shots Q min
ute but the United States government
was just as slow TO adopt new mill
tary invention In 1861 a. II 10 today
and Cuttings invention was thrown
into the discard. But General Benz.
+. Butler bought twelve OF them at
his own expense and the successful
use of them IN 1852 persuaded the gov.
eminent to adopt the invention.
The Colt revolver had It's origin on
a sailing vessel which carried Samuel
Colt. then twelve years old. TO Cal
cutta IN 1895. Colt was bored to ex.
ASPIRATION by the voyage. To while
the monotony he started whiting In
true Yankee fashion and finally evolv-
ed the rough pattern OF revolver.
When he got back to the states he
followed up the idea. He submitted
Il TO the government ten years later.
The authorities at Washington laugh
ed at him until General Zachary Tay-
lor-like Butler In the Civil war
introduced a thousand Of the weapons
for his cavalrymen. to be used In
Mexico. Success followed and the
Colt gun" became famous In the
world over.
Hotchkiss was riding In railroad
train In 1875 when the idea or the
ma gaz zine rife which bears his name
came in his mind Some years be-
fore he had devised the murderous
Hotchkiss shells and a revolving
cannon" But the masterpiece he
sketched In 10 minutes on the margin
of the newspaper he was carrying at
the time. The value Of that rife was
appreciated almost Immediately. for
the governments OF this country,
France and England adopted the
weapon.
Although strictly speaking not an
inventor. Winchester had enough me-
chanical ability to see possibilities In
a Volcanic" rife which some unus-
Ing Bay State genius evolved. Win
chester founded the factory and cap
TALKED the invention until today the
Winchester rife scarcely needs all the
advertising which is given to 1t.
Perhaps the most versatile Of the
quintet of American hrearm invent
ors Is Hiram Maxim, who Is not to
be confused with his brother Hudson.
another genius In the inventing OF ap-
paratss for the fine art Of killing.
Hiram's inventiveness was given a
bump In the right direction when he
was bowled over by an old-fashioned
muzxle- loading rifie( Like Newton,
he profited by the blow and thought
out way to make use or the force.
The Maxim Nordenfelt rapid-firing
gun which makes the recoil serve as
the power fo- reloading followed from
his wonderful brain. He also invent.
ed the world famous cord'te, power
full smokeless powder.
These art but few OF the. great
names IN the history Of American
military and navel inventions. One
could stretch, the list Indefinitely Dy
adding the names of whitehead. the
torpedo designer: Ericsson, a natur-
allied American who invented the
Monitor; Hudson Maxim, an author
| fly on explosives and inventor of
many different kinds; Holland. the
father OF the submarine boats which
are. now doing such extensive dam
age I'm the North Sea, and many 9th
ers whose lives wefer spent In bring
Ing the arts OF war TO . high degree
OF perfection.
Then. by that strange irony which
seems to be revealed In striking Fash
ion during the wartimes, IL can be
proven. that Americans have given
to the world the best protection
agafi st the bullets and shells of 9th
er Americans: the finest armor plate
that IL made anywherei