Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-09-17
FOES
OF bATTLESH|PS
Contact Mines Sure to PLAY
Big Part In the War.
TWO TYPES, ONE HARMLESS

w.
But Evidently the Powers Are Not
Planting tine Latter, Which Are Set
tons Germans Employed This
Coast Defense In 1870.
The submarine mine is going to play
Il big part III the present terrible Strug-
gle in Europe before peace is re-estab-
lished. says Il writer in the New York
Sun. Probably it will cause more
havoc than it did during the Russo
japanese war. when ship after ship
was struck below the water line and
sen to the bottom Of the sea.
The Germans We're busy mining Il
part Of the open sea off their coast
when the Koenigen Luise was caught
redhanded by a British tlotilla Of de
stroyers and shot to pieces. However,
the kaiser's mine layer had already
SOwn the seed of disaster.
The flagship of the lotilla. the scout
cruiser Amphion, went confidently on
and in time turned and headed back
toward the English coast. Suddenly
the little cruiser plunged like a strick-
en- horse and shook violently as she hit
one of the German electro contact
mines Instantly there was an awful
explosion, and the expanding gases
from the mine literally tore the craft
in two as they rushed upward.
Great Britain has now determined to
plant contact mines in offshore nav
igable waters. and it is credibly re.
ported that Austria. Russia and France
have done likewise.
To the peace lover this menace to
peaceful shipping is woefully shock.
ing. and yet 1t is substantially in keep
ing with an international agreement
entered into at The Hague after the
last conflict in the far east.
Germany Profits by Experience.
The Germans are not new ut this
form of coast defense and in their
present campaign are profiting by ear
lior experiences. The moral effect OF
submarine mines was amply demon
StrateQ during the Franco-pruSsia1
war Of 1901. Then the Teutons de
:ended their principal harborS an(
cstuarics in the Baltic and in the
North sea by means of mechanical ant
electromechanical mines. The former
contained from so to 100 pounds OF
gunpowder and the latter about 2O(
pounds of an explosive called dualine
During that war no opportunities oc
cured to test the efficiency of these
mines, as the mere fact Of their pres
enCe prevented the French fleet from
undertaking naval operations on an!
sc;l.e. But on raising their mine tiel(
the Germans lost Il large number O.
lives because of unexpected explosions
There are two types OF contact mines
The first are planted in approaches t.
harborS and channels and Of nccesSit,
must be rendered harmless except whe1
the foe is approaching. These mine:
are controlled from a shore station, in
asmuch as they are imperative unles:
current is fed to them from an electri
cal power station ashore. No matte.
how they may be ordinarily bumped
into by passing c~raft-within som
reasonable limits-they are substan
TALLY inert until the current from thu
shore station is switched on. Plainl.
this is moi the sort of electro contac
mine which the powers are now plant
ing in the open sea and far from any
base of control. Once planted ant
after a definite interval they become
"aliye" and will explode the momen
a craft tilts them over a prescribed
number Of degrees.
Most Of the submarine mines operate
on the same principle, the difference
lying in the day that each power
chooses to make the mine active wheI
struck.
Wet Guncotton Formerly Used.
Until recently all of them wert
charged with wet g%uncotton, which
was hammered or detonated by tht
blow caused by a small charge of dry
SullCpLLOu duu ILLS Ill luiu SET OIL ny
a little capsule filed with illuminate OF
mercury, a chemical capable of explod'
ing with extreme violence. illuminate
of mercury can be ignited by cleo
tricity. Other explosives also are now
used. Japan employs melinite, Russia
has used pyroXylin, and latterly other
countries have taken up trinitrotoluol
which has a greater bursting violence
than guncotton and possesses qualities
of stability in q chemical sense.
The contact mine. unlike the larger
observation mine which is deliberately
fred from the shore, does its damage
when actually against the ship to be
hurt. and therefore it is o necessary
to use the same quantity of explosive
as when the injury is to be inflicted
from some distance. Now. if contact
mines are too heavily charged and toe
close together the explosion of one may
detonate the other and thus III turn
needlessly set off a whole mine field
| 1 froi,, tho ,-i1n, tI,o 500 ,o+-,.n