The Monroe journal., 1915-07-20
HAS A MARVELLOUS WEAPON.
Great Britain Has Not Yet DARED To
Use "Dundonald's Destroyer

.
to use. In military circles il is spoken
of in a whisper as Dur donaid's De-
stroyer." says the New York World
A recent article has revived interest
in this almost forgotten terror. all
though il is mentioned in the ency-
Iclopaedias, which. however. give no
hint as to its nature They could not.
for the secret has been guarded as no
such secret has ever before been
kept.
The fact that England has the
weapon in reserve is no dream. no
bugaboo; il is attested by official
documents and the official reports of
committees of experts.
What is this extraordinary weap-
on? Only a few highly placed per-
sons know. They do not tell; they
have not told; the reason for their
silence being the horror of il.
Great Britain was on the point of
using il against Napoleon and again
in the Crimean war. but i'm each case
her rulers drew back shuddering and
refused to "Shock humanity" But.
| ii the worst should come to the worst
she may draw il from its century-old
! hiding place. and the most CHASTITY
horrors yet known in warfare will
| seem humane in comparison with the
effects of this engine of destruction.
II was invented by Thomas Coch-
rane, tenth earl of Dundonald. an
extraordinary man who had an extra
ordinary career. He offered Il to the
British government. which twice APP
pointed committee to pass upon it.
He disclosed his secret to them and
claimed for il that it was "the infal-
| lible means of securing at one blow
our maritime superiority and of here
after maintaining ii in perpetuity-
of at once commencing and terminal
ing war by one conclusive victory. ="
And again that mo power on earth
could stand against its attacks -
The committees reported that his
claims were not exaggerated. that his
device was irresistible and infallible
either on land or sea. This much was
indubttable and absolutely certain
But they urged that ii be not adopt
ed. II was too efficient, too destruc-
tive; its devastation would be too in
human.
The first of these committees. ap-
pointed in 1911. was composed of the
duke of York. second son of George
| III. eommander-in-chie of the army
chairman: Admiral Lord Keith. Ad-
miral Lord Exmouth. two OF the most
experienced men in the navy, and the
two Congreve brothers. of the ord
nance department. one of whom. Sir
William was the inventor of many
valuable military and Industrial APP
planes. A more competent and au-
thoritative committee could not have
been found
In spite of their recommendation
| that Dundonald's invention be kent
secret the British government want
ed to use part of II against the
| French at Toulon. Dundonald re-
fused to consent to this. and the COM
mittee backed up in his refusal, on
the ground that such partial use
would reveal the secret to the enemy
and to the world, and enable other
countries to make use of it against
| England
In order to demonstrate its power,
however, Dundonad offered to use
it against the French fleet at Flush
| ing. whence Napoleon was planning
an invasion of England but this on
ly on condition that he use it in all
its terrible fulness This the govern
men refused on the grounds that II
would not be war; it would be ami
hilation.
The second committee was appoint
ed in 1916. 1t was as authoritive
in its makeup as the first had been
II was directed to Ascertain if the de-
vice was as efficient and as dreadful
in the then relatively advanced state
of military science as it had seemed
35 years previously. The committee
reported in January, 1S47, that
Dundonald's device would not merely
defeat. but actually destroy, annihi-
late, sweep out Of existance, any hos
tile force against which it might be
directed. But ii was too awful to
contemplate, and its first application
would reveal the simple secret to the
world.
During the Crimean war, when Sc
bastopol and Constadt seemed i'm
pregnable, Dundonald offered to re-
duce them in one hour The British
government hesitated, and was still
discussing the matter with the inven-
tor when the war ended
Dundonald died in 1860. His plans
are still in the archives of the British
war office-at least there is no rea-
son to suppose they had been destroy
ed-and 1t is possible that, should
the war take turn disastrous to
Great Britain. they may be brought
out and made the final weapon in an
| Armageddon. This would end the
war, and 1t would end not merely
the war but all war for all time; as,
with all the world in possession of a
device with which armies and fleets
and fortresses could be annihilated