Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-04
UNCLE SAM AND THE INVENTOR
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN

number of remarkable achievements
i'll the science of warfare.
Another function of the board will
oe TO pass upon and to stimulate in
Ventlons by men who have never been
heard of in the world of science. Since
the announcement of the appointment
OF the Advisory Board the NAVY De-
partment has been deluged by a flood
Oh inventions from all sections of the
country. The great majority of these.
or course. will be worthless, but there
VIII possibly be some among them
which possess at least the germ of an
important idea which may be devel-
oped py one of the master minds of
the board. The old principle of two
heads being better than one" will be
mere eXemplified, only instead of there
pelng TWO heads there will be half a
dozen or more, for the Navy Depart
ment hopes to obtain the services of
at least six men of the highest rank
as inventors. The board will not only
deaVor to assist other inventors to per
feet their plans
II this theory becomes an estab-
llshed fact, and there appears to be no
valid reason why it should fail, 1t will
pc only another instance of the repe-
ution or history. America has not
alCne the steamboat, the cotton gin
the electric lamp, the telephone the
telegraph and many other peaceful in
Ventions to her credit. She also leads
the world in the perfection of new ma
chines OF war, as a glance at history
will show.
Wooden vessels of war had been in
vogue since the earliest days of history
up to the time of the historic hattie
between the Monitor and the Merri-
mac in Hampton Roads, a battle which
sealed the doom of this type of war
craft. According to many exnerts
among them Sir Percy Scott, the Eng
llsh authority on matters pertaining
10 the navy, the submarine has sound
ed the knell of the surface battleshfp
as effectually as did the Monitor send
all the wooden ships to the scrap heap.
Eut here, again, the superiority of
American creative genius makes itself
seen, Tor the submarine is quite as
much a product of American skill and
ingenuity as was the first steamboat or
the Monitor. Holland built the first
modern submarine and Simon Lake is
responsible for the majority of the inn
provements upon this type of craft
so that the United States may truly be
said to have been responsible for all
the great changes in naval warfare
during the past century.
The improvement of the aeroplane
by Professor Langley and the Wright
biollelS Is 100 Well known to require
comment other than to state that the
aeroplane now used in warfare is es
sentially the same as that which the
Wrights brought to its present state of
usefulness. The sea realm of Mars
and the air which covers it have there
fore been successfully invaded by
Yankee ingenuity.
With respect to warfare upon land
IL is necessary only to recall the fact
that Richard Calling, a North Carolina
school teacher, not only perfected ma
chinery to sow cotton and rice. but
astonished the world with the first ma
chine gun-the famous Gatling gun
OF the Civil War-while Colonel Der
niger gave us the vest pocket pistol
that bears his name and which was
the immediate progenitor of the mod
ern automatic. The disappearing gun
use in coast defenses, and the giant
howitzers which played havoc with
the defenses of Lege and Antwerp are
also Of American origin, as are many
OF the smaller machines of war.
1t will therefore be seen that II
American genius merely lives IN to
the traditions and achievements Of the
past 1T will more than enable the
United States to protect itself against
aggression or invasion.