Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1915-01-27
STUDY WAR ENGINES
Army and Navy Officers Plan
New Death Machines.
Have as Many Ingenious and Eff
Gent inventions to Their Credit
as Have the Officers of Any
Other Nation.
BY EDWARD q. CLARK
Staff Correspondent of the Western
Newspaper Union

Newspaper Union.
Washington.-Some little time ago
word or two was said publicly about
new navy torpedo, accurate and serv
iceable at a range hitherto unthought
of. The navy department naturally
was displeased because OF the public
word spoken of this invention. Not
enough has been said about 1t to en-
able anybody else to seize on the Sc
cret and therefore probably no harm
has been done. The country may not
know it. but army and navy officers
are trying constantly to invent some
thing which will go other nations one
better.
AS the records will show the Ameri
can officers of the two services have
as many creditable and efficient in
ventions credited to them as have the
officers OF any of the armies and ma
vies OF other nations and. to make this
stronger. 1t must be remembered that
our army Ia a comparatively small af
fair and our navy stands fourth from
the top of the size and strength list.
There is hint that if unhappily the
United States in the near future
should become involved I'm war a sur
prise or two may be in store for this
country's antagonist or antagonists
Individual initiative is common
thing In the war and navy department
and while secrecy as to details shrouds
such matters 1t is probable that a con
flict might bring to light something
new In the shape Of devices for de-
lenses and offenses.
The officers of the service today
largely are students. Things were DIFF.
ferent in the old days. Now in the
first place the officer OF today before
ne cen be promoted has to pass an
examination. Moreover study OF mill
tary and naval problems Ia enioined
and again. moreover. the success of
some officers in inventive lines has
spurTed the ambitions OF others to
equal or excel their comrades. When
ever a new thing appears in a foreign
Held IL is the attempt OF many men Of
the American services to produce
something which will put another
something out Of business.
Not all Of the inventions Of military
arms have been those OF men OF the
service. for the American civilian
with his inherited knack for novel
constructive work has created many
things which have been adopted in
some form or another first by the
American army or navy and later.
when the secrets we're out. by the 9th.
or armies or nayics Of some OF the
foreign powers
The study in tho signal service to
day is directed I'm large part 90 the
perfection Of the aerOplane Every in
cidcnt connected with the air service
in Europe is noted When il Us re-
ported that ar acroplane attack has
failed and any hint is given as 10 the
reason for the failure. the minds of
the signal service officers are directed
toward the task OF making the failure
impossible in our own army.
Armored motor cars are under
study When the American car finally
IS put into service IL will be found
very likely that II will DO things that
the afmCrcd cars now in use In Europe
cannot do. and that IL will have con.
triyances possessed by none Of the
cars OF Europe which viii add TO its
efficiency Nothing in the way OF sug.
gestion which comes from IN. other
side Of the water is being lost
The army and navy have done much
for themselves In the last balf century
The Cd single-shOt breech-lOading