Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-28

enemys trenches such q short distance
away. The Germans devised gun,
known to the allied troops as the
Lazy Willie" which was capable of
dropping shells some 200 yards away.
but 1t was not found to be effective at
shorter ranges.
Accordingly both sides had recourse
to the ancient device of catapults,
varied by volleys Of hand grenades.
relics of warfare of century or more
ago.
The hand grenade is a small circular
bomb. with a fuse attached. The fuse
hand into the opponents trenches.
where, theoretically, it explodes with
great damage. Owing to lack of uni
formity in the length and burning
qualities of the fuses. however. some of
these grenades have exploded before
they could. be thrown, with effects
similar to the bursting of a gun at the
moment of firing.
There is also a report of an Ameri-
can soldier of fortune. a former col
legiate base ball star. who was serving
with the allies during the spring cam
paign. when the hand grenade warfare
was at it's height This young mans
speciality was catching the grenades
them back SO quickly that they either
exploded in midair without damage or
else reached their original destination
before bursting, thus creating consid-
cradle havoc among the very men who
had started them on their journey of
death. Spring training for base ball
does not appear to be confined to this
side of the Atlantic.
The tremendous advance in the science
of warfare and the great strides that
have been
improbable Reports of m ade in
Substitutes for Powder. ssc,,,ra ~
new explosives have given rise to a
number of highly improbable reports
of epoch king substitutes for gun
powder, such as the French shell which
was supposed to asphyxiate an entire
company of the enemy wheIf it burst,
or the German projectile which spread
death-dealing vapors for acres around.
The latter was probably the outgrowth
of the poisonous gas method of the
Teutons, by which chlorine and other
gases were introduced into the enemy's
trenches by means of pipes laid under
cover of darkness. This method was
found to be particularly effective for
paralyzing the enemy just before
charge was contemplated, but it can
hardly be said to come under the head
of explosives.
There remains the philosophers stone
of warface, the super-explosive for
which inventors have sought during
the past thirty years-the so-called
violet ray" or 'infra-ray," or "F-ray,"
which will sound the knell OF gunpow
der and all kindred explosives as sure
ly as they disposed of the armor of the
Crusaders. This ray, transmitted
through the ether like the wireless
waves, will explode the amnunition or
detonants of the enemy and destroy
them with their own weapons 1t will
sink the greatest battleship by ex-
ploiding the magazines, and it will dis
pose of the submarine peril by eAplod-
ing the torpedoes. 1t will be irresist-
IDLE; it will be revolutionary.
But the violet ray exists only in con-
fidence of inventors who claim that it
will be perfected within short time.
One thing, however. is certain-the ma
ton that controls the ray will hold In
its hand the destinies of the world.
Until the discovery is made the United
States will continue to depend upon
the modern explosives.