River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-07-29

American inventors are asked to rally
to the aid Of the nation In perfecting
means of warfare, and how well they
may be able to do it is shown by the
great achievements of the past which
citizens Of the United States have ac-
complished in that very field.
And this brings to mind that Ameri-
cans, although often they were not able
to work for their native country, have
had an enormous part in the upbuild-
ing of machines and weapons used in
military science.
We hear much these days of the COM
ing of the submarine to brush the ma
vies from the sea, and yet in the war
of the American Revolution, in the
harbor of New York, one of the most
practicable of submarines was put into
commission Her designer and builder
was David Bushnell, and Sergeant Lee,
who actually got this small craft under
the stern of the British man-Of-War Ea-
gle, failed to properly attach the torpedo
which was carried. A few weeks later
q torpedo from the submarine, which
was picked up by a schooner, killed
three men.
FuTton's Work In 1900.
Robert Fulton, in 1900. was expert
menting with his plunging boat. a sub
marine much like those of the present
day in principle. There had been des-
ultory experiments with submersble
boats since the days of Alexander the
Great, but it is generally held that Rob
ert Fulton was the first, or among the
first, to start the submarine on it's
course. His experiments in the Seine
river under the auspices of the French
government and later his attempts TO
destroy frigates under the auspices Of
the British navy were important Incl
dents of European wars.
1t is difficult to trace the beginning
of the torpedoes, as they have been de-
veloped largely through the activities
of American inventors Fulton used
these floating mines, as many 'once
called them, and gave the name tor
pedo from the name of a fish which
has the power OF imparting an electric
shock
The whole world knows how COM
pletely naval construction was trans
formed by the invention Of the mont
tor by John Ericsson, a Swedish engi-
neer, who became naturaliZed Amer
lean citizen.
Ericsson strengthened the cannon of
his time by shrinking bands of steel
Oh to them. The labOrs of Major T.
J. Rodman and Captain r. 9. PARROT
in perfecting artillery are we'll known.
The great guns at Sandy Hook are OPP
Grated by means of the disappearing
carriage, which is known to this day
as the Burlington rozier disappearing
gun carriage.
Hiram Maxim, so long a British sub
ject, is a Yankee. The Maxim rapid
fire gun is an American invention,
albeit it is made in England. Hud-
son Maxim, who has invented many
devices for warfare, is a resident Of
this country.
Dr. Richard J. Calling of the revolv-
ing cannon or gun was also an Ameri-
can
Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt
rapid fire gun, went bankrupt once in
his career and then gained substantial
backing. Hotchkiss, the inventor of
the gun which bears his name, was Of
an old New England family.
The rifle has been developed In many
forms through American ingenuity.
The Mauser represents American in
vention deprived of its fruits. The
clip used to feed cartridges into rifles
came originally from the effort of an
American to invent a cartridge box
with a spring which would force the
ammunition out, as required.
The revolver is purely an American
invention. and its original type was
the Colt. which was used much in the
civil war.