The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-11-02
War S Emergencies
Met with Ingenious
Inventions

hostilities, scarcely month has
passed unmarked either by the de.
veiopment of some new agent of de-
struction, or the introduction of some
new medium of defense. The ere
at!ve genius of half the world has
been concentrated in an effort to
make war more terrible on the one
hand. and safer on the other. And
| first one belligerent and then the
other has met crucial emergencies
by ingenious, not to say startling,
inventions.
The apparent deadlock on the wes-
tern frontier has presented a perplex-
ing situation. For months the ar
mics have fought battles more san
culinary than Waterloo without max
ing progress except in terms of
yards. Trencn warfare has been re-
sponsible for this.
To make the trench less secure
for the enemy is an object which all
of the bellegirents is striving to ac-
complish. A step in this direction
is found in the work of British in
ventor Who has developed wheel
ed body shield that affords immunity
from rifle bullets and shapnel when
advancing upon fortified positions.
The body of this is constructed OF
tempered steel plates. the front so
rounded and tempered that bullets
strike the surface at an angle and
glance off without doing harm. The
rear Is open, while the interior is
Just large enough to accommodate
one soldier, who rests on his hands
and knees. The device is propelled
forward by pushing against the
ground with one foot.
It was inventive s,iill applied in
a 1'~oront channel that made posi-
- the construction of gigantic
steel network across the Narrows in
the Dardanelles to check the opera
lions of the allies submarines in the
Sea OF Marmora. The barrier ex.
tends some IS feet beneath the wa
ter and is long enough to block the
entire channel from Chanak Ka'essi
IN Asia Minor to Namazieh on the
European side. II Is composed of
number OF great nets, each approx
imately 600 feet long, moored end to
end by means of buoys and anchors.
The net across the Narrows has
been n practical means OF defense
because there is little tide in the
eastern Mediterranean to disturb 1t.
This condition is not true In the wa
tiers about England, where a differ
ent scheme has been used by the
British admiralty with remarkable
results. Here, It is claimed, the sub
marines are caught by literally sein-
ing them. the nets used for this
are made in lengths of about 10
feet with heavy iron wire. They are
usually about 81 feet in width and
of 10 feet mesh. When in use they
are stretched between the bows OF
two oil burning destroyers and are
buoyed by means OF large blocks Of
wood attached to the binding cables
along the top. When an enemy sub
marine is sighted, the fast destroy
ers cut ahead of the vessel and moor
the net directly in the path 1t is
pursuing.
The rough condition of the water
in the North Sea greatly restricts
the range of a periscope, making 1t
effective for distance of only about
mile. This permits the destroy
ers to set the trap, after observing
the course submarine is taking, and
escape unnoticed. The result Is
that the submersible proceeds, ignor-
ant of danger, and drives its nose
into the netting, the top of which Is
about eight or ten feet beneath the
surface.
These illustrate a few of the num-
erous ways in which the wars en-
ergencies are being met. For every
new instrument of destruction intro
duced some means is promptly devel-
oped to counteract it's effect or null
lify it's efficiency. And for every
fresh obstacle encountered in the
everchanging methods of war, some
scheme is devised for surrounding
it.-Searle Hendee in the November
Popular Mechanics Magazine.