The Washburn leader., 1915-08-06

to the aid Of the nation in perfecting
means Of warfare, and how we'll 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 Amert-
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
torpedo from the submarine, which
was picked up by schooner. killed
three men.
FuIton's Work In 1900.
Robert Fulton. in 1900. was expert
menting with his plunging boat. sub
marine much like those Of the present.
day in principle. There had l,een des-
ultory experiments with submersible
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 its
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 beep4de-
Sveloped 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 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 moni-
tor by John Ericsson. Swedish engi-
necr. 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.
]. Rodman and Captain Z. C.. Parrott
in perfecting artillery are we'll known.
The great guns at Sandy Hook are OPP
Grated by means of the disappearing
'arriage. which is known to this day
as the Burlington Crozier disappearing
gun carriage.
Hiram Maxim. so long a British sub
ject, Is a Yankee. The Maxim rapid
lire gun is an American invention.
albeit 1t Is made in England. Hud-
son Maxim. who has invented many
devices for warfare. Is a resident Of
this country.
DR.. Richard j. Gatling of the revolv.
ing cannon or gun was also an Ameri-
can. i
Samuel Colt. inventor Of the Colt
rapid fre 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 rife 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 cartridge box
with 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 n the
,civil war.