Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-07-20
ELECTRICAL WAVE OF DEATH

NEW YORK, July lS-rhc next war
viii be almost entirely one of ma
chinery. The electrical wave viii bc
one of it's most potent Instruments OF
destruction. Immense fleets of small
but very swift vessels. armed with
hiEh-powercd guns. Will sweep the
seas. and liquid fuel will make naval
warfare entirely different from wha,
II is now. 50 SAYS Henry Harrison
Supp!ce. engineering and efficiency cx-
pert, in pointing out the great posi-
bilities for inventors in the naval adj
visory board planned by Secretary
Daniels.
Incidentally Mr. Smpplee pointed out
that IL has generally been a man from
the outsidc-a laymau-who has sug-
Eestcd the great advances that have
been made In any particular lire OF
cHdcaTur. The speaker is (, past !nc,n-
Der Of the council OF the American
Society OF Mechanical Engineers and a
member OF the Society OF Civil Engi-
neering OF France and many other
engineering societies
Great Possibilities Seen
The move OF Secretary Daniels"
said Mr.. Supplcc. means a great deal
If II is carried out properly do not
wish to he critical OF the present
navy administration. but officials are
always officials. and arc generally not
favorahly inclined toward the intru-
sion OF civilians ideas into their work
Il do not think It is too much TO
say that nearly every important i'm
proT"ncnt IN any line OF work has
come from tho outside. Morse a
painter, Invented the telegraph Full
ton, when NAPOLEON about 40 years
ago was preparing 10 invade England.
~ no.,
OF towing transports across the chan
mel. Had Napoleon adopted Fulton's
idea the little Corsican might never
have had TO fight the battle Of Water
loo. But French oncialdoin con-
demned Fulton's idea. and II was final
ly developed In America,
Now am sure that there are many
great things waiting TO he picked up
by any government which seeks real
development OF its armament along
new lines. Our present naval policy
seems TO be 20 ahead on tho same
old lines simply building the battle
ships and cruisers larger and putting
bigger and bigger guns on them.
New Methods Coming.
II am confident all that viii have
10 be changed. II is simply the case
Of man with a stone AK or a war
club. When his opponent gets n big
ger club or "A sharper AK. he copies
the others idea and tries to get a
still bigger club or a stiil sharper ax
But by and by along comes the man
with the gun. and the man with the
AK or the club is IT loss His big
gcst club and his sharpest AK won't
prevail.
Take the case OF the Monitor and
Captain Ericsson in 1862 Ericsson
was civilian: Henry Rowland who
built the Monitor. was a civilian. and
civilians advanced the money where
oficialdom was afraid. And the Mon
itor and the Mcrrimac fought il out
together. The news got to London.
and the London Times. after q dcscrip-
ton Of the battle, said in effect: Yes
tcrday We were the first naval power
in the world; to-day We have not a
warship worthy Of the name
I'VE are up against the same situa-
ton to-day. | think II is the greatest
sort of "A mistake for our government
TO continue building battlcships and
cruisers-merely producing war ma
chimes that will be obsolete before they
are ready for use
II believe that entirely new methods
of fighting Will he the outcome of the
present war: that the fighting will be
done largely by machinery, but by
different kind of machinery than
now have.
Nor" Machines for War.
Though it is said that this war iS
y
seems to me. will be even more so.
For instance. ] think that we Will see
the steam engine replaced altogether
by the combustion motor. The Diesel
engine is to-day in use as the motive
power of some large freight ships. and
the combustion motor propels aero
planes and submarines. In the latter
X furnishes the propclling power when
the craft is on the surface and creates
the electricity with which to drive it
below the surface.
"a wide field is waiting here. and
such an advisory board as Secretary
Daniels is organizing has trcmend-
Gus chance to do n great and import
ant work.
Liquid fuel has come to the front
in this war as one of the most i'm
portant OF military supplies. pre-
dicted, at the start of this war. that
one OF the first things Germany would
feel seriously would be the need OF
LIQUID fuel. as she has no oil wells and
imports all she uses. She is undoubt-
edly using alcohol and benZol Of her
own manufacture. and ii is proba bic
that n considerable amount Of liuuid
fuel is-rcachinE her from the Scnndi-
navian countries.
Here again is work for such an ad-
| visory board-thc substitution or liouid
| fuel for solid. and the development OF
| improved forms OF liquid fuel from new
sources.
"And IL we arc going to fight by ma :
| chinery in the future, 1t is going to