The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-08-29
Oahu Garrison 0Hioers Interest.
ed InlEsperiments Made Al 4
frankfort Arsenal
MAY MIX POISON GASES /
+ BEFORE LIBERATING FUMES
Can Be Handed With Perfect
. Safety; Britain Wishes To
So" sC., Purchase r

Army ordnance experts are makina,
thorough tests at the Frankford ,df!N
senal, near philadelphia, 20 secure for
the army a new type Of liquid fre for
Use in war. The general use of this
means of warfare in the present Euro.
pea n war by both the Central Powers
end the Allies and the remarkable de.
veiopment that. has been made both in
production and control since the Ger.
mans first used II against the British
attncks at Ypres has convinced the
American ordnance officers that iquid
ire and gas attacks win have promi.
nent place in the next war and that the
nited States must be prepared dong
these lines.
The new type Of liquid fire which 10
being tested by direction of General
Crozier, chief of ordnance, is the inven,
ton of Julius DOlges, Philadelphia
chemist and is said to surpass in dead.
illness anything THAI, has been used in
Europe to date. SO satisfactory have
been the tests thus far made at the ar.
enal that the ordnance officers are pre-.
pairing the ground for. more extensive
experiments at the Sandy Hook Prov.
ing Ground in the coming month"; Z,
Safe to Handle q. ,#t...T..
A report of the experiment Just re-.
ceived here says that the, Dolges inven,
ton il as nearly safe to the men han.
ding it as can be desired; and can be
turned on the enemy in the form of
liquid fire that cannot be extinguished
ana will continue to burn for days. IL
can be employed as a cloud Of heavy,
dense smoke that affects the lungs and
nj .ka ahnl - - l..
IL can be combined with chlorine or
cyanide and result in terrible deyasta.
ton TO an enemy while remaining safe
to the troops handling II.
The report further says:
"While liquid fire. in the form of O
stream Of burning petroleum or petro-
leum derivatives, has been employed in
Europe, it has never been possible TO
combine poisOns with it, because the
| fire heats them to such an extent that
they Immediately assume the form Of
gas and are as dangerous 10 the man
| handling them as to the enemy.
| polges liquid FIRE is In the form Of a
| heavy liquid which can be mixed and
combined with poisons .AnG then kept IN
! contaih ers until wanted for use, pro.
vided the containers are alright. II
can readily be shot through hose IN
der air pressure.
Control Is Perfect
"In preparing the mixture il can be
controlled so that il win not ignite
until a given period has elapsed, and
this period can be so regulated that Il
eun be poured or shot out and will dry
without showing any more signs of &C.
tivity than water The period of in
! activity after it reaches the air can be
regulated TO any length of time from a
, few seconds to days.
"At the time set for the explosion il
win fame up, give off a heavy cloud Of
smoke which floats along at a height Of
| twenty feet or more, and the wind has
| little influence in carrying II awav.
Even after the fame has died out, the
least action will cause il to flame up
| again.
viii Burn on Water
"AnotheT feature is that it will burn
on water, and tanks for carrying IL in
aerOplanes or dingibles have been pre-
JARED. The tanks for this purpose are
so prepared that they also contain com
pressed air compartments, and turning
q valve faucet releases the mixture in
| the form of a spray or stream.
"AccOrding to the plans of the in.
| NentOr, it can be used nor only against
troops, but naval vessels as well. An
aeroplane flying over the feet could
turn vast quantities of it on to the yes
sells and the waters surrounding then,
aud if sufficient fall on the deck of
hattleship the effects would be disass
! trous, as it will melt metal
number of private tests had been
| held in the vicinity of Philadelphia he
fore the United States Government was
asked to test it, and several hundred
citizens of Frankford nave complained
to the municipal authorities that the
experiments have set them coughing
aud made them weep cOpiOusly for q
umher of days and have requested
that the experiments be stopped there.
The ordnance officers believe that
the claims of the inventor are reason
| able and that the invention is entirely
| practical. The cost is reported to be
| r"lntiv"lv very small. rs II can he pre-
pared for the cost of twenty Ave cents
a gallon. Representatives Of the Brit
ish Government have offered Mr..
lodges hair million dollars for toe
J exclusive rights to his invention.