Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1918-01-02

In formation can De addressed.
New War Devices Suggested
Since the war began inventors
have been busy thinking up new de-
vices and new methods of making
warfare more terrible and destructive.
The creation of the naval advisory
board some time ago for the purpose
of investigating and passing upon
suggestions for making our navy
more formidable and effective has
stimulated their activity materially
Numerous suggestions are being Of
fered to the advisory board and to the
navy department and in addition to
these the army board of ordnance and
Notifications receives an average OF
about 300 a month.
Most Of the plans offered are fam
tastic, freakish and impossible of be-
4 ing put into practice but there are
many which contain germs of valu-
able ideas and are therefore fully de-
serving Of investigation and study.
Many such ideas are now being con-
sidered and tested.
/ An interesting suggestion that has
been offered by Bernard Macdonald,
mining engineer of Pasadena. is to
have the government set an augment
ed u. S. army at work on the con-
struction of concrete military high
way, so feet wide, entirely around the
country. He would have it built so
miles inland in order that it might be
immune from the shells of hostile bat
tleships and at regular intervals
along the road he would have tele-
phone stations established, to provide
rapid communication between differ
ent sections and enable forces to be
rapidly and intelligently handled to
defend the country most efficiently.
Another plan, somewhat similar,
proposes the construction of a rail-
road along our coasts, with powerful
Notifications built at certain strategic
points and points considered to be
most open to attack. Powerful, long
range guns would be mounted on car
r-iages designed to run over these
roads. 1t an enemy fleet menaced
any point on the coast, refense guns
could be rushed there by rail to sup
plement the regular coast-defense
guns. From a position behind the
defenses built for them, they could be-
used with telling effect against the
enemy. This plan, it appears, is
valuable one for it offers feasible
method for defending our coasts, a
feature Of the national defense which
is fraught with many difficulties and
which if adequately provided for in
the usual way would cost an enormous
amount Of money.
One inventive genius suggests the
erection Of batteries of great oil tanks
at various points along the coasts.
Pipes would be laid from these, run
ming underground and along the floor
Of the sea TO a point 10 to 20 miles
from shore. Powerful pumps would
be provided to force crude oil through
the pipes whenever desired. When
hostile feet appeared in the waters
in the neighborhood of the terminus
of the oil pipe the pumps would be
started, and presto! the enemy's YES
sells would be surrounded by a heavy
film of oil. When all was in readi-
ness an aviator floating at a safe dis
lance above would drop incendiary
bombs into the oil which would be fir
ed. The men in the ships would be
scorched and suffocated and sufficient
head might even be generated to ex-
plode the vessels magazines, the ORR
ginator Of the idea believes.
Barb-wire entanglements have
been used to a considerable extent in
the present war and they have proved
to be very formidable and effective
for refense purposes. "A new form of
shell, loaded with chains and balls and
designed primarily to cut through
these entanglements has been propos-
ed. Two weights, connected by a
chain, are inclosed in shell contain
ing an explosive so timed as to ex-
plode a short distance before the
enemy's entanglements, according to
the inventors plans. The whirling
chain, stretched by the weights, would
strike the wires with tremendous i'm
petus. cutting and tearing them down
as it went.
A torpedo designed to be automati-
cally steered and controlled by the
sounds coming from the enemy YES
sci it is sent out to destroy is another
suggestion. At the forward end of
this tonedo would be placed delicate
receivers, or microphones, sensitive to
sounds under water. These would be
so convicted with the mechanism in
side the torpedo as to steer and con-
troll its course to follow changes in
the course of the latter. Theoretical
lv. it would travel unerringly toward
the source Of the sounds. particularly
those Of the enemy ships propeller,
one of the most vulnerable and inn
portant possible points of attack.
A submarine suggested by another
inventor would be provided with a
unique kind of gun, mounted in such
manner as to shoot proiectile YER
tically upward into the bottom Of a
ship of the enemy. Through tube
in the projectile an anesthetic gas
would be poured into the stricken yes
sci, hamlessly rendering her crew in
sensible
The goal of life is imminent in each
moment. each thought, word, act, and
does not have to be sought apart from
thaaa IL consis in no anecific ac-