El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-11-30
Frank Carpenter
|MANY AND VALUABLE INVENTIONS 9ssEae .#ss~g
Brought Many Discoveries Appear
Ingenuity Displayed n Rehabilitation Cripples
by
Frank G. Carpenter
Copyright. 1918. by
Frank c. Carpenter

force OF the reCoil may be distributed
permitting a high angle fire
The examiners tell me that the mount
! ing Of the guns on the airplanes IS bring
ing forth many new discoveries ard ap-
pncations for patents u one kind or an
other. In some cases the guns are fired
Z through the hollow tube OF the propeller
shaft. and in others they are SO arranged
that they shoot right through the blades
while the latter are going around At up
ward Of a thousand revolutions minute
In this case the movement Of the fir
ing mechanism IS synchron!zed with that
Of the propeller shaft so that the bullet
passes between the revolving blades ana
that when the gun is shooting at this
wonderful speed
Fired by Gases.
Among the other curious fields OF war
invention as connected with ordnance are
the Hight automatic guns which are
a side carriage and many Of the new
designs have arrangements for a gunner
and driver. Some Of the machine guns
are discharged by the gases from the
a gasoline mixture ignited by spark
similar TO the ordinary automobile. The
heavy Browning machine gun IS worked
by recon- II IS the kick Of the gun
the next charge.
And then there are many new ap-
plicarons for patents for improvements
IN our centrifugal guns. These guns
have a rapidly revolving disk which
flies around at as high as 90 600 revolu-
lions q minute. sending their pro1ectiles
out through an opening or barrel in the
rim OF the disk CT wheel The projec-
tiles are fed from a magazine into the
hollow at the hub OF the wheel and the
bullets 80 forth by centrifugal force with
cut the aid Of powder to fire them
There are scores Of applications for
patents for improvements in automatic
pistols. for gas and flame projectors and
Tor instruments to throw liquid fire or
a
curious idea, patented shortly before we
entered the war, was gun fastened TO
the helmet Of the soldier and shot by
blowing through a tube which ran from
the pistol down to his mouth
Planes Garry 5000 Pounds
The patents for airplanes. balloons and
other kinds Of flying machines and Of
parts connected with them is another
fIeld in v~hich hundreds OF American in
ventors are working Some Of the new
planes carry as much as 5000 pounds OF
bombs. and from them IS sent out the
aerial torpedo which files through the
air by its own machinery and goes off
at a certain liked times These torpe-
does are entirely automatic. They may
be set TO go off by q time fuse or they
may be controlled by the aerouaut using
his wireless machine The automatic tor
pedoes have horoscopes or pendulums
similar to those used in marine rnrpe-
does, Some Of the new applications have
bomb releasers-
Among the other great fields Of inven-
ton are metallurgy and the metal work
ing industries. We are making many
high speed steels- Before the war rTe
depended on England for a large part OF
our ferro-alloys- Today we o-c produc-
ing four-flfths OF cur ferro-rnan ganese.
four-tenths OF our ferro- silicon. and we
stand at the head in the production OF
ferro-tungsten- We are leading in the
smelling OF steel BY electricity, and last
year the biggest electric steel plant OF
the world was erected by the United
States Steel company at South Chicago
Many OF the applications for patents
cover special steel and new combinations
OF steel 1t is the same with copper.
which we are reducing by means OF The
new 1otaticn processes. We are increas-
ing our production OF that metal TO IN
Discoveries In Chemistry.
] might write a great deal as TO the
new discoveries and patents along the
lines OF chemicals. We have scores OF
new dyes and hundreds Of applications
for improvements in explosives OF one
kind or another. We have many new
medicines. and the Inventions 10 be used
in connection with the rehabilitation OF
the wounded soldiers are legion talked
at the patent office with Dr.. Wilkinson.
who has passed upon every patent granted
by the government for artlfleiaI liilo
during the past 50 years he tells me
that in normal times the number OF
patents OF this kind pending was only
seven or eight but that now there are
deal with all kinds Of Inventions to en-
able the man who has lost a part OF his
arms or legs TO do his work in the world.
They consist Of artificial hands and fin
gers. OF artificial elbows and knee joints
and OF combinations which do by ma
chimes and appliances OF various kinds
what was formerly thought TO be impos-
sible except through nature
Some OF the machines are very IN
genious- There is a French patent for
instance, by means OF which the man
opens and shuts his artificial fingers BY
moving his chin to the right or left and
wherein he crooks his elbow by raising
It. Another patent enables man TO
manipulate his artificial fingers by a bulb
OF air under his armpit, and there is an
other invention now actually in use BY
which the leading one armed vioiinist OF
a St Louis orchestra moves his bow
back and forth across his fiddle with his
artificial hand, the fiddle strings being
manipulated by the natural hand Other
inventions enable men without hands 70
operate typewriters and patented tools
operate typewriters and patented tools
on by soldiers who have lost one or more
limbs IN the war;