The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1919-10-24
INVENTOR OF''BlC
BERTHA"IS INSANE
Ghosts Of Victims Of Huge Gun
Have Unseated His
Reason.
SUCCESS BRINGS REMORsE
Men Whose Minds Failed to Stand
Up Under Strain and Horrors
Of War His Only Com
panIons.

panlcns.
Berlin.--The inventor Of the "Big
Bertha" which first shelled Paris on
March 23, 1918, from a distance OF
nearly so miles, now is an inmate Of
the German state asylum In Ander-
mach. Men whose minds failed to
stand up under the strain and horrors
of war are his only companions.
The inventor does not associate
with the other inmates. At rare in
tervals he speaks with the doctors or
nurses in the hospital, but then only
few words. But, once when an
American soldier entered, the Ger
mans face lighted up like that Of a
child with new toy. To the aston
ishment Of the hospital attendants he
at once approached the visitor and
began to converse with him in Eng
lish.
AS he talked his interest In the
young American seemed almost pathet-
ic. He asked Of America, Americas
part in the war, what America ex-
pected to do with Germany, and par
A,ner,oa thonyht - ~ car,,an A III.
roids d,,r,,,a t,,a ,,,o, ~ ~ har,
shordment oe par,. ~ M .a,p par.
tha."
Tells Story OF Life.
~,
..,,. e Y = ailu 'nal 'ne youlas
so.u'e. s'o.'.s' ~, ~ oseissas waS apou. ~
ssass ssa.t = ~ y so'ne noliiuie puniSu
hhehe, " suupeniy pesan 10 teu the
s'o's y ii's own iiie.
as y young man ne had studied at
.ne greatest universities IN Germany.
shsn's'ry ana mecnanics had peen
iiis iasorite supJects' ana N these ne
showeu great aptltuae. AZ was nat
uiai - uerliiahy az that tline, ms re-
ssafches soon LOOK MIN INTO the neld
y pefleelihg weapons or war. Ills
WorA n lills me attracted the attenF'
tloh OF ms government. They give
nun every opportunity ror study. he
Mas sen' y Lnslaliu america ana
la,oe' ~ muse places he stuuled
:. eiose ianss lhe guns USED py me
alli,ies' .he V.ieiilicai coilposition q
sAp'osises anu 'hs ihethoas q manu-
lac.ur'ns great shelis' When ne re-
ui.'u y uetplhiy he Was given STOCK
y ene nrupp Works' at Essen. 'front.'
" ~ ils ssuules anu wnat ne had
1saaneu ,. = o'iier ianus, this man SET
apvas .pv. y ueseiop what wouiu event
aa''s 'Vi7 'i's sh'iest caiiiioh ~ ing
W.. ~,
hen eanis hnsusl lsl4, anu the
~. ~. nssoiV'ns - s'iesansshtof' M
e'.va.' ~ Ms.e reuonpicu. lhssplg guns
N'iiei' ueslroyed the Iorts OF Belgium,
49, ~ .a su TT YEARS. ~
1880 asn.o, a"ns ne hau ureaineu anu
pa.,a sa wyapoh 'iat Wouia reach
aha "nsn 'ne Mar came ne,
y (osvnsl 49,, WI .ne srea,est sciehtist OF
aea.ans' 1919. oesan wofAins upon the
~ e,n.
s's 'o's". on,y nefnorse.
- 'ae sprng oi lolo, the inventor
sun 'iey pei,eVeu qheir plan had
pee' aecoiplisneu. me great gun
was w, ,liis'ieu ana moved 70 q spot IN !
reach Paris. Finally came the day
when It was fired on Paris for the
nrst time. Apparently ii was q stlc-
w. TOT q rev days al Germany
'he inventor said. For
,,,,a, Ill., npmsasr' p,s..s, .,is loy was Snort
ID when INC a,i,as aa 'ne saoaa as,apta',on . eng
i new lease On life Insteaa 'ss ~ ~ ~
them tbe great gun an.
peared to have driven them to great.
er efforts.
'Then came the stories of the suf-
ferlngs caused by the gun" the In
ventor said nTnstaaa ~ t,t,,,a. II,