EXTRA FATAL SHELLS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4007, 13 August 1915, Page 3

EXTRA FATAL SHELLS.

A BOOL'S ADVERTISEMENT

INGENIOUS GERMAN TRICK TO GAIN AMERICAN SYMPATHY.

The British Press Bureau lias taken Hip opportunity, according to a cable message received, to call attention to an advertisement in the “American Machinist” of May 6, relating to a new shell of a poisonous variety which, the advertisement implies, manufacturers are invited to supply for the Allies. The Government, through the Press Bureau, states that the advertisement is not genuine, and was designated to create a false impression. “No order was given for such an explosive in American, or elsewhere, nor do the Government contemplate using such an invention. ’ Obviously, the advertisement vas , designed to give tlm impression m , America that the Allies were quite a-*., 'barbarous in their methods of warfare . a. the Germans, and, thereby, to turn, j public opinion against tnenn UiC ( •more immediate result hoped tor warn : without doubt, that the movement do-/ ilia tiding that America should cease to export, munitions should be strong- , tiiened, and that this was the object is , revealed by the latest American papers , to band, which show how this adver- j iis-mont was discussed. ! A significant LETTER. j \ letter to the editor of the N (, 'v j York “Evening Post” was noticed by , Uh some weeks ago, and, anticipating tlmt something more would be henre of the matter referred to the h . . was kept for reference. It indicates on the part of the writer some inner knowledge of the Geim.ui-Aim nan machinations. The. letter is as follows: Sir —ln certain American publications a display advertisement will shortly appear, which will ask for tenders for poisoned shrapnel, the impression to be com eyed bulb,, of'course, that the said poisoned • shrapnel can only be on order fo> some Power of tnc Allies. Ia f^ ; the anonymous gentlemen uho a , • •enerouslV putting up the money are already chuckling hugclv over the effect ihev count' on produ »ng. \jnv I herwith offer them this nd‘v ua. publicity in the hope that i t " may produce for them effects which ihev are not now counting upon. Signed) Arthur E. Mchar-

L USING THE FAKE. j \ s quel indicating the effect- of ; •the advertisement, the organised el- j feet, appears in a New t ork mes. .ig ; f, tho San Francisco “Examiner, ; dated June 0. The message contains, •the following statements: - j Ono million signatures have been , obtained to the petition of the or-j ga.iisation of American women fo G strict neutrality. Another million £ bein <r sought before the document. • presented to the Federal Government L.,r,ua an embargo on arms and am . umiition. Miss N. I, Mil cr is president of the organisation, which ha, its 'headquarters in Jlaltiniore

"fit’ a pamphlet circulated by too o - uanisatioTi the moral right of the United States Government to allow the exportation of arms and a-ramu-nition to the belligerents discussed by Wilham Bayard Hale, Sen atm - a Itollette Wdham Harlan. Cbatie. Vowel, former Secretary of Commerce and Habpr, Congressman avwuiw ot Illinois, Congressman Porter of 1 , iiylvania, and others. EXTRA-FATAL SHELLS. As a part of the argument in favor of an embargo on the exportation munitions, t£e. pamphlet gvves U»mi- • pence to a remarkable-adserh-ruit

jy the Cleveland Automatic Machine j Companv, in the ‘ American Alacinn- ’ Ist” of May 6. I “It is ail advertisement,” says the pamphlet, of a machine for making extra-fatal, extra-high-explosive shrapnel shells. The advertisers assure the public and the purchasing agents who are buying ammunition for the Allies in this country that the shells are now being used extensively in the war to replace common shrapnel’. I This is the language in which the ( Cleveland Automatic Company espe- j oinily recommends its product: — . | “Tho material is high in tensile . strength and very special and has a tendency to fracture into small pieces ■ppon the explosion of the shell. The timing of the fuse for this shell is familiar to the shrapnel shell, but it differs in that two explosive acids are used to explode the shell in the large cavity. The combination of these two _ acids causes terrific explosion,, having more jxiwor than anything of its kind vet us’.xl. Fragments become coated with these acids in exploding, and wounds caused by them moan death in terrible agony within four hours if not attended to immediately. 1 From what we are able to learn ot conditions in the trenches, it is no- j possible to get medical assistance to • any one in time to prevent fatal re- j suits. It is.nee ary to immediately | cauterize the wound if in the body or bead, or to amputate if in the limbs, ns there seems to Ik* no antidote that* will counteract the poison. It can he seen from this that tins shell is more effective than the regular shrapnel, since the wounds caused by shrapnel balls and fragments in the muscles are not as dangerous, as they have no poisonous clement making prompt attention necessary. “Do the American people generally 1a he tlie pride, which the Cleveland Automatic Machine Company takes, in the product of its cruel ingenuity? Is it our real desire to contribute , these now agonies to the horrors ot I tlm European war?” j AMERICA'S WAR SUPPLIES.

i Die nssing the business of supplying I the belligerents with A nierican-macio ■ arms and munitions, William Bayard, ! Halo writes:— . ' “The war in Kuropc ij> how bonig fought in large part with ammunition provided by eitivcns of the United States. montli of MiirCfi j the maiiMv"»• of shius sailing from ! the port of Now i ork alone revealed {materials r.f vvh" to the declared, ivalue. of ! o.2*'/.('!,) dollars. Tlie export of guns arid •>mmunition bad I then, however, baldly begun. Up to I Aj»rii 1 probably not over 30,000,000 i dollars’ worth of explosives had been shipped. Early in April gigantic or- : dors were received m the United | States. On April 10 the Secretary of I Commerce gave it out with pride that

I the Westinghou.se Air Brake Company j : had closed a contract with the French 'Government for 1,000,000 three-inch 1 shrapnel shell cartridge cases and tune ‘ tubes for the Schneider gun, amount- ! i„a ui 20,000,000d01. He also report- , ; ecf that tlie Hercules Powder Comnanv had orders om hand from the A ■ lies for 20,000,000d01. worth of powder and ammunition. ’ | “Within the week of April 19 tlie Russian Government placed orders ij*, • 1 WMI Street for over 100,000,000 dol. , ! worth, of shrapnel. This, it was calcu- , luted, would require tor its dischatgo I I about 200,000,000 worth of explo- •. sives.” ; goes only to allies. ’ I Pointing out that the bulk of those | arms goes to England and her alffoa through England’s eont-rol of the sens, • Mr Hale says:— . . .. f ‘-if England did not control the sea, - and Germany could buy arms of ns, t cqualiv with England.there is no doubt but the overwhelming sentiment or

the country would demand the instant cessation of the traffic in arms.. What then? Are we prohibited from a righteous and humane act, because the British Navy is stronger than the German ? Are we forbidden from following the mandates of our conscience to withhold deadly weapons from both sides, because one side has already seen to it that weapons are withheld by us from the other? Is an unrighteous and inhumane course of conduct to be persisted in because not to persist in it would be to stop conferring an advantage on England? MAKE ENEMIES FOR AMERICA. “Tho people at whom our cartridges aro being shot number 120,000,000. How many of thorn our American bullets and shrapnel slugs may actually slay it is impossible to compute, but nothing could be more, certain than that we shall have made an enemy of every man, woman, and child among them whom we do not kill. And the enmity they will tool toward us will be more bitter than that they feel toward the open and declared enemies who fairly exposed themselves, as we do not expose ourselves, to the fire of those against whom they fought.”