reference to the most striking example of the power placed in the hand of man by this complete control over propellants.
In the early part of last year, the world was thrown into amazement by the report that Paris was being bombarded by the Germans who could not be firing from a point less than 70 miles from it. It was at first incredulous. Then, as usual, it credited the Germans with having invented some new propellant of marvellous efficiency. But our artillerists knew better. They realized that thanks to the control of pressures and rates of burning in our present smokeless powders, such a range could be obtained in a gun of determinable dimensions if it were worth our while to do it. Indeed the whole details of the gun and the powder necessary to accomplish the feat were at once worked out, and such a gun would have been manufactured by us if it had possessed sufficient military value to warrant the work and expense. But it did not. The glory of firing at a city of say 100 square miles in extent, so that missing the target was 28
