With the Compliments of the Author. 
From Bulletin No. 8, Chemical Society of Washington. 
ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT 
OF THE 
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
The Abuse of Explosives, 
WITH 
Suggestions for Preventive Laws. 
BY 
THOMAS M. CHATARD. 
WASHINGTON, D. C. : 
Gibson Bros. , Printers and Bookbinders. 
1893. ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, 
Dr. Thomas M. Chatard.' 
Delivered January 30, 1893. 
THE ABUSE OF EXPLOSIVES, 
WITH 
SUGGESTIONS FOR PREVENTIVE LAWS. 
Mr. President, Members of the Chemicae Society, Ladies 
and Gentlemen : When a scientific society confers the honor of 
its presidency, it also lays upon the recipient the duty of prepar- 
ing an address which shall be—in intention, at least—of general 
interest, and shall present its subject as free as possible from tech- 
nical details. 
If any apology were necessary for asking your attention this 
evening to some considerations as to the proper manner of pre- 
venting the vicious use of explosives, it would be found in the 
mere enumeration of instances of such abuse which have lately 
occurred. Between December 9, 1S92, and January 9, iS93,the 
newspapers noted eight criminal explosions, including the Paris 
and Dublin outrages; two explosions through carelessness, at 
Long Island City and Lake Hopatcong, N. J., and one arrest of 
a woman at Martin’s Ferry, Ohio, who was about to carry out 
her announced intention of blowing up a neighbor’s house, and 
was heavily provided with explosives. 
Moreover, the Paris explosion occurred on December 29th, but 
was preceded and followed by published threats from prominent 
anarchists. As the purpose of such outrages is to excite and ter- 
rify the public, vague but sanguinary utterances are much in favor 
with the anarchist. Often these have no real foundation, but the 
willingness to claim all the discredit has its full bearing. 
It is of great importance to society that such abuse of explosives 
shall be prevented, but it is of equal importance that no repressive 2 
BULLETIN OF THE 
measures shall be adopted under the Influence of panic. Such 
remedies may easily prove worse than the disease. Legislation 
is necessary, but cannot be properly framed without a clear under- 
standing of the nature of explosives and explosions, and of the 
conditions of legitimate manufacture and use, together with due 
regard for the necessities and convenience of the law-abiding, and 
careful consideration of the limitations imposed by our form of 
government and the habits and customs of our people. 
Having had a limited experience both in the manufacture and 
use of explosives, it has seemed to me that the present opportunity 
might be improved by presenting to you my views of the subject 
of preventive legislation. They are offered as a contribution to a 
discussion—not as a final solution. The practical difficulties are 
numerous and great. Many of which I was unaware have become 
evident to me since beginning the preparation of this paper. Cer- 
tain lines of procedure will be indicated, certain changes in laws 
and customs suggested. If criticism and discussion can be aroused, 
if those who have more special knowledge or who, as public men, 
are entrusted with the interests of the country can be induced to 
take hold of this matter and develop effective means of protective 
reform, my purpose will be attained. 
The first question for us to consider is, What is an explosive? 
In a broad sense, altogether too many things may produce explo- 
sion—a badly-tended boiler, a leaky gas-pipe, the water-back of 
the kitchen range, a weak soda-water bottle, may all be included. 
Nay, even the “harmless necessary” troche in the form of the 
chlorate of potash lozenge has produced disastrous effects, as in 
the case of the gentleman of Boston who, shoving his watch into 
his pocket with undignified rapidity, found that this action was 
followed by loud reports, smoke, fire, flames, and much destruc- 
tion to clothing and cuticle. Investigation proved that he was in 
the habit of carrying, loose in his pocket, certain lozenges which, 
consisting of chlorate of potash and sugar, did not differ much in 
composition from some well-known explosive mixtures. 
Again, all combustibles become explosive if they are so finely 
divided that they can remain suspended in air. Under such con- 
ditions we have the so-called “ dust explosions,” occurring in coal 
mines, grist mills, furniture factories, &c. Even finely divided 
metals have been known to oxidize with explosive violence, as was CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
3 
the case with zinc dust at the works at Bethlehem, Pa., in 1854. 
To this class may be added mixtures of inflammable gases and 
vapors with air, since these are but examples of exceedingly minute 
subdivision. 
In every case combustion takes place. Whether or not the 
combustion is explosive depends upon the space of time required 
for the combustive action. The products of this action are gases, 
the volume of which and their pressure upon surrounding 
matter increase with the temperature of the reaction. The 
highly heated gases expanding follow the line of least resistance, 
so that if the material is unconfined and the speed of combustion 
is not too rapid, the gaseous products escape into the air and no 
explosive effects occur, as in the deflagration of colored fires. 
If the combustible and its products are confined, but the com- 
bustion is sufficiently slow, we have a character of explosion 
represented by the discharge of a gun. The powder charge is 
confined by the gun-barrel and by the ball. Combustion of gun- 
powder being progressive and gradual, the gases act along the 
line of least resistance, which is that of the ball. This is started 
on its journey by the evolution of the first portion of gas, the 
remainder of which accelerates its speed, so that it leaves the 
muzzle with its greatest velocity. If the resistance of the ball 
should be in any way greater than that of the barrel, a bursted 
gun is the result. 
Now, in case of the high explosives, not only is the absolute 
volume of gases given oft by the combustion of a given weight 
of the substance greater than that produced by the same weight 
of gunpowder, but the rapidity of combustion is far greater, not 
being gradual but practically instantaneous. According to Prof. 
Munroe, the velocity of combustion for gunpowder is 1-5 feet 
per second, for guncotton 15,000-18,000 feet. 
With such velocities as these there is practically no line of 
least resistance, the inertia of the atmosphere being then as great 
as that of solid bodies. Hence if ordinary guncotton be sub- 
stituted for the powder charge of a gun, the breech of the gun 
will burst before the ball can be moved; this will probably 
happen even if there is no ball, the resistance of the air in the 
barrel being quite sufficient. 
The combination of rapidity of explosion and of atmospheric 4 
BULLETIN OF THE 
inertia has given rise to the often met-with misstatement that 
nitroglycerin and its congeners act downward. People have 
seen that if a gunpowder cartridge is exploded on the surface of 
the earth the latter is but little disturbed, while a dynamite 
cartridge under similar circumstances makes a considerable hole. 
Hence the conclusion that dynamite acts downward. It is al- 
most needless to say that, owing to inertia, the air is quite as 
resistant as the earth. Both are disturbed, but the effect on the 
latter is permanent. The hole that was simultaneously made in 
the atmosphere was invisible, and has been filled up by an in- 
rush of surrounding air, the effects of which are often remarkable. 
An instance is noted by Prof. Munroe where dynamite was ex- 
ploded on an iron block placed in a field of well-grown grass. 
After the explosion, it was found that the inflowing air had 
moved with sufficient velocity to mow down the grass for several 
feet around the block as neatly as could have been done with a 
.scythe, and this grass was stacked upon the block. 
There are two kinds of explosion—by ignition, as with gun- 
powder ; by detonation, as with nitroglycerin. Detonation is 
instantaneous explosion, and occurs always with some ex- 
plosives, as, for example, the fulminates, and most of them can be 
detonated by appropriate means. 
With this understanding of the general nature of an explosive, 
we may now define it, in the words of Dumas-Guilin, as “ a sub- 
stance, solid or liquid, which under the influence of an external 
agitation, by heat, electricity, or mechanical shock, suddenly 
decomposes, disengaging a large volume of gas accompanied by 
a high temperature, resulting in a high pressure.” 
According to the rapidity of this decomposition, such sub- 
stances can be divided into low explosives—represented by gun- 
powder and the various smokeless powders—and high explosives, 
like the fulminates, nitroglycerin, military guncotton, and many 
other allied chemical compounds. 
I do not propose to weary you by any detailed description of 
the various kind of explosives, but it is well for us all to under- 
stand one thing at the outset. A very large number of explosive 
compounds have been discovered and their properties have been 
studied. The force of any possible explosive can be predicted 
by the laws of thermo-chemistry, and it can be said that the CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
5 
strength of the most powerful explosive that is theoretically pos- 
sible does not exceed in any great degree the strength of those 
we already possess. This branch of knowledge has been de- 
veloped by scientific observation and investigation, and not by 
guess-work or the lucky hits of the ignorant. “ Fools have rushed 
in,” but if they have returned alive their intellectual baggage 
has not been much increased by chance plunder. Let us not be 
excited either by the exaggerated statements of those interested 
in introducing new compounds or by the vague but ferocious 
assertions of anarchists and others who, through a mistaken idea 
of the sanctity of human liberty, are permitted to utter with im- 
punity their wild outcries. 
The means of destruction are only too plentiful, but there are 
no secret and dreadful forces at the disposal of any evil-doer. 
So far from this, the materials used for outrages are, from the 
nature of the case, never stronger—generally much weaker—than 
those employed for legitimate purposes. 
For the present we shall consider the high explosives only. 
All of them may be classed as nitro-compounds — that is, as ma- 
terials produced by the action of nitric acid on organic substances. 
Under this action glycerin, cotton, and carbolic acid yield, 
respectively, nitroglycerin, guncotton, and picric acid. Like 
cotton, all other forms of cellulose, as also the allied sugars, 
starches, and glues, yield explosive nitro-compounds, and, like 
carbolic acid, the various derivatives of coal-tar can be nitrated. 
As strong acid is necessary and as one of the products of the re- 
action is water, concentrated sulphuric acid is, in some instances, 
added to the nitric acid to take up the water and prevent the 
dilution which would interfere with the process. The nitration 
must be followed by careful washing, and the last trace of free 
acid be removed, else the product will be unstableand spontaneous 
decomposition may set in with disastrous results. 
Nitroglycerin is made by the action of a mixture of nitric and 
sulphuric acids on glycerin. To obtain it in a strong, stable 
condition the most concentrated and purest materials must be 
used, and the washing must be thorough. Thus prepared it is a 
colorless, oily liquid of a specific gravity of i .6. If ignited in an 
unconfined condition, it burns like oil ; but if confined, explosion 
takes place through overheating, the exploding point being 356° BULLETIN OF THE 
F. It freezes at 40° F, and is then exploded with difficulty, but 
is particularly sensitive when thawing. Careless thawing is the 
cause of many so-called “ accidents,” notably that at Long Island 
City Dec. 28, 1892, when five people w'ere killed and many in- 
jured. Nitroglycerin and its compounds, such as dynamite, 
must never be used while at all frozen, but the thawing operation 
is very easy and perfectly safe when properly done. Nitro- 
glycerin, if carefully made and purified, may be kept for an in- 
definite time without change and without danger. A sample 
which I helped to make at the Torpedo Station at Newport in 
1S72 was unchanged and in perfectly good condition when I last 
saw it, in 1SS1. Two years later it was unfortunately destroyed 
bv those'ignorant of its value, but I am informed that no observa- 
ble alteration had then taken place. A life of eleven years is 
surely a test of the stability of such a substance. 
As its liquid condition is an inconvenience, nitroglycerin is 
generally prepared for use by mixing it with solid absorbents. 
Nobel, the first to do this, used infusorial earth and obtained a solid 
product containing 75% of nitroglycerin. This he called dyna- 
mite. As this name is now commonly applied to all solid explo- 
sives containing nitroglycerin, Nobel’s preparation is called 
dynamite No. 1, and is generally taken as a standard for compari- 
son. The dynamites fall into two classes—those with an inactive 
absorbent base like dynamite No. 1, and those with active bases, 
which take part in the explosion, being in fact gunpowders of 
varying composition. They are much used and their varieties 
and names are legion. 
Explosive guncotton is not much used except for military 
purposes. Photographic guncotton, which is soluble in ether, 
forming the well-known collodion, is employed for making 
explosive gelatin by dissolving it in nitroglycerin. This gela- 
tin is very powerful, but its cost prevents its general use, and its 
stability has been questioned. The guncottons are extensively 
employed in the manufacture of smokeless powders—a rapidly 
developing and most important branch of explosives. Every 
great nation is striving to obtain a better smokeless powder than 
its.neighbors possess, and it should be gratifying for us to know 
that the United States is believed to have the best yet invented. 
Picric acid and its allied nitro-compounds are of great impor- CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
7 
tance. Melinite, a French preparation concerning which such 
astounding statements have been published, is said to consist 
mainly of picric acid mixed with collodion. By mixing these 
nitro-compounds with oxidizing agents powerful explosives are 
formed ; thus picric acid acted on by nitric acid yields the material 
from which Emmensite is made, dinitrobenzine and nitric acid 
form the German compound Hellhoffite, while mononitrobenzine 
mixed with chlorate of potash is Rackarock, used in such large 
quantities in the great Flood Rock explosion. As it was selected 
for the work after most careful investigation, its good qualities 
appear to be demonstrated. According to the tests of the U. S. 
Board of Ordnance, the most powerful explosive known appears 
to be Perunite. The following table from the report of Cols. 
Abbot and Mordecai, Oct. 12, 1891, is very interesting as giving 
an idea of the relative strength of some typical explosives under 
like conditions : 
Perunite, B. . . 17.57 
Perunite, C. . . 15.61 
Perunite, D. . . 13.66 
Explosive gelatin, 10.00 
Rackarock . . . 9.36 
Emmensite . . . 5.49 
Guncotton . . . 3.16 
U. S. rifle powder . 1.72 
On such a scale dynamite No. i would be about 7.5. Peru- 
nite A, stated to be a mixture of So volumes of nitroglycerin 
with 10 volumes each of nitromethyl and nitroethyl, being a 
liquid, was considered unfit for military purposes and was not 
tested, but would probably prove to be strongest of all. 
For the detonation of all these bodies another nitro-compound, 
fulminate of mercury, is employed. This has long been known 
as the explosive in the ordinary percussion-cap. Blasting caps 
are similar, but contain larger charges of fulminate. This sub- 
stance, however ignited, always detonates, and by the wonderful 
violence of its explosion causes the detonation of other explosives. 
By using sufficiently large charges of fulminate even ordinary 
gunpowder can be detonated. 
We see now that all explosives, as to their nature and mode of 
production, can be divided into a few classes ; that the processes 
of manufacture are in principle very simple ; that all sorts of 
mixtures can be made, and that these are easily exploded. 
Under such conditions it is evident that prevention of their 
vicious use is surrounded with peculiar difficulties in addition to 8 
BULLETIN OF THE 
those which are always met with in attempting to control the 
sale or use of articles for which there is a legitimate general 
demand. 
Granting the necessity of legislation to prevent abuse of ex- 
plosives, we may lay down the general principle that it cannot 
be made effective if it interferes unduly with legitimate manufac- 
ture and employment. 
In all engineering work, high explosives, when used, are not 
luxuries but necessities. Not only can work be done more 
cheaply by their aid, but often could not be done without them. 
In very hard and tough materials, or in rocks that are full of 
crevices, only the sudden and powerful blow of a detonating ex- 
plosive avails; the slower action of gunpowder blowing out 
the tamping in the one case or allowing the gases to escape 
through the crevices in the other. Other examples might be 
given, but it is perfectly well known that this necessity is abso- 
lute, and that the great development of the explosive business has 
been caused by the demand of the engineer. He requires that 
his explosives shall be safe to transport, store, and handle, cer- 
tain and powerful in action, and that the combustion shall be 
complete, leaving no deleterious residues. To satisfy these re- 
quirements the manufacturer must employ all the resources of 
skill, and only well-managed works can produce reliable articles 
in an economical manner. 
Now I do not believe that the abuse of explosives can be pre- 
vented by governmental inspection or supervision of manufacture, 
transposition, or even sale. The laws of France are most 
minute on these points, but do not prevent outrages. Legal reg- 
ulation may and can protect the workman, the inhabitants of a 
neighborhood, the transportation agents, or the travelling public. 
For excise purposes, supervision of sale may be necessary, but 
cannot prevent crime. Explosives purchased from legal dealers 
and strictly according to provisions of law may be unlawfully 
used ; they may be stolen from lawful possessors by intending 
evil-doers, or the latter can easily obtain the materials for making 
their own explosives. Nitric-acid, an essential, has such extended 
uses that it can be bought at any druggist’s. Nor is it necessary 
to purchase the acid, as it can be easily made by distilling a mix- 
ture of nitrate of soda and sulphuric acid, both of which are in CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
9 
common use among farmers for composts and other home-made 
fertilizers. 
It is also very likely that in most cases of carefully planned 
outrages the explosives would, in part at least, be made by the 
conspirators. The bombs employed for the assassination of 
Alexander II are thus described by J. E. Muddock in Littell's 
Living Age, 1888 : 
“This much is certain. A student in the school of chemistry 
at St. Petersburg sent to the committee at Paris a formula for 
the preparation of an explosive compound. This compound, 
while having a glycerin as a base, was not what is commonly 
called nitroglycerin, but was far more powerful. * * * 
The reason the explosive was not prepared in Russia was owing 
to the difficulties in the way of procuring the ingredients without 
exciting suspicion. The bombs, however, were made in St. 
Petersburg. This important work was placed in the hands of 
one Keebalchich, the son of a priest. This man had studied for 
the church, but had subsequently entered the school of Govern- 
ment Engineers. 
“ The bombs were conical in shape, the conical end being so 
weighted that, on falling, that part of the bomb was sure to strike 
the ground first. In the extreme tip of the shell and also in a 
circle round the end, percussion-caps were sunk. These in turn 
communicated with a slender steel tube that extended from tip 
to base of the shell ; this tube was filled with the special ex- 
plosive. It was a clear amber-colored fluid, but thick like golden 
svrup. * * * If two or three drops of the stuff #ere 
allowed to fall upon a hot stove they instantly produced an 
enormous and blinding sheet of brilliantly white flame, without 
noise or smoke, but with a peculiar odor resembling burning 
leather. 
“ Around the steel tube blasting-powder Vvas rammed tightly, 
and between the powder and the walls of the shell was a layer 
of guncotton. At least half a dozen of these shells were manu- 
factured, together with some of a more ordinary kind, while two 
were made of glass and filled with dynamite.” 
How effective the bombs proved is well known. As to the 
absolute strength of the secret explosive, it was probably not 
greater than that of a solution of guncotton in nitroglycerin, 10 
BULLETIN OP THE 
which it much resembled as far as the description goes, or it 
may have been similar to the Perunite A, already noted. The 
description of the bomb sounds very diabolical, but it was no 
worse than many other forms which have been proposed for use 
in warfare. The Russian conspirators seem to have been fully 
abreast of their time in knowledge and ingenuity, but hardly 
much ahead of it. 
Why a special and secret compound was made for this pur- 
pose is explained above, but is also due to another reason. In 
any group of such conspirators the man who can make such 
things has a certain pre-eminent standing and influence among 
his fellows. Superior rank is not less dear to the all-levelling 
anarchist than to the staunchest upholder of the divine right of 
kings. Hence such a man will always try to make it appear 
that he can furnish destructive agents far superior to those from 
any other source, and as he is not hampered by scientific observa- 
tion, criticism, and tests it is easy for him to demonstrate to his 
more ignorant companions that he controls a terrible substance 
of which, like the school-boy’s nicotine, “ a drop put on the tail 
of a dog will kill a man.” 
Although governmental supervision of manufacture, storage, 
transportation, sale, and use cannot be relied upon to prevent 
the vicious use of explosives, still this supervision would be an 
important aid. Moreover, such supervisional control, if acting 
under acceptable regulations, can be made very beneficial to this 
industry, and would be welcomed by most of those immediately 
interested. Col. Majendie, Chief Inspector of Explosives for 
the English Government, made, in 1874, a most interesting and 
valuable report on the operation of the laws affecting the manu- 
facture and handling of gunpowder. In this he shows that the 
English powder-makers, far from objecting to a rigid system of 
control, were glad to record themselves in favor of it, if it were 
made reasonable and general, and then rigorously enforced. 
The reason for this is plain. Arrangements for the protection 
of the works, the workmen, and the neighborhood cost money, 
both to introduce and to maintain. If one manufacturer en- 
deavors to protect his works or workmen by special improve- 
ments, care, and regulations, he will not be able to produce as 
cheaply as his competitors, if the latter are permitted to work CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
11 
without restriction. The same thing is true in the case of trans- 
portation agencies and dealers. The former often find it neces- 
sary to make regulations governing the transportation of explo- 
sives, and should always be aided by the law in enforcing them. 
Such regulations when made by private individuals or cor- 
porations are always difficult to enforce. Even when clearly 
made for their own protection, workmen often stubbornly resist 
them and try to evade them in every way, nor is it easy to pun- 
nish disobedience when detected. Nor is the general public 
much superior in this respect. The cry of tyranny is raised, and 
the demagogue, in his glory, vehemently denounces these en- 
croachments on freedom. 
If this supervision is desirable, it must come through the oper- 
ation of a national, general law, which shall provide a certain 
minimum of regulation, means for its enforcement and penalties 
for violation. 
The law should be national and general, passed by Congress 
and enforced by the General Government. State laws, however 
good, stop at the State line, and the best intentions of local leg- 
islators are often paralyzed by representations that their action 
will “ drive away business,” “ lose votes,” or any other of the 
cant phrases. The present condition of the oyster industry in 
Maryland is an instructive lesson, for there a small minority of 
people, who are well intended but ignorant of their true interests, 
have successfully resisted every attempt to prevent them from 
killing their goose, to the damage of the interests of the entire 
State. 
The law should provide a certain minimum of regulation— 
should be a minimum law. 
Before attempting to frame such a law, a careful investigation 
and study of the practical requirements should be made by a com- 
mission appointed for the purpose. 
It should be made clear to all those interested—manufacturers, 
railroad men, dealers, engineers, miners, quarrymen, and other 
workers—that their opinions, advice, and criticism are sought for 
and are welcomed; that no legislation will be recommended 
until its provisions and their practical effect have been thoroughly 
discussed and substantially agreed to by them ; and that no more 
legislation will be attempted than that which they themselves 12 
BULLETIN OF THE 
consider as the minimum amount necessary for the geneal welfare 
and protection. 
Intelligent newspaper discussion will be especially valuable, 
for it will clarify the public mind and detect deficiencies and 
defects which might otherwise escape notice until a time when 
their discovery might inflict serious injury to the whole matter. 
Having thus investigated the subject, the commission can pre- 
sent to Congress its conclusions in the form of a general law pro- 
viding for this minimum amount of control. As this law will 
have been already thoroughly discussed, understood, and approved, 
the final sanction should be easily obtained. 
A law thus carefully framed should need but little machinery 
for its enforcement. Regulations suitable and acceptable to each 
branch of the business can, in the light of the previous investiga- 
tions, be easily made under its provisions, and when officially 
promulgated would be binding on all. Methods of procedure 
against offenders should be simple, direct, and summary. 
Any serious attempt to prevent the vicious use of explosives 
will, however, compel us to go further, but in the same direction. 
We must have a national and general license law, under which 
the simple, unlicensed possession of any explosive, except those 
especially excluded, shall be punishable. The excluded explo- 
sives should be fireworks and ordinary gunpowder, either loose or 
in cartridges. Fireworks are sufficiently well looked after by 
local authority, and any attempt to interfere, in this manner, with 
the use of gunpowder will result in failure. We must not at- 
tempt the impossible ; what is possible will be hard enough to 
attain. 
The wording of the licenses will have to be varied to suit the 
circumstances ; but in fact but few forms will be necessary. They 
should be obtainable at the least possible cost, with the least pos- 
sible inconvenience ; and the granting of them should not be dis- 
cretionary, but be under rules clearly laid down. Discretionary 
action in this connection is wholly unnecessary and would be 
injurious. 
How such a law would work in practice will best be shown by 
considering some particular cases. 
A chemist desires to carry on an investigation in explosives. 
He personally presents his written application, giving whatever CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
13 
information the general regulations may require, and receives his 
license. This entitles him and his assistants under his direction 
to do whatever work he may desire within the limits of his lab- 
oratory, but does not permit him or any one else to carry his ex- 
plosives outside of those limits, or even to take them to some 
other place for further experimentation. For this purpose another 
form of license, equally easily obtainable, should be required. 
These restrictions interfere in no way with his scientific or prac- 
tical work, but do aid in protecting the public. 
Now let us consider the mining industry. If the license sys- 
tem will work well in that branch of engineering, it ought to in 
any other. 
A new mine is to be opened, and somebody is put in charge of 
the work. When it becomes necessary for him to procure ex- 
plosives he goes to the nearest licensing office, files an applica- 
tion, which, again, is made out according to a prescribed form, and 
on payment of a very small fee receives an appropriate license. 
This license confers upon the licensee the right to store and use 
explosives upon the mining property, the name, location and 
limits of which are sufficiently nearly described in the license. 
Outside of those limits the license is entirely void. Included, but 
in express terms, is the permission to purchase explosives of any 
kind or in any quantity, whenever and wherever the licensee may 
desire, and to convey the same to the property, either from the 
dealers direct or from the most conveniently situated public trans- 
portation point. The license should be personal and non-trans- 
ferable, should run for not more than one year from date, and then 
absolutely expire. Renewal, if desired, should be an entirely 
new transaction, which can occur during the life of the first 
license, which must, of course, be simultaneously surrendered and 
destroyed. There would be no increase of restrictions on the 
purchase of explosives in consequence of this license law. The 
dealer should not be required to know that the purchaser is 
licensed. If any sale restrictions are introduced, these should come 
through the operation of the general code of dealers’ regulations, 
framed for their protection, as previously indicated. 
In the same way the transportation agents need only require 
that the packages of explosives are properly prepared for ship- 
ment, according to their own special code. Their responsibility 14 
BULLETIN OF THE 
would be the same as at presentand would cease with the delivery 
of the goods. 
As to the conveyance of the explosives from the dealer’s store 
or the railway station to the mine, this should he covered by the 
license. Some regulation for wagon transportation may he 
necessary, hut otherwise no special liability should attach to the 
teamster during bona jide transit. 
The explosives having reached the mine are issued to the 
miners for use. This use is covered by the license to the super- 
intendent, who may, as at present, make whatever rules for its 
conduct he may deem advisable. Certain regulations, however, 
should be made obligatory by law. In some cases the miners 
are furnished with explosives at the expense of the mine; in 
others they buy them from the management as they do their oil, 
candles, etc. If, at the end of his shift, a miner has any surplus 
explosive, he must deposit this in an appropriate place, provided 
by the company, where he can get it at the beginning of his next 
shift. Whether he has purchased it or not should make no 
variation in this regulation. Under no circumstances should he 
he permitted to take explosives to his dwelling-place, even if this 
be within the limits of the mining property. His family and 
neighbors must be protected. As to carrying it outside of those 
limits, both superintendent and miners stand on an equal footing. 
Both are absolutely forbidden to do so. 
If work is to he done on a neighboring property, another 
license must be obtained for this. If the general magazine is 
situated on the first property, the new license can permit con- 
veyance from one place to the other. 
There is no occasion for licensing the individual miners, nor 
should this ever be done. There should be but one license for 
any one place, and that should be issued to the superintendent 
alone. Only through his permission can any one, within the 
limits of the property, legally have possession of any explosive. 
With some changes in language the mining license will serve 
for the needs of the farmer, who sometimes finds it advantageous 
to use high explosives for the removal of stumps and rocks, and 
for other purposes—within the limits of his farm he may use 
them ; outside of it, not at all. 
A special form of license covering a certain district, say a CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
15 
county license, will be necessary for well-diggers and others 
whose work is in the form of jobs of indefinite duration and loca- 
tion. The same may be said of prospectors, whose mode of 
life and manner of work present peculiar difficulties in the way 
of control. 
Having in this manner provided for the needs of all legitimate 
business, we can then insist that the unlicensed possession of ex- 
plosives shall he punishable, without reference to the intentions 
of the transgressor. The law of the District of Columbia con- 
cerning concealed weapons is an example. A man may be 
arrested for some trifling offence, but it is found that he has upon 
his person a concealed weapon. He makes no attempt to use it, 
hut he has it. When he is brought up for trial lie may even be ac- 
quitted of the offence, but is fined $50 or punished by an equiva- 
lent imprisonment for having the weapon. His intentions are 
not considered ; the fact is sufficient for condemnation, and there 
is no appeal. Of course the previous arrest has nothing to do 
with this, except as having given the opportunity to ascertain the 
fact. 
Some such summary proceeding will be necessarv under the 
license law if this is to be effective. Inasmuch as there will be no 
reason for unlicensed possession, the proof of fact will be 
sufficient. As the licenses are local and limited, the chances of 
detection of illicit actions will be greatly increased, as the real 
licensees and the nature of their licenses will be generally known. 
Moreover, any licensee transgressing the limitations of his license 
becomes at once amenable to a punishment, which some of his 
neighbors at least will see to it that he gets. 
In offences against this law, evil intentions should be presumed. 
If their absence can be satisfactorily proven, then the punishment 
can be reduced to a minimum ; but there should always be a pun- 
ishment, which for many reasons should be an imprisonment, with 
or without a fine, but need not be heavy or severe. 
Dynamite outrages are generally planned and the explosives 
procured some time in advance. The power of summary arrest 
for possession conferred by this law would much increase the 
chances of prevention, for it would only be necessary for some 
secret information as to this possession to reach the proper author- 
ities to enable them instantly to arrest the offending parties. BULLETIN OF THE 
The finding of the explosive would be quite sufficient for condem- 
nation without the necessity of exposing the informer. During 
the resulting imprisonment further investigation could be made, 
but one such arrest would probably prevent the execution of the 
plan by the others concerned. Again, if the penalty for simple 
possession be not made too severe, the probability of obtaining 
such secret information will be much greater. As the laws are at 
present, should any one of a group of conspirators be seized with 
remorse and desire to prevent an intended outrage, he can only 
do so, effectively, by betraying the criminal intentions of his fel- 
lows. He knows that if he does this he will probably be com- 
pelled to give public testimony upon which may depend the lives 
of others who have trusted him and who are probably no more 
guilty than he. Moreover, through this publicity not only must 
he undergo all the obloquy which society, while availing itself of 
his services, heaps upon the informer, but also expose himself to 
private vengeance. .This he may well hesitate to do ; but if such 
a man knew that by merely revealing the fact of possession the 
outrage could be prevented without exposing any one of his fel- 
lows to any greater punishment than that attaching to illegal pos- 
session, it is reasonable to suppose that useful pre-repentance 
would be more frequent. It is prevention, not punishment, that 
is to be sought for. 
The power of summary action and arrest for possession is indis- 
pensable. The authorities should be empowered to act at once 
upon information, and no other warrant for search or arrest should 
be required. Secrecy and suddenness of action will have a far 
more paralyzing effect upon the dynamiter than any display of the 
majesty of the law, which it is his purpose and study to defy and 
make contemptible. To those who may object that such proceed- 
ings would be too high-handed, unconstitutional, etc., it may be 
replied that it is time that some of the technicalities that have been 
carefully built up around our laws should he swept away and jus- 
tice be less impeded. It is time that some change should be made 
in the principle that law-abiding people must wait until the vicious 
perform overt acts before any legal steps can be taken to restrain 
them, and that then these steps, to be legal, must be according to 
rules apparently framed to give the greatest amount of trouble and 
expense to the prosecutor and the greatest chance of escape to the 
offender. CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
17 
On one occasion, at the conclusion of a long legal consultation 
about some mining titles, I asked the three lawyers present as to 
what legal measures I might take to prevent sluice-robbing. They 
all agreed that a warrant, with all the attendant steps of prosecu- 
tion, would be the only legal means of procedure even if the offender 
were caught in the act. This last condition would, of course, 
somewhat complicate the question, but the general result would 
be the same. . When it was explained to them that this view 
meant, under the circumstances, no legal protection at all, and 
that, according to the customs of most mining regions, when any- 
body was caught sluice-robbing, somebody died immediately, they 
mitigated the force of their opinion by agreeing that although such 
was the law, still if I took the matter into my own hands popular 
opinion would probably support me. I could quote other instances 
when lawyers have advised me that what maybe termed, in short, 
personal violence was the only remedy for defects not so much in 
law as in legal practice. Now, I submit that such a state of affairs 
is altogether wrong. Law is law and should be obeyed, but it 
should be even and just to all, sufficiently searching to detect any 
offender and powerful enough to punish him. We too often read 
in our papers that such a one will probably get off easily because 
he has friends and money. Whether such a statement is true or 
not, it is generally believed, and such a belief fertilizes the soil on 
which anarchists are grown. 
Again, a little less consideration for the convenience and the 
comfort and the safety of the evil-doer would be rather a good 
thing. Those of you who have read Booth’s “ In Darkest 
England ” may remember his remarks, “ that it would be 
utopian, in our present social arrangements, to dream of obtain- 
ing for every honest Englishman a jail standard of the neces- 
saries of life.” It is generally believed that the English prisons 
are quite models of their kind. 
My own experience of the nature of criminal punishment in 
this country has been mainly confined to what I have observed 
in the convict camps of the South, denunciations of which have 
lately been so rife in the papers. Of these I can say that though 
the labor was hard, it was useful and was no harder than any 
other mining labor, the shelter was sufficient, and the food, 
though coarse, was nourishing and ample. Nor in talking to the 18 
BULLETIN OF THE 
men either as prisoners or when, afterwards, they were in my 
employment, did I hear of any special abuses other than those 
which would have occurred among the same class of men had 
they been free. Now, this mode of punishment is considered by 
many to be inexpressibly barbarous, so that the ideal prisons 
must be quite agreeable places, certainly quite superior to the 
refuges provided for the honest poor, for whom, I am glad to say, 
I have far more sympathy. 
We do not need very severe laws to check dynamite outrages. 
A law which is plain, just, and simple—under which detection 
will be easy and punishment certain—will require no heavy pen- 
alties to make it effective, so far as mere unlawful possession is 
concerned , but any attempts to make a criminal use of explo- 
sives—any threats, verbal or written, to do so—any incitements, 
verbal or written, of others to make such use against anybody 
in particular or society in general, or any expressed approval of 
such actions, should meet with speedy and severe punishment, 
which no legal technicalities should be permitted to delay. Such 
things are done and said to disturb and terrify the public, and 
usually by persons to vhom the certainty of close confinement at 
hard labor will act as an effective deterrent. The Johann Mosts, 
O’Donovan Rossas, and Louise Michels of society would speedily 
find their occupations and themselves gone to the penitentiary, 
where their usefulness to the world would be much increased. 
Of course those who are entrusted with the execution of such a 
law must be especially watchful lest its purpose be perverted to 
a means for private revenge or persecution, or for “ put up jobs.” 
These may occur in any branch of criminal law, but must 
always be suspected and looked for in this connection, since secret 
information must be so much depended upon. If their existence 
is proved, the offenders should be most heavily punished, and 
none of the technicalities impeding convictions for perjury in or- 
dinary cases should be permitted to have any force here. 
I have said that the licenses should specify the use. This 
should be broadly considered. What is meant is that such mis- 
uses, as killing fish with dynamite, explosions for amusement, 
etc., shall be absolutely prohibited, license or no license. They 
are either barbarous or wholly unnecessary. 
The excluded explosives are fireworks and gunpowder. All CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
19 
desirable amusement and noise can be obtained by their use. It 
is true that quite as disastrous outrages can be perpetrated by the 
aid of gunpowder as by that of dynamite, but its employment has 
not such a terrifying effect upon the public, who are accustomed 
to its use, which they could not be deprived of even if this were 
desirable. The recent introduction of smokeless powders for 
sporting purposes brings in, however, new complications. These 
powders are from two to four times as powerful as ordinary gun- 
powder, and are quite as effective for outrages as any of the dyna- 
mite preparations. How far their use should be controlled would 
be a matter for special consideration, but I think that a license 
ought to be required for their possession. Convenient as they 
are, they are not necessary either for sport or protection. The 
great hunters, such as Gordon-Cumming, had not even breech- 
loaders ; the old flint-lock served our purpose at Bunker Hill and 
Bennington, and was more than we wanted at Bladensburg; 
while if any son of the revolution, American or otherwise, will 
load up his ancestor’s horse-pistols and shoot as straight as we 
hope the old man did, his burglar will be as completely hors 
de cotnbat as if he had been operated on by the latest improve- 
ment in firearms. 
In speaking of laws concerning explosives I have said that they 
must be national and should be minimum. The meaning of this 
term may require some explanation. 
I think that it will be well for us all to seriously consider 
whether this country has not reached a stage in its development 
when its future strength and prosperity require that many 
matters which have up to the present time been considered as 
being in the care of the several States shall be handed over to the 
charge of the General Government. National quarantine, immi- 
gration, bankruptcy, divorce and marriage laws, seem to be im- 
peratively demanded by circumstances. Other national laws are 
also needed. Only by being national and enforced by national 
means can any of them be made effective. 
There is, however, a very strong and wide-spread opposition to 
increasing the powers of Congress to control the affairs of the 
States ; and as this opposition is based on many traditions of our 
Government and is supported by the wording of many parts of 
our Constitution, it is reasonable and must be respected. 20 
BULLETIN OF THE 
But I cannot but think that much of this opposition could be 
overcome if the principle were laid down that, in all such legis- 
lation, Congress should confine itself to the minimum of control 
—that is, that the national laws should be the simplest and most 
lenient that will suffice for the purpose. If, then, any State should 
desire to supersede the national law by a stricter one of its own, 
it should be at full liberty to do so. For example, a national 
divorce law might state the general nature of the causes of divorce 
and the method by which a divorce, valid for the entire country, 
can be obtained. A certain State, however, does not wish to 
recognize any cause for divorce, or perhaps only one. Its law, 
being stricter, should stand, and no divorce be obtained within its 
boundaries except through its own regulations. What would 
be gained by this national law is that every citizen of the United 
States would know that he is protected up to the limits of the 
law, and that no advantage can be taken of his ignorance of the 
different codes of the various States. 
If these national laws clearly state their intention and scope, 
provide penalties for offenders, and give ample authority to those 
entrusted with their enforcement, the details of operation and the 
preparation of regulations may safely be left to the executive 
management. Our Congress represents the entire country, and 
the opposition of a few should not be permitted to damage the 
many. Those of us who believe that we are citizens of the 
United States and belong to a nation—and, so believing, favor 
such national laws—may expect to be met with the cry of “ un- 
constitutional,” but we do remember that some of our greatest 
national successes have been attained by overleapingthe boundary 
walls erected by the founders of our Constitution, and that some 
of our greatest dangers have come from 44 strictconstructionists.” 
But if change is needed let it come with due consideration, and 
let it be minimum. We may think that the house in which we 
and our fathers before us were born requires extensive repair and 
alteration ; but it is a good house, and with the cutting of a win- 
dow here and the strengthening of a floor there, and perhaps 
the building of some small addition, will do for many years 
yet. 
In conclusion, you may think that as to this abuse of explo- 
sives I have told you little that is new and have thrown little light CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
21 
on the problem of prevention. Yon are right. The matter is 
very dark, the way out of all the difficulties very obscure. Not 
until all objections have been met and answered by a general 
principle of action can we say that we have reached solid ground 
on which to erect our legal edifice. Until we have our founda- 
tion secure it would be worse than useless to build our walls. 
But I do believe that the principle is correct, that Congress 
should have full power to enact what I have called minimum 
laws, binding on the entire country and enforceable by the 
authority of the General Government. The full independence of 
the States is preserved if the laws are just, general, and equal in 
application everywhere. 
Everybody is greater than anybody. All the States are greater 
than any one. Our Congress is the representative of the nation, 
and as our national protection against external enemies is by 
our Constitution entrusted to the General Government, so also 
may safely be our defence against internal foes.