198 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 



Furthermore, the silencer, being a gas check deA^ce purely and sim- 

 ply and applicable only to the muzzle, the ordinary revolver can not 

 be silenced because of the joint between the cylinder and the barrel 

 allowing the gas to escape if it is checked at the muzzle by the 

 silencer. Thus the assassin's favorite arm is unsilenceable, to coin a 

 word. 



In the case of the automatic pistol it is almost an impossibility to 

 attach the silencer and moreover the almost instantaneous opening 

 of the breech permits a back blow and usually upsets the ejection of 

 the empty shell enough to cause a jam. So w^e can not expect to see 

 the automatic pistol silenced as things stand to-day. The assassin 

 will have to design a small arm with a breech mechanism constructed 

 on the lines of a rifle if he is to take advantage of any silencing 

 device. Such a weapon does not exist at the present time. 



