Stories in Stamps - Defensive "Death Ray" Would Abolish War

A "Death Ray" so powerful that It is beyond the most vivid imagination of writers of fantastic stories —and unencompassed in the knowledge of most scientists — was announced by the famed Yugoslav inventor Nikola Tesla on his 76th birthday, eight years ago.

The beam never got past the experimental and formulative stages. It was invented solely for defensive purposes, Tesla said, and according to the designer, would have been able to annihilate a million men or destroy 10,000 airplanes at the flick of a switch.

Tesla was honored philatelically on his 80th birthday by a set of four stamps Issued in 1936 by his native Yugoslavia.

Tesla holds more than 700 basic patents in all phases of electrical engineering and improvements and It was this fact that suppressed smiles on the faces of the know-it-alls who listened to the octogenarian bachelor announce his futuristic inventions.

Another invention announced by Tesla includes a method of interplanetary communication. He visualizes such things as daily newspapers printed in each home by wireless.