The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-08-18

sian invader from France, will be to extend it's
boundaries to the Rhine.
Railroads In tho Present Europeau War.
There are few who will contest the assertion
that had no railroads existed in the United
States the recent great struggle between
North and South, If terminated at all In favor
of the Union, would have required many moro
years of painful sacrifice. In the war of
'l8l2-l5 with Great Britain 1t cost six weeks
delay and many times the present value of a
barrel of -four to convey such barrel from
New York to Lake Erie. In 186l-65 the
numbers Of men, the quantity Of stores and the
tremendous paraphernalla of war conveyed In
day or two 10 scenes Of action hundreds of
miles distant amazed the world. As early as
1859 the French had done marvellous things
in this way when they assisted the Italians
against Austria. In eighty-six days-that is
to say, from the 10th of April to the 9Th of
July-they transported 604,3Sl men and
129, 227 horses on their various railroads, and
Of these the Lyons road alone threw 227, 649
men and 36,358 horses upon the Italian
in that line it is needless to dwell, while they
are SO fresh in the memory of all our observant
citizens. But In 1866, when operating against
Austria, the Prussians far excelled all previous
examples In the celebrity of their advance by
railroad to the front. In twenty-one days they
transported 1917, 900 men, $4,000 horses end
$500 wagons, in perfect condition, over dis
tances varying from l2O to $50 miles, or much
less, in the average, than the space over which
their armies now have to be moved in prose-
cutting the invasion Of France. Ii, as Napoleon
I. ia said to have remarked, Providence be
on the side of the heaviest battalions," and
the perfection of military science consists in
massing superior force on the right point at
the right moment, then this immense accele-
ration of movement by means of steam and
railroads must exercise the greatest influence
upon the result. But it is quite surprising to
recall the opposition that these views, now
familiar to every intelligent lad, encountered
only thirty years ago. At that time 1t was
contended in Europe that the same means of
transportation could not be used for days
time by change of cars and many fearful
accidents were predicted but all these notions
proved fallacious. Time, money, food,
clothing, health and discipline were all found
to be vastly economical; and as for casualties,
the proportion was found to be far less than on
the old foot marching system. Infantry and
their munitions and equipments are naturally
disembarked more rapidly than cavalry and
artillery. In Germany the cars intended for
the transportation Of troops, horses and bat
teries are provided with from three to four
axles and six to eight wheels. Each axle is
calculated to bear the weight of from twenty
to twenty-five men or two to three fully
equipped horses. One field piece or one army
wagon is reck oned for every two axles or
two pieces or wagons to every three axles.
For the heavier trains two locomotives are
employed, both pulling, or one pulling and the
other pushing. Such double txain, say the
military journals of Prussia, with thirty-eight
to forty cars, will convey battalion Of one
thousand men along with their ammunition
wagons and the horses Of the officers. One of
from thirty to thirty-two cars will transport
either battery Of feld artillery of six guns
and two howitzers, leaving half of the am
muniton wagons and the two leaders
of every six-h0rse team to follow on
a single train, or a squadron of one
hundred and fifty mounted men and one hun
dred and sixty horses, the riders accompany
ing their animals. A rocket battery requires
only single train and one locomotive. Upon
carefully calculating weights, time and dis
tances the conclusion is that q division of ten
thousand men-eight battalions, two regiments
of cavalry and two batteries on the German
plan-m light be carried one hundred and twenty
miles on long summers day, double track
and turnouts existing and all things in good
order. This, at least, is about the rate at
which the Prussans have moved toward the
Rhine, only that by peculiar effort they man
aged to get nearly twenty thousand men
four hours. Thus, in the lapse of ten days,
they presented two hundred thousand men on
their frontier in addition to such troops as they
had already in station near the scene.
Thus, as time and distance are abridged by
science, SO is the continuance Of wrong and
oppression shortened in the same proportion.
Lightning gives the order, steam conveys the
force, mechanism and chemistry strike the
blow. Armies, smitten as it were by the
blazing sword Of the archangel, melt away in
a fash Of light and wreath Of smoke, and
empires founded upon force are swept from
the scene. Those only which are rooted in the
hearts of men and established on the eternal
rock of truth survive.
s'OUR FRITZ" TO NANCY ON THE MossLLE.-
They say that "Our Fritz" on approaching the
fair Nancy on the Moselle, became sentimental
and thus delivered himself to the French dam