The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-11-06
PREPARING FOR WAR.
Captain Zalinski on the Chances
for War in Europe.
THE NEW CONDITIONS TO BE NET.
Statement-TO the Memory OF Prince
William of Orange.
Especial to THE HERALD-Examiner Dispatch. J

Especial to THE HERAL1D-Examiner Dispatch
PARIS, Nov. 5.-[By cable to the n. Y.
Herald. Captain Zalinski, Americas high
explosive celebrity, is studying things
military and otherwise in Paris. He is
looking as well as possible, and says he is
enjoying every moment of his European
experience, travelling under orders to OBJ
tain all information obtainable regarding
certain military questions. Already he has
visited England, Holland, Belgium, Den
mark and Germany, and he may go to
Italy. Coming to his pet theme Zalinski
said: II am convinced European war is
inevitable, but not in the immediate future.
One consideration alone is sufficient to
maintain peace for at least two years, viz,
the fact that the continental nations will
need that amount of time to equip their
armies with the new style Of rifle and pos
sibly with notifications in their artillery,
to meet the requirements Of the smokelesS
powder in both cases. In this connection,
| may add that war, instead of being has
tened by the frequent improvements in ap-
planes, is actually retarded, because
whenever anything of military Importance
is discovered, nations are apt to wait be-
fore risking a conflict until they have
tested and applied them to their own use
AS such discoveries are constantly being
made, war may thus be postponed indefi-
nitely. But postpone it as they may, the
crisis must come When the war does
come, it will be terrible. 1 have Just wit
messed the German maneuverS at Hanover
and assure you had those two army corps
done in earnest what they made a pretense
of doing, of 50, 900 men who went into the ten
days action there would not be 10000
ready for service to-day, the rest would
have been placed hors de combat, dead or
wounded, to such degree have modern
improvements in life-destroying machinery
added to the horrors Of war.
"What are to be the new features Of the
coming war.''
"One will be that smokeless powder will
be used, but am not altogether certain as
to the future of this invention. In the
first place it is more than questionable
whether the powder will preserve its quail
ties long enough to make its adoption war
rantable. Secondly, supposing that diff
Guilty to be overcome, there is an objection
to it generally. In fact, the maneuvers Of
attacking troops would no longer be
masked, thus placing them at a serious dis
advantage. In consequence armies might
have to carry two kinds of powder, and this
would, of course, be a great incumbrance.
The small bore rife is another new thing
The European armies carry rifles to day
with bore of about half the diameter Of
those used in our late war. This results in
an appreciate saving in the size and weight
of ammunition. so that soldier vino could
formerly carry only eighty rounds can to-
day carry one hundred and twenty or one
hundred and thirty rounds"
SIS there any prospect Of using high cx
plosive cartridges in rifes.r
"What would be the advantage? A
rifle bail kills or disables surely enough as
it is. We do not want to blow our enc
mics bones into fragments. In fact, we
would rather wound their men than kill
them, because every wounded man incapa-
citetes at least two others who look after
him, where a dead man only needs bury
ing. Even that is sometimes omitted"