The morning call., 1894-03-04
LONG-RANGE RIFLES.
The Serious Nature of Wounds In.
flicted by Modern Army Gums.

New York Herald.
In future wars, il was said, the soldiers would
| be disabled in larger numbers, but there would
be but few deaths; the LESSONS would be slight
and would heal quickly and certainly. Then
when peace was made The wounded would be
found to be as good as ever. without any other
d mag than slight scars. just enough TO bear
witness TO their bravery and keep IL in tbeiI
memory. The conclusion drawn was that the
tremendous sums spent for arms that are con-
staDtIy going out Of fashion and being renewed,
all his Ia Dor and effort that was thought TO be
LOST Tor peace and the progress OF humanity,
were, on the contrary, serving the cause of
progress, and 10 invent gun, ball or new
form OF powder was claimed TO be work of
Kindness and philanthropy!
IL sc ms now, however, that this Is mis-
take. The experiments made by NJ. Demos.
themes. head surgeon of the Roumauian army,
confirming Ihosr carried out in Switzerland
Germany and In France by NM. DeloIme,
ChauvrI and Chavanne, have shown the false.
ness OF these claims, which can no longer be
advanced In good TAI b. even II we are To admit
that they were ever anything else than the
mask of hypocrisy. The distances used were
those OF battle, and the cartridges the regular
ammunition, so that the results were just what
We shall get 10 baltic. and they are terrible
enough.
At 1900 or 14Oo meters, distances which NJ
Demosthenes did not exceed on account of ~
difficulty OF hitting single man at 500 or 1000
meters, he noted complete perforation or the
Uranium with multiple fractures, and stimuli.
| taneOus rupture OF the stomach and intestine
| With living horses at the same distance the
! nickel-sTee covered ball OF the Roumanian
Mannlicher of 612 millimeters went through
| the Uranium and neck, grinding the VertebI 8
! TO pieces.
At shOrier distances. a fracture OF The cram
! ium means that 1t bursts into about twenty
| pie ees; at 600 meters the ball went through
three bodies placed one behind the other al
an interval OF half meter, striking them be-
low the knee; the tibia of he first was found
in fourteen pieces, while that OF the second
showed Thirteen. II 10 this We add the fact
that balls striking the bones with This terrific
force break themselves into inDumerabe
fragments. tearing the flesh, coming out at
different places, and leaving in the tissues a
lot OF metallic fragments, some idea can be
formed Of the immense gravity of these wounds,
and OF the butchery that battle OF The future
Is going TO be.
And this is not all; new danger hitherto
unknown In wounds by firearms goes to CON-
plete the terrible destructive power of these
new weapons i refer TO hemorrhage. Wounds
inflicted on living horses show that not only
The large vessels. but even the arteries of
small callber are opened as Dy knife, giving
rise TO great loss Of blood. A horse stuck in
The temple and killed in two mimi es lost bright
red blood IN jets from the wound. A soldier
Killed accidentally at target practice at Bueh-
Arrest and who had merely been shot through
the apex OF the left lung, without any impor-
tant vess Is being opened. was found TO have
four liters of blood in his pleural cavity.
Sucn are the wounds with which army sur
geons are going 10 have to al In the future.
10 master this hemorrbage, TO handle and set
wltbou too much pain or damage limbs OF
which the skeleton is reduced TO fragments.
Will the goodwill, courage and devotion, as
also the inexpereDce and lack of Skin OF the
ambulance attendants be enough? The sur
geon's aid viii be necessary
Unfortunately the change Of the arms OF the
present day will expose them to being killed 10
no purpose. The most that can be done Will be
to protect the wounded soldier Il ON any further
damage. while the first sanitary line will have
TO be $500 or 1000 meters back Of the paItie
line.
The cruel but true formula of the results OBJ
tai1ed by the philanthrOplc inventors OF new
arms Is, therefore, more dangerous wounds
and NOR difficult help 10 the wounded" The
Roumanian surgeon develops this idea 10 these
terms. which give very good conception of his
publication: 1--WE caunot lp feeling that this
so called Humanitarian proiectile Is very per
hdious one, as 1t skaters the Uranium, sma hes
tbs bones, opens the vessels and splits lt-elf u[
In the body into number of pointed and cut
ting fragments impossible 70 extract; II wound:
many persons at tile same tlme and, while in
credsing the number of wounded and of then
wounds, prevents Us, on account of its greai
range, from helping the wounded with The
quick ness aud security desirable"
For these reasons let us hope that the god OF
! peace will be DrOpitious to usl