The herald., 1896-04-08

~ WofIoIe Long SlnCe Uea0
copyright. 1895, by John Clark Ridpath.]
III.
The ball Of the new magazine rifle is
shaped and sized like an inch and a
half Of lead pencil. The force Of it is
diabolical. It penetrates 80 inches Of
solid oak. It bores through.th plates
Of three quarter iron set an inch apart
and only then ceases to penetrate be-
cause it is melted and vaporized. The
Arst man killed with it in America-a
prisoner at Fort Sheridan-was shot on
the run at the distance Of 80 yards. The
bolt burst his skull, passed through
live oak eight inches in diameter and
buried itself three feet in clay bank.
It is the most deadly small missile that
ever split the air. It carries two miles
and kills wherever 1t kisses.
For 500 yards this flying death pin
rises but 8 4-10 feet from right line.
The vertical range for all this distance
Is only from the groin to the forehead
Of q man. TIE missile is 60 light that
the soldier easily carries 100 rounds in
his belt. The magazine of the rifle holds
five rounds that are emitted in three Sec
onds in horrid death spit at the close
Of the charge No mortal foe can stand
before the blast. The balls Of our old
guns flew up in trajectory over the
beads Of the intervening enemy and
dropped in spots, doubtfully and spent,
on distant line; but this mortal lead
sting goes straight and kills all the
way. A man at the distance Of mile
and a half is visible only as mouse,
but the little bolt finds and pierces him..
So much for the work of the open field.
The great guns of the modern ship
and fortress are still more terrible. The
new 13 inch and 16 inch rified cannon
Of Great Britain throw bolts that are If
resistible. The range is 12 miles and
more. A feet armed with these guns
anchored OF Coney Island oan she'll
Grants tomb. One Of these monster en-
gines can drop its vomit into the gut Of
Broadway below city hall and send
Trinity church and Wall street bowling
after the ghost of Tweed. A shot out Of
one Of these hell throats will go through
the side Of any American man -ofwar as
though the plating were cockle 1t is
high time that Samuel J. Tilden's essay
on "Coast Defenses'' should be revised
and enlarged.
The general effect of this is a prophecy
of the end of war; That monster seems
to be about to devour his own vitals.
The indications are that he will soon
gulp down not only his spleen, but also
his heart and liver.
The progress of modern warfare has
been marked by alternate improvements
in offensive and defensive weaponry. 1t
has been the contest of projectile and
armor. First invent an Irresistible mis-
sile and then an impenetrable plate. 1t
is an enlarged example of the conten-
tion between the burglar and the safe
maker. The burglar wants to force his
way in, and the safemaker wants to
keep him out. On the whole, the prog
ress of the two has been commensurate.
Now the burglar has had it and now
the shoemaker For awhile offensive
weapons have been most improved, and
then for awhile the means Of defense
have been perfected. We have had also
the offensive-defensiv paradox, as il
lustrated in our existing marvellous
navy, that cost the American people last
worth cent. This is hard saying,
but worthy Of all acceptation. The
writer would fain withhold it. He
would not utter such a judgment if he
had fear for his country or his coun-
try's honor. But he regards war as the
remaining goblin Of the dark ages and
all preparation for war as mere dis
play Of that ignorance which refuses to
recognize moral force and justice as the
only invulnerable panoply and shield of
nation.
At the present time science makes the
greatest advances in projectiles-that is,
in improving the means of destruction.
Science, in this age, is in her destruc-
tive, not her protective, mood. The dis
covery Of irresistible explosives has been
correlated with the invention of en-
ginery which would have paralyzed the
imagination only 30 years ago. The i'm
provement of the means Of attack and
destruction has been SO overwhelming
GudU wax udo IcdCuou tuo VcfS6 OF aD-
surdity. Thought has 80 combined with
the physical animosities Of the world
that those who WELD the agents Of de-
struction are obliged to pause before
pulling the lanyard and laugh at the
criminal climax!
He who is able to destroy the enemy
need not do dt. Having the power to an
nihilate, it becomes crime to exercise
It. The only rational struggle, whether
individual, social or national, is that
which leaves to each Of the combatants
the opportunity to survive. There must
be chance Of winning and a chance of
exit. War has come to the complexion
that one army gets into, the power of an
other by strategy. That done, nothing
remains but for the army in advantage
to see the signal and fire. But there is
no need Of firing when the enemy is
beaten ere the blast come. Warfare has
thus risen through the agency of science
to the level Of thought. The battle is
won ON the plane Of life and not on the
plane Of death. 1t looks as though bru
tality and violence were about to vanish
In the wind Of genius. The reign of