The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-22

MORE DEADLY THAN BULLETS.
FrightfuI work OF the Microbe In the
Armies of the World.

From the London Mail.
There Is undoubtedly widespread inn
preston that, In time of war, the enemy
of the soldier is the man he goes to fight.
Even in the army this opinion appears to-
prevail, and the inventor of a really prac-
teal bullet-proof dress would be hailed
with JOY by any nation, though 1t Is not
on record that the military surgeon Is
treated with that mark OF consideration.
The truth Is that what decmates an army
Is not the bullet but the microbe. In the
fereest wars of modern times only one
ffth of the recorded deaths could be trac-
ed to tho fire OF the enemy. the remains
ing 50 per cent. were due to disease Much
of the disease was caused, of course, by
wounds severe or slight; but small wounds
that are often fatal in the crowded MILL
tary camp would scarcely disable a MAIN
in civil life
Generally, when an army invades new
country IL suffers heavily from disease.
And no army has such a disastrous tale
to tell as our own, for II has been our
fortune to fight chiefly in countries where
white men find It difficult to live under
the best circumstances let alone the cir
eumstances of war. Malaria Is the worst
enemy of all. Among the troops in India
forty deaths IN 100 are due to 1t. The
French troops In Algeria suffer even more,
IL being responsible for half of all the
deaths there. But even Algeria is beaten
by Florida, where sixty United States SOL
diers die from malaria to forty from all
other causes combined. So much more ter
rible Is this enemy than bullets or spears
that, In our own expedition up the Niger
some years ago, among l45 white men
there were 100 cases Of malaria and forty
deaths. And a curious circumstance was
the fact that not single negro of the total
of 1853 died from this cause.
Another great enemy In war is cold. In
the retreat from Moscow 1t was a COM
mon thing to find soldiers standing frozen
to death with their muskets still in their
hands. Some years ago, too,
column of French troops were
oyertaken by snow in Algeria.
and In two days it lost POS men. But
II Is not the cold alone that Kills soldiers.
II is the cold plus want Of proper food.
Very few polar explorers die of the ex-
treme cold. while, on the other hand. hum
dreds of thousands died from 1t In the Cri-
mea, although the thermometer was never
very low.
AS an example OF what heat can do II
Is recorded that during the Italian war
1000 men of one French division fell In the
ranks on July 4. An army suffers more
from heat than ordinary people from be-
ing massed together just as IL suffers more
form cold through being badly fed. In
deed, there Is a peculiar susceptibility
among crowds to heat; doctors call it
crowd-poisoning, and IL is especially fatal
to the Infantry of an army.
In addition to mamria, heat, and cold.
the soldier is killed off by cholera, typhoid
fever and dysentery, and some figures
show what a bad time he has had among
them all. The French army in the Crimea
numbered 10000 men. OF these the Rus
slams killed 10000. while disease claimed
5000. In 1sil-1Sl4 the English army i'm
Spain amounted to 5000 men. The enemy
succeeded in killing 5000 but disease car
rled off 5000. During the British expe-
ditiOn to Walcheren we lost twenty men
from disease 10 one from the instruments
of war. And in the sangulnary American
civil war, while 81 900 were killed In bat
tie, 5000 died Of their wounds and 240,-
900 Of disease. So that In past years the
microbe has certainly proved himself more
dangerous than bayonets. bullets or shells.
In time OF peace the soldier Is unusually
healthy, and, roughly speaking, the
health OF armies Is three times better now
than II was half a century ago. For one
English soldier that dies now two used to
die twenty-five years ago and four at the
| commencement Of the queens reign. And.
thanks, 90 advance In medical skill, India,
though stl three times as fatal to the
soldiers as England. now only shows one
death TO twenty deaths In 1897.