The Dickinson press., 1897-01-30
NOT ALL KILLED IN ACTION,

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trained armies of the present day,
the extreme percentage of loss to be
anticipated locally-i. O., on particu-
lar brigades and divisions-will not
exceed one in three (of which one Is
killed to four wounded), whereas
for whole armies of $50, 900 and over
one in ten is the very outside pun
ishment we may reasonably expect.
Compared with the slaughter Of
the seven years. war and the best
contested fields of the Napoleonio
period, this is very little indeed. At
Zorndorf the Russians 1ft 81, 900
out of $4,000 on the ground, and,
though this is undoubtedly the
bloodiest battle recorded since the
introduction of portable firearms,
Eylau, Friedland, Wagram and Bor-
odino all exceed the figures for any
fixed battle since the breeohloader
appeared In the field. Moreover, the
horror of the whole thing is not to
be measured by figures of percent
ages only, but by the density in
which the killed and wounded lie and
the fate of the latter afterward. In
q modern battle 10000 men would
fall on an area Of about 20 square
miles. At Zorndorf the 81, 900 Rus.
slams and $4,000 Prussians lay on q
single square mile, and of the wound
ed not one in three survived, and
the Prussian medical staff anticipate
even better results next time.
But death on the battlefield is by
far the lesser Of the two evils the
soldier has to face. There is the
death on the line of march and in
hospitals along the road, whereas
formerly, particularly under Napo.
leon, ten would die by the way for
one who fell in action. In the last
Franco German war only one man
died Of disease for two killed in ac-
tion. Indeed the health Of men in
the full prime Of life was actually
slightly better In the field than In
quarters.
It may, however, be argued that,
even granted that battles and
marches may be less destructive,
there will be more of them, because
every ablebodied man, being trained
for war, the resistance will be more
prolonged than formerly; but this
prolonged endurance is only con-
oeivable under the supposition that
the leaders on both sides are hope.
lessly incompetent and both fear to
stake all on single collision, a sup
position that nothing tends to justi-
fy. On the contrary, every leader
brought up in the modern school is
taught to understand the vulnera-
bility Of all modern military organi.
sations, and is penetrated with
the conviction that one downright
"knock out" blow effects more than
weeks Of purposeless sparring, and
where both start determined to bring
matters to a climax the decision can
not long be delayed. Judging from
what we know Of the relative efl-
oienoy of continental armies, we be.
lieve that the first round Of the great
encounter will also be the last, for
the momentum Of the blow which
decides will simply paralyze every
nerve Of the opponents body, and,
In adding up all sources Of casual
ties that can OCCUR in q short cam.
paign Of this description, we con-
olude that at the very worst the 40.
tual cost in human life to the pow.
ers engaged will not amount to more
than the same percentage as the in.
auenza epidemic of 1922 cost Ger
many, and rather less than the same
epidemic cost us. To suppose that
this degree Of blood guiltiness would
chain the Wills Of any responsible
body Of statesmen who believed that
they were acting in the interests Of
their country is surely too Utopian
IN idea for profitable discussion
Pall Mall Gazette.
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