The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-07

In every battle there must come point
when the strain upon the combatants of
one side or the other becomes greater than
they can endure. In a word, there is
breaking point No race and no nation
has monopoly of courage though the in
dividual animal will in some cases be bet
ter than in others The strain is constant
Tor certain degree of training or cour
age IN every age; modern weapons kill
and mangle They can do nothing more.
The first emotions of a charge or attack
are intoxicating in the liberal senses THE
rest of the assault is blurred in my recoi-
lection; 1 remember but the main feat
ures' says Lieut.. Herbert of the desper-
ate attack on the Kavanlik redoubt at
Plevena. Awful rifle fire from Kavanlik
trenches, guns discharge at point blank
range. gaps in my line, bugle sounds,
storm, bayonets fixed and wild cries of
Allah, our sl1irmishers fall back and mix
with the main body, we are now in the
front line, troops get into confusion, brief
and desperate encounter in last trench, we
proceed to leave third trench, but lines
falter under the awful fire from redoubt.
We retreat to trench, whence we come
to full stop" So in few words is COM
pressed a world of human agony and woe.
AS the losses become heavy, men awake
from their intoxication, fear assails them,
and they begin to drop behind and skulk,
lying fiat on the ground. The German
skirmish lines in 1870 left hundreds of such
wounded men in each copse and hollow of
the ground as it moved forward. In vain
the officers used their swords upon them;
their nerves would not stand the strain.
But war would be comparatively hui
name If it were not for the fact of the
wounded. In future battles with the great
range of the present small-bore rife, it
win be almost impossible to give satisfac-
tory first aid on the battlefield Field
ifa1 N1vf1l haxr 10 Ia
the rear, field ambulances will not he
able to approach closely the fighting line.
The wounded will have to lie longer where
they fall, and more men will be wounded
and fewer In proportion killed outright by
the small-bore bullet. They will be ex-
posed to fresh injuries from the hostile
hre and from the movements of cavalry
and artillery over the ground. The surgi-
cal resources of an army are strictly lin
tied, even if the injured could all be
brought in and can only deal with given
number in a given time. In the Franco
German war the doctors had not finished
their merciful work at MARSHA Tour
when they were wanted at Gravelotte
After days of work at Gravelotte they re-
turned to the field at Marsha Tour, where
they found men still living in agony, with
fostering wounds. Others had ended a
life hateful beyond imagination with their
own hands. Among the list of missing,
whose fate no man knows, there are many
such tragedies.
The brutalizlng effect of war upon the
individual character is an ascertained
fact On the other hand the training
for war. as il is understood on the con-
tinent, brings great national advantages
1t promotes physical well-being by giving
the recruit healthy outdoor life at a crit-
cal period I'm his existence. 1t teaches dis
cipllne and obedience, virtues which are
of immense value in civil life, and which
in Germany have raised the efficiency of
the working class to a remarkable extent,
1t does for the character what the pri-
mary school does for the intellect ard
produces a sitter and stronger type OF
man. Sooner or later unless we have re-
sort to IL, we shall be driven from the
field. Only by 1t can we fully man our
navy as we ought, and only by 1t can we
provide a strong army as we ought, ana
only by It can be provide a strong army
to hold for us our dependence I'm the hour
of attack. BY making such provision we
shall be serving the cause OF peace, and
assuring the fulhllment of the prayer.
"Give peace in our time, o Lord"