The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-07
KILLING IN MODERN WARS.
IT IS SLIGHT COMPARED WITH
OTHER DAYS

Takes Tons of Missiles to Settle One
MSD--The Lack of Result in Pro-
portion to the Enormous Ex-
penditure of Powder and Shot
During the Recent Fighting Is
AstOnishfng.
Correspondence The St. Paul Globe.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5.-"Give me
the fighting era OF the sword, lance,
mace and battle-aXe," remarked a
member of congress yesterday The
speaker had been reading of the terri
BILE wounds made by the Mauser bullets
OF the Spaniards, and the frightful eff
feet of a shell from one of our battle
ships exploding among the sailors of
CerYera's late lamented fleet When
a man went up against another in hand
to hand combat" continued the con-
gresham, he at least had a fighting
chance for his life. But how unfair to
pit flesh and blood against such death
dealing missiles as the modern shell
or bullet"
There were many asserting voices
among the group that composed the
congressman's audience, but one dis
SSiANASAAI Sk'OFNG up W 10 Adu very de-
clded opinion to the contrary, and who
was prepared to support his state
mSnts With carefully prepared statistics
which show that modern battles are far
less awful, so far as killing is con-
cerred, than were the battles fought in
the brave days of old.
1t was pointed out by the champion
OF old-time methods of lighting that
When missiles were employed but lit
lie and the contest was decided by
sWord-play the Vanquished were gen
orally almost annihilated and the vic
tors suffered enormously. At Cannae
4O,OoO Romans out of so, 900 were killed
at Hastings the victorious Normans
lost 10000 out Of $4,000; at Crecy 30, 900
Frenchmen out of 100000 We're killed,
without reckoning the wounded; while
at Bannockburn 1876, 900 men fought and
$4,000 We're killed.
TONS OF SHOT WASTED.
No better Illustration of the extra
ordinary amount of metal missiles nee
essary to kill one man could be given
than the recent sea fights. in which the
Spaniards wasted tons and tons of shot
ana shell and scored no more victims
than could be counted on the fingers
of one hand. What an awful eXpendi-
lure OF powder and shot it took to kill
that one man on the Brooklyn and the
little handful of heroes on the Wins,oW.
SGch lighting seems child's play when
compared with the wholesale slaughter
of the days when ships grappled on
the waves and armed men poured over
the sides to fight foot to foot on the
oloodstained decks until all on one side
or the other had gone down or sur
rendered.
The record of land battles is all the
same way. The mortality in the Cri-
1sAn
number Of shots fired are remem bered.
1T is estimated that the British troops
fired 100000 shots and killed q. 900
Russians or 700 Shots for every death.
The French fired 5000, 900 shots and
killed $1,000 Russians, or 500 shots for
every death, While the Russians fired
45,O3O,0O0 shots and killed AS 900 of the
Allies, or every Cloth shot was success
full
In the Italian campaign of 1859 rifles
were used on both sides, and the num-
Der of casualties at Magenta and Sol
ferino was SO per 1000 combatants.
The Franco Prussian war Of 1901
was the first in Which breech-loadine
rifles We're used, and, strange aus it may
seem, their Introduction only corrob-
GRATED the foregoing facts that scientif-
&c war is less deadly than natural.
A STORM OF SHELLS.
cur men faced volley after volley OF
Mauser bullets and a storm of shells
and shrapnel during the greatest days
fighting around Santiago, it is remark
able that the casualties were so few.
Equally remarkable is the small dam
age to life done during the lombard
ment of Santiago by the tremendous
guns of SIMPSONS fleet. French
liner goes down in an ocean collision
and more lives are lost than the great
est efforts of scientific warfare can
account for in a fierce b0rnbardment
lasting fer hours.
Since gunpoWder was invented the
proportion of killed and wounded
among the troops engaged has been re-
duced from about third to between
one-fCurth and one-fifth-from $50 per
LOCO to between $50 to 200 per 1,0Oo.
And the adoption of breech- loading
rifles diminished it to about one-ninth
oil per LOCO, though that is greater
than the mortality in the Franco Aus
trian war. Military authorities now
hold that rapidity of fire is more es-
sential to success than range and pre-
c-si'' craftsmanship indeed, counts
for little in battle. and modern arms
are certainly less deadly than ancient
The old proverb that every bullet has
its billet has given place to the mill
tary maxim that it takes ton of shot
10 Kill a man. This applies equally to
artillery and rifle fire.
War does not increase the mortality
among soldiers so greatly as one would
expect. In South Africa in 1879, 81 per
1000 British soldiers died or were kill
ed, while in Egypt in 1885 the death