The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-10
WEAPONS THAT ARE USELESS
PISTOL, SWORD AND BAYoNET
ARE OBSOLETE.
Were Not Used In the Campaign at
Santiago-Short Range Arms Su-
perseded By Modern Rifles.

New York, Aug. 9.--A Santiago cor
respondent of the Tribune, writing un-
der date of July %, says: Colonel The
odore Roosevelt killed Spaniard with
I his revolver in the charge near San
Juan hill on July l. This is apparently
/ the only case in which that weapon
was used with effect by either side in
| the whole campaign.
Nearly all the officers in both armies,
or rather three armies, to include the
! Cubans, carried swords or machetes,
| yet there does not seem to have been a
single wound inflicted with one of these.
/ Thirdly, all the infantry carried bayo-
nets, but it is believed that not hurt
made with one of these was dressed in
/ any hospital, American or Spanish.
These three arms were carried by the
thousands; they cost a great deal OF
money, with the ammunition of the re-
volver, they involved the transportation
of tens of thousands of pounds of
weight, and now again, especially in
tropical region, the great object is to
burden a soldier with as little baggage
as possible. The question asks itself,
why are they borne? Certainly, the
primary object of all three is to wound
and to kill. If an entire campaign, in
jured more or less severely the revol-
yer, sword and bayonet did virtually
no execution whatever, ought they to
continue part of the military equipment
in actual warfare?
AS for the revolver, there are not
lacking officers who think that, on the
whole, it is a great encumbrance. 1t is
we'll enough in a military post and car
ries certain weight of authority, just
as the sword does. Perhaps no man,
except of high rank, would want to go
into the enemy'S country entirely I'M
armed. He might be sent on some duty
at night or encounter a stray soldier of
the other side in the day time. The
emergency would probably never arise,
but the feeling of security given by
good, big pistol would be worth all the
trouble of carrying it,
In the fighting around Santiago, OIL
GERS were conspicuous for leading their
men in charges, but, as one of them eX-
pressed it, If a commissioned soldier had
time to fire weapon, he was neglect
ing his duty of observing and COM
handing his men. The charge in which
Colonel Roosevelt took part was an ex-
ceptiOn in the way in which the men
Of the different regiments were mixed
UP and in the nearneSS of a few Span
iards. Anything like the hand to hand
conflict is extremely unlikely in battle
in which both sides use modern rifles.
Their range is measured in miles. From
500 yards down their accuracy in the
hands of skilled marksmen is frightful.
They can be fired six or eight times
minute. The zone of the fire is so large
that the victory is virtually decided be-
fore revolver could be used with ac-
curacy.
In the charges at Ell Caney and San
Juan. the fighting continued until the
Sides clOCp TnOafhpF Though
many Spaniards had managed to es-
cape. In the thrilling charge up the
hill on the rifle pits and stone fort of
FL Caney, the enemy's fire, except from
the hills beyond, slackened when the
final dash was begun. The execution |!
of the American weapons was so awful |
that the Spaniards feared to show even |
enough of their bodies to fire at When |
the storming party reached the fort and
the trenches, the enemy surrendered. !
For some minutes it had been evident |
that further resistance was useless
An officer, therefore, found his revol-
yer of little service, even if the difficult
task of keeping his men together did
not require all his attention. His func-
tons are we'll defined and well under !
stood. Military tacticians have figured |
the need of a certain part of an army
to direct the rest. They are more use
full in this capacity than they would
be handling guns. They can serve their
cause best by doing the work especially
assigned to them. Any mixing up of
their duties with those of the privates
would be likely to result in neglecting
the more important set. Therefore, it
is reasoned out, an officer can be more
employed than in trying
with his own hand to kill the enemy.
Some exceptions are to be noted, such
as when troops are stationary and Off
GERS borrow a rifle for a fancy shot.
These instances occurred around San
tiago, but were, of course, mere diver
siOrS.