El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-07-02
MUSICIN WAR.
1t Inspired Soldiers to Endure and
Be Brave.

/
| Be Brave.
Forum
To the pre- sent day, in all the armies
of the world, musical war signals are
considered not only musical but alb
solutely indispensable. The infantry
drill regulations of the United States
army give the music and Significance
of more than sixty trumpet signals
alarm, of service, with such names IS
guard mounting" "drill,' stable, -
ito arms, ""dre, retreat, ''church, I"
fatigue" Attention." forward"
"quick time" "double time,"
Charge" 'lie down." "rise," etc., be-
sides dozen or more drumand-fife sig
mails, all of which must be known to the
soldiers, to whom they are definite
language, in the sense of Wagnerian
Locomotive. Every one is familiar
with. such expressions as drumming up
recruits drumming out deserters,"
and 30 on.
Besides its Importance for signaling
purposes, there are no fewer than five
other uses for music inthe. army. A few
words about each of these must suffice.
Zoller, the African traveller, says that
'samong all savage and half civilized
races, song and dance are considered
ing, as drilling and drumming in our
armies.''
The marvellous precision with which
these primitive races execute their
war songs and dances has been COM
mented upon by many admfring ex-
plorers: and as the value of perfect
drill and cooperation is we'll under
stood, music, which supplies tho reg
ularity of rhythm, is seen to be of par
oy inf i'm, "a to-
parade they always do so to the meas
ured beat of military band or drum
and fife.
Another very curious use OF music in
war is suggested by the word "panic."
The historian Rowbotham says that
call panic is derivab1e from the
trumpet like sound, if we may trust
the derivation of the word, which re-
fers the fret panic to the time. when
the great god Pan put to flight an
army by a sudden shout" Many saw
ages use wild songs and shouts, or
drums and horns, to inspire terror and
to create panic in the enemy's ranks.
So horrible Is the sound of the music,
both lin itself and by it's bloody ASSOC
Citations, that it is said the Spanish
settlers in some parts of South Anne
trumpets of the Indians without being
frightened. It is interesting to note
that Homer represents the Trojsns
as going to battle with bowling war
cries, while the Greeks are ,silent, and
that Thucy dides makes Brasidas say,
''They are towards who thinksthey can
brighten us by their loud shouting"
thus Indicating that the more civilized
Greeks did not resort to this method OF
creating q panic. 1t 10 believed that
one cause of the defeat of the Chinese
in their last war was that they at
first relied too much on the effect of
their war songs to brighten away the
Japanese.
A military writer says that the drum
in the army is used especially for in
spring the soldiers under the fatigue
military music reminds one of the
primitive custom of singing in order to
facilitate work. It is recognized by
the greatest authorities. Field Mar
shall Lord Wolsely, for instance, wrote
not long ago in the preface to the
Soldiers Song Book" that:
Troops that sing as they march
will not only reach their destination
more quickly and in better fighting
silence, but inspired by the music and
words of national songs, will feel that
self-confidence which is the mother of
victory
The German army includes more
than 10000 military musicians, able
bodied men who might as well be SOL
diers. We may feel sure that the
great and shrewd commanders of the
German army would not employ in
times of war such an enormous number
of musicians unless they believed that
in this way these players could do
more good than an equal number of
fighting men. In other words, the
generals fully appreciate and indorse
the utility Of music. Even in times of
peace there is a use for these musi-
clans; for they make excellents bands,
which. at their daily parades and
weekly concerts, not only edify the
military men. but entertain the popu-
lace, who thus get some return for the
taxes they have to pay to support the
army.
Summing up the evolution of war
music, we see that its original func-
ton of inspiring terror and creating
panic was gradually abandoned; while
It's usefulness as an aid in drilling, in
tactics, in signaling, in arousing cour-
age and patriotic enthusiasm, In sus-
tanning tagging energies, and in pro-
vi6iny ont "a N m ont in fi~oa NJ