The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-10
Correspondence The st. Paul Globe.


Correspondence The st. Paul Globe.
WASHINGTON, April I'm comput--
Ing war losses, the most serious in the
list are the gallant fighters who die
for their country. Battered battleships
can be repaired. a sunken vessel re-
placed by a new one, but the trained
soldiers and sailors killed in war are
losses that hit at the heart of a nation.
1t takes many bullets to kill one man.
however, and army veterans say that
shells are the least to be feared of all
missiles Of war
The records of naval fights are not
so comforting. In the engagement be-
tween China and Japan at Phung-do,
on July 70, 1894, two shells struck a
japanese boat and exploded, doing no
harm. AT Yalu, of all the shells fired
at the Japanese ships, only 100 hit the
mark but the killed and wounded by
the shell fire was 29S. The percentage
was as follows: Seamen, 81. So per cent:
petty officers, 1914 per cent; officers.
lo.o7 per cent; civilians, 235 per cent.
Other non-combatants account for G. rs
In each class.
the vibration of air caused by the
Hiring Of their own guns" In some
cases smells did severe damage on Jap
anese ships. One vessel had 80 per-
sons killed and 70 injured by the ex-
plosfon of one she'll Another had IA
Killed and u injured in like manner.
VI course the greatest damage was
zone by shells that burst The burst
ing Oh even small shells did great in
jury. In one instance four persons
We're killed and six wounded by the
explosion OF a very small she'll In the
go Killed or injured the head wounds
were most frequent, the ratio being
lllo per cent of the total number Next
III order came wounds of the greater
part OF the body" of the upper limbs
of the lower limbs, Of the abdomen and
lumbar region and of the chest and
back, While the neck suffered least
In land hight the number of wounds
or the lower extremities is commonly
greatest and those CT the upper ex-
trem1tles and head next; then come the
chest and back, the abdomen and Ium-
par region, whilst the neck wounds ara
again feweSt. Comparing the number
or wounds received in a land fight with
those received in a naval combat il
is found that they are almost identical.
The difference is that in land fight
lie GREATEST NUMBER OF injuries
ceived are in the eXtremities, the head
wounds coming next, while in battles
at sea the head wounds are most nu-
merouS, and those of the eXtremities
come next. Of the 29S injured in this
battle, 80 were killed, SO died of their
wounds, and IFS recovered
In the attack upon Wei-Hai-Wei the
japanese warships were struck TWEEN
ty-eight times, and siXty-six men were
Killed or injured, an average of from
two to three killed or wounded to ev-
cry shell received.
1t is particularly interesting in con-
nectlon with this subject to note that
the wounded in war between the
United States and Spain would have
the aid of body of skilled medical
men, whose existence as an organized
body is little known. They call them
selves the Association of Military Sur
geons of the United States. The or
ganlzatlon was born as a national
guard body in 1891 at the instigation
of DR.. Nicholas Sem, a distinguished
surgeon of Chicago, and at that time
surgeon general of the Wisconsin Ma
tiGnal guard. In 1893 the medical Of
ficers Of the army and marine hospital
service were invited to become mem
bers, and the body became known by
its present name.
The association aims to make spe-
cialty of military practice, seeks to ad-
vance and improve military medicine.
surgery, sanitation and equipment, and
stimulate legislation that shall be ben
eficial to the medical departments of
both national and state military and
naval establishments
That the army in the event of war
would have large and efficient nu-
cleus for a field hospital corps is shown
by the following distribution of the
members of the Association of Military
Surgeons. arranged by states or serv-
ices: Army, 80; Pennsylvania, As; navy.
4S; New York. 3d. Ohio, 80; Massachu-
sets. 10; Illinois, 10; Missouri. IA:
Rhode Island, Ia; Connecticut, IL; ma
rine hospital, II; New Jersey, Il; Wis
consin, IL; Minnesota. 8: California, Z;
Colorado, 5; District of Columbia, 5;
Iowa. 5; Maryland. 4; Maine, 3; New
Hampshire, 8; North Carolina, g. Vir-
ginia, 8; West Virginia, 8; Alabama, 2;
Arizona, 2: Florida, 2; Kansas, 2; Mis-
sissippi. 2; Nebraska, 2; South Dakota,
2; Georgia, l; Idaho, 1; Kentucky, 1
Michigan, 1; Montana, l; Nevada, l:
North Dakota, 1; South Carolina, !
Utah, l: Vermont. L; Washington, 1;
total, AL.