New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-07-22
RrLLETS AND THEIR BILLETS.

Inc controversy over tne Duuuu' '"''' ~
probably ended, at least for the present, by the
refusal Of the British and American delegates
Mt The Hague IN vote for the prohibition OF use
Of that projectile. This, ms we have before
said, does not seem TO he cause for regret.
The controversy over this bullet is only
part OF the wider and fundamental contro-
versy over the propriety Of improving means
and methods OF waging war. The rule IN this
country and elsewhere has hitherto been that in
ventions of improved arms. ammunition, etc.
are to be welcomed. Accordingly such men as
Hall and Calling and Ericsson have been re-
garded as benefactors of the Nation In provid-
ing It with superior appliances for use in emer-
gencies which are always dreaded, yet some
times unavoidable. The Russian Government,
which has not in the past hesltated to make
fullest use of all such improvements as were
within its reach urged upon the Peace Congress
mt The Hague a prohibition Of all further ad-
vance In the arts of war, and even an abandon
ment of some Of the progress that has been
made The general dlsfavor with which That
proposition was regarded may be taken rs an
indication Of the feeling Of civilized nations
upon the subject, and Of their Willingness to let
warlike appliances keep pace in progress with
the mechanism of peaceful industry.
The Dumdum bullet, then, is merely the latest
outcome Of military inventiveness, designed, be
it observed, not to produce n new. dreadful ana
inhuman effect, but merely to unite In single
weapon the effective qualities Of both the OLD
and the new systems of small arms. me gen.
eral tendency in small arms has long been tow
ard diminution of cabre. Three-quarters OF n
century ago muskets had smooth bores and fired
round lead bullets five-eighths Of an inch in
diameter Then came the muzzle loading rifle,
with a slightly smaller bore. The breech loader
Of twenty five years ago showed further prog
ress In the same direction, with an acorn shaped
bullet Of lead about .450 of an inch in diameter
The next great step was the Introduction OF the
magazine rifle, which, in order not to Increase
the weight of the soldiers outfit, meant a stlll
further reduction of bore to from .2JO to 80 or
an inch There was at the same time an In
crease in the velocity and range of the proJec-
tiles Thus the Springfield rife Of 1873, then
one Of the best in the world, had calbre or
45O of an inch bullet weighing 400 grains
and an initial velocity of 1850 feet second
while the Krag-Jorgensen of 1893 has calibre
of 256 Of an inch bullet weighing 156 grains
and an initial velocity of $500 feet a second
Thus far all was gain. But It was found that
the swift, small bullets were not nearly as eff
fective save for their greater range, as the
larger and slower ones Of earlier types of arms.
They were cased in nickel or copper. in order to
hold their shape and they went through the
men they struck, making a small, clean hole
that, unless n large bone or vital organ were
struck did not disable the man nor even cause
much pain or inconvenience \ quarternch
hole through the heshy part of leg or an arm
amounted to little more than the thrust OF a
bodkn In the rush and excitement OF battle 1t
was often scarcely noticed, and many man,
not only in savage but in civilized warfare,
would keep fighting until riddled by haf a
dozen such wounds, or until bullet struck
some vital part. The demand arose, therefore,
for a bullet that would be small and light and
have great velocity and long range, and yet In
fict as serious a wound as the big, slow bullets
of former years The Dumdum bullet is the re-
Spouse to that demand. 1t is about 1903 OF an
inch in diameter. and is cased In nickel ana
copper The casing. however, does not cover all
the point, but leaves the lead exposed at the
apex. The result is that the lead spreads out
little when the bullet enters the body, and a
wound is made similar to that made by the
regulation bullet used by our troops in the civil
War 1t Is no more "inhuman' than was our
own famous MIME bullet, which was more than
three times it's size, and which did at short
range almost precisely what the Dumdum does
at long range.
That is all there Is In the matter. bullet OF
any kind is an unpleasant thing to have forced
into ones anatomy. But so long as war is
waged It will be waged largely by firing such
projectiles. If nations see fit to prescribe the
exact calbre, velocity, range etc, of the projec-
tiles that may be used well and good. At pres
ent the sentiment of the world at the Peace Con-
gress seems to be against it and in favor Of let
ting each nation devise the most effective arms
it can 1t is true that a number of delegates
indeed the majority Of them-voted to disap-
prove the Dumdum bullet. It does not appear
that they included in their disfavor the old
Springfield rifle or the still older Mimic and
Sharps rifles. Yet we fancy that at correspond
ing range the average man would as lief have
the 215 grains of a Dumdum bullet fired into
him as the $50 grains Of Mimic bullet. Denun-
citation of the Dumdum bullet. therefore, is not
Of new invention so much as It is
OF q return to an older type OF projectile. When
all war is abolished no bullets, either new or
old VIII be used. Until that time men will
probably not cease to devise and to use the bull
lets that are most effective for the purpose for
which a bullet is intended.
HIGH PRICES FOR IRON.