The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-29
INCENTIVES TO PEACE.

Just before the car requested a con-
ference of the powers on the peace
problem book appeared treating ex-
tensively of the horrors of war. and
dealing particularly with the mechin-
ism of armies and navies. 1t was
written by NJ Johann Won Bloch, a
Russian, and is believed 10 have
prompted the call for the conference.
One of the topics treated was the
marvellous development of instruments
of destruction which he saw approach
ing perfection in the small bore guns of
today. Their precision, he claimed,
render the miseries of warfare even
more terrible than the heavier but less
accurate pieces.
Human ingenuity seems to have been
working seriously and rapidly in the
direction of wholesale slaughter. As a
result of his experiments NJ. Won Bloch
gave this opinion:
The action of the new proiectile on the
human body is frightful, resembling the
action of an explosive bullet. The bones
are not bored through as with an anvil
To think so is quite erroneous. On the
contrary, they are split into many frag-
ments- which are scattered throughout
the entire organism with a force of a dy-
Mantle discharge The entrance made by
the bullet is small. almost imperceptible;
but its exit is marked by gaping. awful
wound. 1t does not pierce one body alone,
but has the power to penetrate three, and
its course is only stopped in the fourth.
Liver. heart and kidneys, when touched
by one of these projectiles of the future
are pulVeriZed; other internal organs, and
notably the muscles are torn TO shreds
The eXtremities. IL a bone is struck are
destroyed. and wounds in the head, neck,
and abdomen are always fatal AT dis
lance OF over 1000 metres the impact of
the bullet on the human body causes a
number of radiated rents to start in all
directions from the point of contact Even
at q distance of leo metres the new pro-
jectile infiicts dangerous fractures. and
as often not the fragments of bone are
driven into other portions of the body,
working through the tissue ike a pair of
scissors The experiments already made
go to prove that the old round bullet, and
even the long bullet in use in 1870, was
comparatively 'good-natured" compared
with the present finely-wroUght, nickel
coated projectile.
As the natives in the Philippines are
armed with these small bore rifles and
furnished with brass tipped bullets,
an idea may be gathered of the dan
gers our troops are exposed to in
climate which is not the best for re-
cuperation under the most favorable
circumstances. And when one considers
these things, and the fact that we have
delegates to an international peace
conference on one side of the world
while waging war of conquest on the
other side. no wonder the. fathers,
mothers and sisters of the land are
praying for peace, not only in this
country, but in every other.
These facts. substantiated by Off
cial reports and statistics, caused his
sanguinary majesty, the car, to pause
and think and it is well for everyone
TO give them a little consideration.
Another reason the modern soldier is
more destructive than was the soldier
of twenty years ago, is the decrease of
his burden. Rations, bedding ant; guns
have been lightened. This enables him