Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-09

field cannon--eight shots to the minutes
only SO much confirmation of their views to
an important party of French generals.
An Effective Weapon.
As furnished to the French army-not
quite the same model-these cannons cost
N,2p apiece, while each projectile costs
SZ4O. 1t lie the cannon of the famous frein
hydropneumatiQue, the frein, or brake.
having for one of its happiest effects to
permit increased rapidity OF fire. With It
the treusot cannons have arrived at TWEEN
" shots per minute, and the projectiles
are shrapnels that explode into 30 pieces.
each with watering pot effect, the French
believe that theirs is the last word of gun
merry up to the present. with such pieces"
says a recent brochure, 'one can, in seven
minutes, put hors du combat three-quarters
OF the effectif of the troops of a covered
campaign battery at a distance of more
than two miles One piece, placed at dis
lance of nearly four miles. was sufficient
TO annihilate a balloon 1000 feet above the
ground"
There is no doubt these things can be
done. Yet it is well to remember at The
same time the besieging of Belfort. This
devoted French fortress, a town of 4,0H
souls, had in the Franco-Prussan war no.
W. obuSeS rafned upon her. averaging 100
obuses per inhabitant with the result of
making only sixty victims In the whole
siege OF Seve lty-three days. At Peronne
$4,000 projectiles succeeded in killing only
four persons and wounding fifteen, while
1t was necessary to throw into Strasbourg
$4,000 to kill wound-and mostly wound
800 citizens. And this is speaking of
places completely invested, regularly be-
sieged, bombarded leisurely, with every
convenience.
Theory and Practice.
The difference between practice and the
DRY is that in real war folks will no longer
mass themselves together in convenient
ranks for haiurr blfypr, to II fS
longer as it was at Fontenoy, where, the
two armies being drawn up to face each
other, the French general politely Invited
"messieurs de la garde Anglaise'' to take
the first shot. At Runnymede-wheu they
We're showing off the Colt quick-firer to the
Duke of Cambridge and the flower of his
efat major-they had to blaze away at
wooden targets of just such old-world
courtesy.
The targets giving total surface Of 96
rect by feet, represented the people who
ought to be killed or wounded All the
operators had to do was, at the word of
command: to pull the trigger and hold it
down. Then from each gun poured out a
rain of death. 400 shots a minute. OF them
% per cent attained their mark.
Circumstances Are Different
What do you think of it?' asked one of
the military experts of scientific Journal
ist when it was all over. 'Hellishr replied
the scientific journalist" L quote this from
British newspaper report. The scientific
journalist was evidently not a humorist or
he would certainly have added ION the
field of Fontenoy."
The last word is that these perfected arms
are merciful because they kill 50 few. Or.
to be clearer, they kill with their mouths"
as Rudyard says Their possibilities of kill
Ing are SO great that the whole art OF war
mas changed to meet them. Only fanatics,
like the followers of the Khalifa, charge
on them, to be conveniently moved down.
Civilized troops will surrender rather
So it has always been. from the first
dawn of history, when the first battles
We're melees, .hand-to-hand fights where the
fighting kept up till one side was utterly
eNtermiuated. Each perfecting of the fire
arm has been a move away from killing.
STERLING HELLO.