The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-11-18

II Will be in those lines of armament
that bear on human destruction. Ii VIII
expunge from the face OF the earth those
barbaric crudities known as forts, bat
tleships. armies and navies. and all their
concomitant accessories Inevitably ana
necessarily, all these Will vapisn. rms
will mark the dawn of an entirely new
era to humanity. The airship as an
agent of defense in its awful and over
towering capacity, viii equalize govern
ments precisely as Schwartz equalized
the common soldiers with his crude ex-
plosive known as gunpowder
What is the inherent handspring that
tncites to all violence? 1t is unbalanced
power in a humanity still too selfish TO be
Just II is the effect of ill-adjusted forces
in their effort TO seek equilibrium
why does one people impose on anoth-
er? Primarily because OF selhshness-or
the still uneliminated brute inherent in
man--and because the other side is, or IS
supposed to he. the weaker 1t Is the
spirit of the bully. whether individually
or collectively. whether personally or ma
tionally. that seeks an advantage by pre-
senting a show of superior physical force,
or, in its stead. setting up a stifr blum.
Manifestly then. that which tends to
eouaiize forces, In other words, that which
will place the weak and the strong, the
bully and the victim, the little struggling
government and, its stronger antagonist
all on one common piane--that which will
make 1t inexpensively possible for tho
weaker to thoroughly repel its aggressor,
however formidable, must mark the be-
ginning OF the end of the reign OF that
costly and clumsy incubus. inherent irf
the engfnery of modern war
When the German chemist put forth
his explosive compound, though ill-bal-
anced and hence slowly acting. the Naen
in the ranks all stood on one common
level Of effectiveness. Gigantic stature ana
coarse Drawn, that counted in welding
the warclub and battleax, had no advan-
tage in pointing a musket and pulling a
trigger, So soon as the chemical ex-
pansion of gases hurled a projectile, the
little fellow was up to his physically
more favored brother. with the added adj
vantage of being himself a smaller target
to his opponent. This changed the entire
face Of war. 1t put more Of dignity and
''pomp and circumstance" into it. evolved
a more imposing human fighting machine
and SO symphoniously struck the still
inhering chords of the brute within us.
that the ''civilized" nations invested 1t
with their honor and glory until only the
''pagans' are incapable OF recognizing
and appreoiating so grand and benign a
thing even.wben they see 1t!
But now. dropping generalzations, let
US be more specific.
How is the coming airship and why
Is the coming airship to accomplish what
has been stated?
The sum of 100000 will construct n sky
cruiser possessing good dirigibility that
can carry twenty tons of modern high
explosive. be 1t dynamite. gelbite. chow
site of nitroelycerin. but preferably the
last mentioned, n $ the most potent, the
others being only diutions from the COM
mon base to make them safer in han
ding One such cargo would be sufficient
to wreck the capital of any modern ma
ton.
Eighty gallons of this simple but terri
BILE compound dropped on Pioneer place,
would rage to the ground every structure
within a radius of 1000 feet and other
wise wreck the greater part of the city
looking toward the water front. The COM
ing torpedo arship. sailing over the
straits of Juan de Fuca. could send
to the bottom the combined navies OF
England and Germany. One such ship
could more effectually destroy any dozen
OF our cities than the West India hurri-
cane destroyed Galveston.
This Is no fanciful stretch OF the i'm
aglnatisn. These propositions are the re-
suit of most rigid analysis, and the de-
auctions are from well-known forces to
positive results.
What recourse would there be against
floating speck four or five miles high,
probably choosing time Of clouds and
sailing above them on "reckoningsr that
any shipmaster will understand or choos-
ing the night 30 let fall multitudes of con-
denseA thunderboits on the doomed area
below There IL not structure In Chi
cago that would not be wrecked II a sim
gle gallon exploded on it's roof.
One hours bombarding with only small
packages would tear of the fortified face
of the rock of Gibraltar and leave craters
there as II Of the effect OF volcanoes.
The cost OF only one OF our modern
armorclads put into atrships to carry high
explosives 20 be dropped down from the
upper sky, would make ali our harhors
invuinerable TO the combined fleets Of the
world.
As against a rain of canisters OF nitro
glycerin. battleship would be absolute
ly helpless and foredoomed 20 ipevitabls
destruction.
What could Cuba have done with tho
Spanish neets7 What could the Hoer re-
public have done 20 repel fhe army and
navy sent to assaii IT. what does an ar
mored ship signify where the sea may
yawn 70 It's depths under her. or she be
lifted az BIZ volcanic action. 10 drop and
plunge to the bottomg
When this era comex-aud come II win.
and IL almost herewith there longer be
A.
chine-like action. ms in armies7 What.
when the vibrating earth leans ike a
lightning fash. and men and munitions.
In less than the twinkiinR ~ a eve. M
orally vanish. when all rank Is ievelsA
when the very molecules a. the ar ara
shattered and not corporeal thing main
tains It's identity. win this eonduce to a
continuance Of the present costly and
cumbersome, stylish and "gloriona''
method OF warfareg When this time
comes viii cramp nrf Krupp and Maxim
have more orders than they can aN~-
The big fellows will behave themselves
only when the little ones can. in an IN
expensive way. fully repel all assaults.
While under the present military regime.
such behavior can never come. Cannon.
ships, horses and all military and naval
equipment are too costly for the weak
leaving out 81 the reckoning the cost ana
consequences 10 human life This fea-
ture N our civilization IS q besstiy YAM
plrc that ceaFslessiy sucks the vitality
o. nations and In return gives them
WHAT Undee the coming new dispense
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