Arizona silver belt., 1900-02-22
BRITISH LAUNDERING,
The Famous Charge of the Light
 Brigade and Others.

Brigade and Others.
 It would appear that considerable portion of the history of active war fare is a record of blunders. There was savage little battle down in Northern Arkansas, in the days of the civil war, and after it was over the story spread among, the Union soldiers that one of their commanders had said of the days fighting: We blum dered in and we blundered out. ' Whoever will read the late Lord Ten nyson's spirited poein on the Charge of the Light Brigads'' will be struck by the lines;
 Forward the Light Brigade.
 Was there man diSmayed?
 Nc, Tho the soldier knew
 Someone had blundered.
 The charge of the Light Brigade was palpable blunder, and presumably the common soldiers who were sent to their death knew at the time 1t was d mistake. That was why the verse was written:
 Theirs not to make reply.
 Theirs not to reason why.
 Theirs but to do and die,
 Into the valley of death
 Rode the six hundred.
 Exactly who hlundered is not known, or has been covered up. By some it is supposed that Captain Nolan was try ing to explain the blunder when he rode across the front of the brigade shouting something to Lord Cardigan, to which that gallant officer paid no attention. but Nolan was killed and the brigade rode ahead in the further execution of its fateful order.
 History repeats itself. Forty years after the Balaklaya blunder England is again at war . ss sss first lime wiLh a civilized people, and there are more blunders. General White and General Gatacrc and General Lord Methuen and General Butler have all made blunderS of the same kind-the rush ing of their men against an unseen, unknown enemy, and had severe loss in killed, wounded and captured. But there has not been another poem in glorification of laundering, and there has not been another blunder exactly liko the ..Charge of the Light Brig ade." The unfortunate British de- | tachments which have been fed, as il i were, to the enemy in South Africa 1 have been surprised. They have marched into the muzzles of the BoerS rifles and field guns, without knowing ! where they were going. The great and glorious feature of the Balaklava incident, as sung by the poet, was that everybody knew from the first that the brigade was going to useless destruction, and nobody was diSap pointed. In South Africa this fore 1 knowledge seems to have been lacking Hence, the blunder has been les! glorious and the need of poetry Ina! been wanting.
 It is not little singular that al army should retain the same charac teristics for centuries. Of one of th' old battles in the Low Countries | was written: The English officer fought with their usual ignorance of war and contempt or death" /" Tn ignorance of war is of the sort tha produces blunders. and the ignoranc keeps up and the blunders go on There seems to be no readiness. m capacity to change or seize the Situa tion. A trap being set l'y the enemy thc brave brigade rushes into it, am the commander records with pride tha the few who got awS.y marched oi with ranks dressed and at the reglla tion step. To blunder with pertinaC ity and perfect courage seem to be tn historic tradition of the British Arm
 Kansas City Star
 Their Little Game.