Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1900-09-28
NATIONAL SUICIDE.
POLITICAL ECONOMIST DEMON
STRATES FOLLY OF WAR.

TOIiI ISAt ESONOMlSb O6MON.
STRATES FOLLY OF WAR.
Progress Of Military Science Has Made Con.
quests Hazardous s. Lessons From Strife in
South Africa - All the Powers OF Europe
Combined Cannot Subdue the Chinese-A
Warning Against ImperiaIistic Ambition,
Jean De Bloch, the financier and po.
litical economist of Warsaw, Russia, is
recognized as probably the foremost
writer and authority in the world on
questions of military science. He has
recently issued pamphlet on "The
Suicide OF Nations" in which he un.
dertakes to show that the progress OF
military science has been such as to
make war an impossibility except at
the cost of the lives of the nations
that wage it. In this pamphlet he
deals with warfare as it exists to-day
the terrible destructiveness of the en-.
gines of strife on both land and sea-
and shows that no army of invasion
can successfully cope with foe prop
erly intrenched upon its own ground.
In conflict between two nations
nearly evenly matched from a military
point of view he holds that the econ
omic resources of the combatants
would fail before either army could
defeat the other and that o serious
war could only result in the complete
destruction of one or the exhaustion
of both belligerents.
As to the mechanism of warfare, NJ.
De Bloch affirms that the Transvaal
war has proved what theorists had af-
firmed, that rifles are to-day ten times
as powerful as those employed in the
war of 1870. On critical occasions the
bullets were described as falling like
heavy hailstones on a sheet OF water.
On the other hand, the new artillery,
by which it was hoped to overcome
this increase of rifle fire, has disap-
pointed expectations and has been not
only powerless, but has often been put
out of action in few minutes. 1t has
been shown in the Transvaal that an
infantry unsupported by artillery can
not be driven from its position even
by numerically very superior enemy,
and that sheltered defenders suffer
only insignificant losses if they dis
perse and cover themselves, only con-
centrating when fire has been sus.
pended for the purpose of an assault.
Throughout history earth works have
been used, but earthworks which an
enemy could safely approach within
200 or 800 PAGES were very much
less serious matter than defenses with
a fire zone of 1000 PAGES in front of
them, across which rifles can make ex-
act practice at the rate of from fifteen
to twenty five shota per minute. In
face Of such fire, assaults have be-
come thing of the past; you simply
cannot come on. I said so a year ago,
not as my own opinion, but only con-
densing and popularizing the views of
military men; now everyone sees that
it is so. The English artillery and
its officers have been good deal
criticised and blamed, but the fault
is not theirs; it is in the nature Of
things. But this fact the adherents
of routine will not admit, because
if they did it would be understood by
all that the time lias come to settle
national disputes by other means
than arms, as war of the old kind has
become impossible.
M. De Bloch insists that increased
effectiveness of rifle fire, especially
with smokeless powder, would greatly
limit the use of cavalry both in at
tacks and in reconnoisances. We
have seen in the Transvaal war that
the English troops resembled blind
men who have no guides except their
slaves. But what is still graver, the
spade has changed tactics and in
trenchments render greater services
than permanent Notifications. We
have seen armies lying immobile for
long periods, aud war pursued for
eight months without any decisive
result, in spite of the great inequality
of the forces. Above all, we have
realized the perils OF invasion. This
also was known theoretically, and it
has been estimated that the losses of
an assailant body to-day, in spite OF
all the improvements in tactics, must
be six or eight times those of a shell
tered defender. The Transvaal war
proves this to the full, and it proves
also that with modern arms every
tactical error becomes fatal and regi-
ments may be almost entirely de-
stroyed in few minutes unleAs they
surrender. Another danger illustrated
is that of the officers being picked off
accurately at great distances; and
yet another, the difficulty OF locating
an enemy using smokeless powder.
The greater power OF small intrenched
defensive forces goes far to destroy the
old advantage of very rapid mobiliza'
ton, and in other ways to reduce the
value of professional military skill.
The art of making trenches has been
rapidly improved, and it is found that
wire netting constitutes a defense as
formidable as easy to erect, since 1t Is
almost impossible to cut it under fire
The shoulder-to-shoulder advance has