The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-20
TIE EKoIUrIoN OF WE.

If war is hell, that popular place OF
torment is subject to the ordinary laws
of evolution. The hell of the twentieth
century may not resemble in any respect
the classical hell of Dante and Milton,
but that is another story. 1t is not the
purpose of this article to discuss the
evolution of hell, but that of warfare.
Those who are scanning the horizon
of the future for signs of the millennium.
when there will be universal peace on
earth, may see in the evolution of the
engines of war, the first signs of that
great dawn ushering In the day when
there will be heard no clang of arms,
and when the warhorse will cease to
neigh responsive to the bugle call to bat
tie. s..
From the time when John Paul Jones
dashed the Bon Homme Richard to the
Scraps, and fought a hand-to-hand battle
on their flaming decks, to the Sd day
Of July, 1898, when Admiral Schley, at
a mile range, sank the floating iron cas-
ties of Spain, war on the ocean evolved
from a pastime for adventures, into an
exact science of swift and terrible de-
struction.
More progress was made in naval war
fare during the nineteenth century than
during the previous history of the world.
The duel between the little -donitor and
the Merrimac marked the beginning OF
the new era, as the equally famous duel
between the Alabama and the Kearsarge
marked the end of the old era. The ex-
perience afforded by the Chino-Japanese
war, and the still more dramatic incl
dents at Manila and Santiago, proves
that war on the ocean with modern fight
ing machines is too destructive of life
and property to be tolerated. Modern
civilization cannot afford it, And when
to the awful destruction of a modern
naval engagement, We add the possibiIi-
ties Of the now successful submarine tor
pedo boats-those hellish contrivances,
which may, all unseen, blow into eternity
whole squadrons with their complement
Of human energy-the mind recoils from
the contemplation of such wholesale and
concentrated horror.
The time is rapidly approaching when
the instinct Of humanity will cry truce
upon the ocean. By common consent the
bIue waters will roll unfretted by iron
prows. War on the ocean will have ac-
complished its own humiliation
On land the evolution has not been so
marked. True, the bow and sling and
spear and sword have given place to
the nusket and cannon, which in their
turn have retired before the mauser the
gatling and machine guns. The hand
to-hand conflict of the Romans with
battle ak and broad sword is no more
The gigantic knight is on a level with
the dwarf. Personal courage and muscle
count for little now, when guns will kill
at a distance Of two miles.
The tactics of Napoleon, with his COM
pact columns and magnificent charges,
would mean suicide If employed now.
The charge, the assault, the solid ranks,
have disappeared from modern warfare.
The pomp and circumstance of the bat
tie has been relegated to the ancient days.
1t is now each man for himself. Organi-,
cation goes for little when opposed to
Individual fighters. The closed ranks
have given place to the open order. TO
expose ones self to the fire of the en-
envy is no longer regarded as an act OF
bravery, but an act of foolhardiness.
The Boer war has taught the military
world the same lessons that the battles
of Manila and Santiago taught the naval
world. European armies must revise
their tactics or meet mutual annihila-
ton at the next shock of war An
English military critic who observed the
recent maneuvers of the German army
in mock battle points out the awful.
slaughter which would result from the
retention of the tactics of twenty years
ago. if employed in battle with modern
weapons The charge of the assaulting
force was magnificent, but had it been
wei AiloIOdu VI pay not d SOUL WOULD
have lived to tell the tale A general
European war now would no doubt emu
in an agreement for disarmament. IL
the convention at The Hague had been
called at the close of war where mod
ern engines of destruction had been used.
there would have been less difference of
opinion among the delegates on the SUBJ
ject of universal peace.
Captious critics of the British soldier
in South Africa have called attention to
the large per cent of surrenders in the
British forces, to show that British valor
is on the wane. Not so. Never has there
been an exhibition of greater bravery
| than the English forces have shown in
these South African campaigns. Discre-
ton is often the better part of valor.