The suburban citizen., 1901-10-26
FIGHTS OF THE FUTURE
HOW THE WORLD WILL co TO WAR
FIFTY YEARS HENCE.

The Era of Submarine and Aerial Vveap
ons-Commerce WIN BE the sword o.
Mars wonders Of the New EKpIosivei
Torpedo Guns.
Could we look into the future, as we
can into the past, and view in per.
spoctive all the great events, what
shattered hopes and wrecked conceits
we should trace derelict on seas OF
blood The millennium, when uni.
versal peace shall prevail, is yet far
Off. For a long time to come blood
and iron will be accompauiments OF
material progress.
BY the lessons Of the past, we have
been directed to the improvements of
the present, and by the lessons of the
past and present Improvements. we
may look with some degree OF intelli.
gence into the immediate future Radi-
cal improvements, however meritori.
Gus, always have hard fight for rec
ognlton and adoption, and it will
probably be many years before such
n complete revolution will be effected
in arms ana armaments as the most
advanced inventors Of the present
time can now see must, sooner or lat.
cr, come.
1 predict that the battleship will
soon become obsolete, that heavy
armor-bearing vessels will be found
impracticable in the face of automo.
bile torpedoes, sent through the water
and aerial torpedoes, hurled through
the air On land and sea, torpedo
guns will take the place of the present
heavy high-power cannon.
The magazine rifle and the machine
gun will maintain their present sphere
of usefulness, and so will guns used
for throwing shrapnel and canister
Therefore, fifty years hence, land
arms and armaments will consist of
automatic machine guns and magazine
rifles, improved to the utmost degree
Of refinement, guns for throwing
shrapnel and canister and siege tor
pedo cannon, capable of throwing
large quantities Of some high explo-
sive. Projectiles will also be thrown
from the torpedo guns for the pur-
pose Of producing a veil Of smoke in
front of an enemy's position, previous
to an attack.
Torch bombs will also be used for
lighting up an enemy's position at
night, to guide an attacking party.
At sea, the battleship will be re-
placed by very swift and light tor
pedo boats, some adapted to carrying
automobile torpedoes, and others for
torpedo guns. There will probably be
large cruisers, but unarmored or near
ly so,-that is to say they will carry
armor sufficient to resist ordinary ma
chine-gun fire, which will still be In
use. These cruisers win be very large
and very swift, and will carry huge
tOrpedo-thrOwers, and tremendous bat
teries Of quick-fring guns Of small
Caliber. Each Of these will be accom-
panied by, or will carry on board, tor
pedo launches, provided with automo-
bile torpedoes, for their protection on
the approach Of danger.
The large cruisers will be devoted
principally to transportation purposes
and to carrying supplies for the small
er craft, which viii do most Of the
fighting
In the past we have seen improve
ments in implements of war followed
by 4 decrease, instead Of by an in.
crease, in the number of casualties in
battle, destruction Of property largely
disDlacing destruction Of life; and, In
the future we may expect that still
more fighting will be done by machin.
cry, and less by hand. Future wars
will become more and more those of
wealth against wealth; and, although
bloodshed viii not be entirely elimin.
ated, the shedding of blood will be
largely replaced by the spending of
money. War, already vastly expen.
siye, will be fourfold more so fifty
years hence. 1t will not be che deadli-
ness Of wars, as is often supposed, but
their expense, which will make them
Improbable and impracticable.
AS the very raison a. etre OF wars is
for the defense Of the material inter.
ests Of the nations as these interests
increase in magnitude, and especially
in proportion as they become interna-
tional, the danger Of resortIng to arms
to settle differences will become great
er, because Of the far reaching inter-
ference with established trade.
Wars will no longer be waged for
protection Of interests when the very
act shall entail the sacrifice Of those
interests TO tie the nations with com
mercial bonds will be to tie up the
sword arm Of Mars.
It will, however, be many genera
tions before the ties Of trade will unite
all nations and peoples in such bonds
of mutual selfinterest as will make
peace secure. There will be, in the
meantime, many bloody wars, wars
frightfully expensive, waged with en-
gines so destructive as to apDall the
imagination.
The doubling Of the range of fire.
arms has had, as its logical result, the
doubling Of the distance between con
tending armies, and the doubling of