Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1904-06-25
DISEASE MORE DEADLY THAN BATTLE

According to an onicial statement |
given out az ST. Petersburg on June |
"a. the Russian losses 90 that date /
comprised so officers and 800 sold. |
iers and sailors killed. Nearly half of |
this lorB occurred when the battle !
ship PctropayIlosk went down with
500 men. so that 10 the Russian fig
ureH be- accepted as accurate the loss.
cs Ia the battle OF The Yau aud az
Nanshan hll were Insignificant in
comparison with the casualties IN
the great battles of the American
civil war; Segrogatlug the figures,
tho g. Petersburg statement says
that the armyH total loss in killed
amounted to "a officers and g2O men.
Nor is the lst Of wounded much
more formidable IU3 officers and
2.uSU mon. The severe lighting Of the
last few days will of course add ma
aerlally 20 these numbers Tho ia
pauoso losses Ola tho water have been
about ihe same as the Russian losses,
although the japanese have never
made a statement of the lives boy
the destruction of their battleship
Hatsuse. They admit that their
losses in taking Nanshan hin by
storm comprised 1900 killed and
wounded
It should boz borne In mind. how.
ever. that those mortality statistics
cannot represent tho losses each
army has suffered More deaths occur
in camps and hospitals, by far than
in battle. Indeed, the soldiers killed
by disease vastly outnumber the vic.
Tins Of tho battlefield and the real
terror OF war ls not tho bullet, but
10 20 Doe found Ia the microbes Of
typhoid fever dysentery, smallpox,
measles, pneumonia and cholera
This fact is graphically illustrated
by tho mortality returns ot tho ciyil
war In that struggle the federal sol.
dIer killed In battle or dead from
wounds numbered i1OO70, a terrific
exhibit truly. but 2i9.l5S men lost
their lives by disease and other
causos-dlseaso. ln nearly every IN.
stance. For every man that met
death uy the shot end shell OF the
enemy, two men died of disease The
confederate losses were never &C.
Cuutoly tabulatCd. but they were uu.
doubtedly in Ike proportion Il is
known that $4,000 confodoratos met
death In battle or from wounds 10.
Coiycd in battle, aud from the oxpor.
ienco Of the northern soldiers Il is
safe that at least 100000 men 10 the
southern army died Of disease.
Nor have modern sanitary methods
changed these proportions. apparent.
ly. Ia the South African war the Eng.
fish had $4,000 men engaged, as
against 2.CGG.G99 enlisted on the
union side in the Ciyil war. Tho Brit.
ssh losses iu tho contest with the
Bocrs aggregated 22.0i5 dead very
few OF whom were killed in battle.
disease claimed nearly an OF them.
lu addition tO these, were 1860
soldiers sent TO England as iuyallds,
"a heavy percentage OF whom suisse.
quently died from tho ailments ga.
CURED Ia the service. Tn tho same
war tho Beers with a total enlistment
OF 5000 and the advantage Of being
acllmated. lost 1900 from the bullets
OF tho enemy aud more than 10000
from disease During our short war
with Spain but 800 men were killed
IN battle or died OF wounds, while
1904 died Of disease
And these totals do not include tho
tens Of thousands Who died months
or years AFTER peace was declared, as
direct result OF disease brought on
by exposure ia war. Indeed, tho
United States pension rolls constl'
tnte the most eloquent recital that