Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-25
GUNS WOUND, BUT DO NOT KILL
New Rifle to be Adopted by British
Arnnv is Most Humane Weapop.

New Ritte to be ADOPTED by British
Army is Most Humane Weapon.
The British army is shortly to be
equipped with new type Of rifle, pos
sessing a considerably longer barrel
than the present mode and a slightly
decreased bore. With this weapon 1t
will be possible to discharge a bullet
with very high velocity and penetrat-
ing power.
Ninety-nine people out of hundred
will jump to the conclusion that this
weapon has been designed in order to
increase the wholesale slaughter and
carnage that is generally supposed to
be the inevitable outcome of modern
warfare. AS a matter Of fact, this is
quite a mistaken idea.
Modern weapons of war are rapidly
developing into very humane instru-
ments as compared with those Of a
few years ago. This tendency is not
due to any humanitarian reasons, but
solely because it is not policy to create
wholesale slaughter in present-day
warfare.
Experts have discovered that W
wound an enemy is far better than
killing him. A number Of wounded
soldiers entails responsibility on the
side that they represent. which Is q
severe handicap in a strenuous war
campaign. Ambulance corps and field
hospitals have to be maintained, and
in big campaigns where casualties are
large, the burden of taking care Of the
wounded is no small matter.
That is one great reason why mod
ern weapons tend to put a man tenn
porarily out of action and not to kill
him. The terrific speed Of bullet
discharged from the modern high
power rifle sends 1t, in nine cases out
of ten, right through a man. 1t puts
him out. but seldom kills him.
The wounds made by high-speed
bullets, though severe. heal very rap
idly. What Is more, the modern bullet
seldom poisons a wound, as was the
case with the old type of shot.
high power used in the discharge, the
bullet is rendered sterile or antiseptic,
and very seldom causes complications
by blood poisoning. A proof that this
is the case is supplied by the recent
Balkan War.
A doctor who attended the wounded
Turks stated that out Of nearly 700
wounded soldiers only two needed Sc
rious operations for their hurts, twen-
ty only required plaster bandages,
while the remainder healed their
wounds in two weeks, largely by
means Of the first-aid packets, which
formed part of their kit
Recent wars have also shown that
wholesale carnage is most undesirable
as regards the disposal Of the dead. In
strenuous compaign there is little
time to spare to inter those who have
fallen, and the victorious side often has
many bodies Of the enemy to dispose
of. Cemeteries cannot be placed any
where, as they must be well clear OF
towns or rivers, from a sanitary point
Of view. .....
In the Russo-Japanese war the jap
anese were so handicapped by their
own dead and those Of the Russians
left behind, that eventually they en-
ployed vehicles fitted up as cremator-
iums which Travelled about with the
army. By this means the serious prob
lem of dsposing Of corpses was to a
large extent solved by cremating them.
This tendency to disable rather than
to kill is to be found in several direc-
tions.
The shell which most people consid-
er a weapon Of terrific death-dealing
properties, really wounds more often
than kills. This type of shot in the first
place Is meant to demolish fortifica-
tions, entertainments and houses. 1t
certainly may kill while carrying out
this mission, but more often its flying
pieces cause flesh wounds, serious but
not fatal.
In the same way airship bombs and
SHellS, tuOuBu dl III lol oi6ht oCiiouo,
death dealing factors, will prove useful
more for wrecking property than TAX
ing human life.
To start with, aerial craft engaged
in dropping bombs will have to stay at
high altitude to elude the sharp
shooters on earth. Thus a falling bomb
from a great height will not be diff
cult to avoid. It's fall will be gagged
with more or less accuracy, certainly
with sufficient correctness to enable
those underneath to run clear Of the
spot it is falling toward. All things
considered, modern warfare is tending
to become far less an affair entailing
wholesale slaughter-not because we
are becoming more humane, but mere
ly because recent conflicts have proved
it is policy to wound and not to kill
New York Press.