Evening star., 1914-10-11

The Germans, IN particular had kept
the secret of their colossal howitzers
Of ~ centimeters. Forty horses are re-
quired to pull one. and it takes two
days to set it up. The explosive shell
which 1t shoots is bigger than a bushel
basket.
Not so much its size makes the new
German shell so fatal to French fort
resses-when it gets within range-but
the style OF its plunging fire.
II Is a complete surprise in warfare.
The big-gun turrets of French fort
resses are turtlebacks, from which o.
dinary horizontal or diagonal fire
glances OF without much damage.
Such were the German shells whica
they expected. What they RECEIVE
when all goes well with the unwieIdy
howitzers-is a bushel of cordite.
straight down from the zenith
Up goes the giant shell from the far
on oousier in long, high diagonal
lineup to a point just above the
doomed fortress. Then-it seems mirac-
ulous-it dives in a vertical smash, as
straight as an apple falling from q
tree, straight on the turret. What its
ravages are may be judged from the
photographs which the German en-
peror is sending gratuitously to all
the world, to prove the final work OF
German science on the forts of Liege
All Of which is terrible. If the i'm
pregnable forts composing camps re-
tranches'' like Paris and Antwerp are
not able to hold out against these
shells, which smash cement, steel-cas-
ing, soft metal, dirt and sand like an
eggshell, one more barrier against the
antique slaughter at close quarters
disappears.
There was one brighter side. The
Medical Sheet of Munich recalls the
wonderful results of Red Cross and
mil if0 1hrs1o
Crimean war 25 per cent of the
French-English wounded finally died
from their injuries. In the war OF
Italy (Magenta. Solferino) the per-
was only Is. The Prussians in their
war of the duchies. lowered IL to 15h
per cent, and in the Franco-Prussian
war to IL per cent. There were
wounds in the Spanish American war.
and In that Of Manchuria 6.S per
cent among the Japanese and 4 per
cent among the Russians.
Yes. but alas. againi last unknown
element" in the abominable problem
is making itself only too well known
and tragical. I refer to what they call
the moral factor.
The moral factor is the rage and
Jury OI Ine COnpdldulS vi II, AZ
much as on the perfection of arms and
antiseptic surgery, depends the per-
centage of deaths, and consequently
their cost-price per head.
Rage and fury, From Servia-Austria
to Russia-Prussia, from Austria-1taly
to England-Bel
rage and fury of the combatants md
no equal in modern history. unless it be
in the crazed combats of. Manchuria-
And with this a new element of hor-
ror which the world imagined itself
done with these three centuries past
the sack of cities. You understand.
George Washington and George III Of
England would have been equally
wounded and fnsulted at the sugges-
tion that their men could sack city.
For sack. pillage, loot. smashing in
private doors, arsons. rapes, killing Of
women. priests and children. the last
practitioners were the hirded merce-
naries in France of the religious wars
the sixteenth century. 1t 10 true that
France and England have not re-
adopted sack of cities. Bnt their rage
and fury are no less for that.
Rage and fury! It IL q return to the
antique carnage-which was so cheap.
Perhaps they will get It down as
moderate as $1,000 per man killed. As
this war Is costing $42,000.000 per day
cash, without extras you can make the
Which would last longest,
the money or the men?
STERLING HEulIG.