El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-11-04

N history has Necessity, the Mother
Of Invention" proved so fruitful
as = In the present European war. Its
thousands Of miles Of networks Of op-
posing trenches furnish the most ideal
Of proving grounds for new weapons
Of offense and defense. Day and night
bring forth their stern problems to serve
as an ideal stimulus to invention, and
some Of the results have upset military
theories and methods which had re-
manned unchanged in principle for cen
turies.
Taking its lesson from these phe-
nomena, the United States Government
is actively engaged in the preliminaries
Of providing our own army with new
weapons which have turned the tide OF
battle for one side OF the other in
Europe. The most novel and remarkable
Of these is Iight-light in various forms,
used in different ways to surprise,
dazzle, confuse and outwit the enemy.
Formerly great armies marched and
fought during the day and rested at
night. Now officers and men engaged
in the great trench sieges fight in relays
during the whole twenty-four hours. 1t
IS adaptation of artificial light in many
ingenious ways that has brought this
about, and in the future no nation whose
military and naval commanders have
neglected practise with this new and
formidable weapon can expect to hold
its own in time Of war.
It is a wholly novel idea, fighting in
the hours Of darkness having been
hitherto an occasional incident OF war
fare merely. But it has come to stay,
and our own military authorities fully
realize the importance Of training the
regular army and citizen soldiery in the
principles Of this kind of work In the
field.
Hence the experiments now in prog
ress, under direction Of the Secretary
of War, the object Of which IS to deter
mine what methods may most advan-
tageously be employed for Illuminating
a zone Of battle in the night time. For
night-hghting is not done in the dark.
Multitudes Of searchlights and many
kinds Of frewoTk contriTances are en-
plOyed to furnish an artificial daylight;
and the combatant whose devices of the
sort are markedly superior to those Of
the adversary may gain thereby as i'm
pOrtant an advantage as better artillery
or greater numbers Of men might give
him.
Artificial light, indeed, has become one
Of the most effective instruments of war.
Consider, for example, the case Of a
body Of troops advancing in the dark
ness at the double-quick across a clear
field. It is a surprise attack; the men
are invisible to the foe. But it seems
that warning has been given; for sud
denly hundreds Of searchlights are
turned upon them, with such a binding
blaze that whole brigades are thrown
INTO confusion.
The confusion is even greater than If
1 battery of field artillery had opened
upon their ranks. They are so blinded
5y the sudden and intense glare that
hey lose their sense Of direction: they
10 not know which way to march. II
hey had nothing to do but to sit down
and rest. they would not recover their
sight for several minutes. For the time
being they are helpless.
OF course, they continue to march.
Their one impulse under such 'circum-
stances is to move toward the light, as
a swarm Of insects would do. They
know that behind the light is the enemy,
but an impulse somewhat the same as
that Of the insects seems to actuate
them Being in full view, and their
ranks brilliantly illuminated. while their
adversaries are invisible, they are moved
down wholesale by shrapnel, riie-bullets
and machine-gun fire.
The War Departments experiments
have been conducted for some weeks
past, at night, on the grounds Of the
Arsenal Barracks in Washington. They
have now been transferred to the artil-
lery station at TObyhanna, Pa, and a
few weeks hence they Will be continued
in the neighborhood Of Fort Sam Hous-
ton, on the Texas border, expanded to a
larger and more practical scale
A number Of new inventions are being
tried out, not only searchlights, but vari-
GUS military fireworks designed for
Illuminating purposes. Among the latter