Bisbee daily review., 1915-09-12
INDUSTRY AND ITS
RELATION TO WAR
VIEWED BY HUMBERT
United States Senator Charles
Humbert Writes for ASsOCiat-
ed Press Comprehensive An
aBtiCal Article.

of the Senate Committee on Military
Affairs, has written for the Associated
Press the subjoined article on the re-
lation of industry to the war. Senator
Humbert has been conducting the
successful campaign for the high
/ pressure production by the whole in
dustrial resources of France of the
shells and guns which he and his col
I leagues consider essential to victory
He is the new proprietor OF lie Jour
nal with a circulation of about one
million. Senator Humbert writes
"The important part played by in
dustry in the present war is due, not
only to the power and the perfection
of firearms, but even more To the i'm
mense number Of men in line. These
millions of combatants would be moth
ing more than a mob predestined to
massacre without the tools of com
bat which must necessarily be sun
] piled and renewed, and which. for
their manufacture in sufficient guam
titles, require the mobilization of
numerous factories provided with the
means Of turning out the most modern
instruments Of war.
/ Long before the war it could be
seen what character the hostilities
would take on. Personally, | predict
ed it, The Germans, especially, were
very well aware of it, and it is only
necessary to think for a moment Of
the formidable preparations they had
made to realize that they could put
at the service Of their warlike inten-
/ lions a military machinery ready to
/ its last detail The work they have
done of recent years to renew their
artillery and to supply their armies
with heavy, long-range guns suffi-
GENTLY wieldy to be able to follow
the movements of their troops was
most significant 1 regret very deep
iy that my own country, in spite Of
oft repeated warnings, did not follow
their example And yet it ought to
nave been pretty evident that in this
century of scientific progress. Of ma
chinery to the limit, supplies would
play in war part as Important as
they play in the economic life of ey-
cry day.
But the actual experience Of war
mas gone far beyond any foresight for
it. The destructive power of the FIRE
larms-rihes, machine guns. rapid fire
guns of all calibres-has been so re-
vealed on the field Of battle that the
lcombatants have had to renounce com
| letely the system of manoeuvering
open country Every troop when
ttempts to advance i'm the open a.
ainst a well-armed enemy awaiting
he attack, is doomed fatally to dis
ster, I'm an instant the fire of ma
chine guns mows down the ranks like
blade of steel moving down grain:
and the volleys of artillery methodi-
cally annihilates them, letting moth
ng escape.
THAT is the reason for the uecessi-
! ~ for seeking protection against these
forms Of steel and explosives; it As
he reason for the enormous develop
nent Of field Notifications, trenches.
underground chambers, redoubts, con
cealed shelters and so on. The old
lortihcations Of other times, fixed,
landing out, marked i'm advance for
he fire Of the enemy's artillery, can
rot hold out against the projectiles
If giant cannon. But the plain ditch,
icarcely a yard or two wide, easily
dug, completed with invisible arrange
ments the approach to which is made
mpracticable by means OF barbed
1 trfr
IN obstacle almost impossible to be
taken. Infantry, hoping to take it at
charge, will leave before such an
obstacle every man. though they be
innumerable- one machine gun
give it time and sufficient to feed IT,
viii NOV down a thousand men as
b EASILY as a hundred, and ten thou.
2 sand, If necessary as easily as a
thousand.
But, on the other hand, this thread
e ike obstacle, dug in the ground. fur
q nishes only "a very reduced target for
! artillery FIRE To hit it, it is not e.
nough simply to spend projectiles-
J. they have got to be wasted to demol
sh the terrain under a yeritable he'll
of devastating explosives, under del
uge Of shrapnel
e THAT is why the consumption oil
D. munitions, and especially artillery mu
lnitions, has exceeded anything thai
was ever conceived in time of peace
IS And the further it goes, as the forti
locations of the battle fields daily be
~ come more complete and more diff
suit TO reach, the use Of projectile,
st must be more widely forseen.
{, Moreover, this intensive firing it
M self wears out the guns, made only t.
fire some thousands Of rounds. ant
~ there is therefore the necessity of re
N placing them increasingly. From thi
.e it is easy to see the enormous eifor
/ which must be required Of the factor
= les to keep on supplying guns and am
IL munition The group of belligerent
X who will win this war is that which
thanks to its industry will have been
able to pust the production of fire
arms proiectiles and explosives q
Is the highest point and maintain
there
Il have heard that a German office