Omaha daily bee., 1916-03-04
The War
and the
Birth Rate
ny WOODS HUTCHINSON, NJ. u.

So far as the war coming TO an end by
exhaustion of men aud cannon-fodder the
prospect is painfully remote and as far
as the raw human material is concerned
the nations OF Europe could continue their
insane slaughter for at least six or eight
years without running short OF men
This may sound incredible. but as a
further straw. Russia calls TO It's colors
every year 10000 youns men Of fighting
age. almost enough TO make good the an
nual losses OF all the nations involved, 90
far.
Just two words explain the paradox OF
this huge total, but small relative fatal
ity-both individual and national-one is
conscriptlon. turning every young.
healthy male into soldier and putting
millions in the field where only tens OF
thousands ever marched before: the other
is medicine
In the present war only between and
3 per cent Of the wounded die. In the
Russo-Japanese war about per cent
died, in the Spanish American about IN
per cent In the Franco Prussian IS. in
the Crimean 25 and in the Napoleonic
wars over 30 per cent OF the wounded
died, not Of the wounds, but OF septic
fever. hospital gsngrene and lsckjaw.
But the hugest reduction from deadll-
ness has come from medicine and not
from surgery, unexpected as this may
seem.
OF those who fell i'm the civil war, for
every one who lost his life in battle five
died of disease.
In the present horror the proportions
have been a little more than reversed
| FOR every one that dies of disease seven
die in battle.
The war game has been made just
plain, straight killing, and little else
If you are not killed outright, and the
chances Of that are little greater than
they were before. the chances are thirty
to one in favor OF your recovery.
| From four-fifths TO nine-tenths OF the
| real risks OF war were not bullets, but
bugs, and we have pretty nearly wiped
| the latter off the earth, so far as the
soldier is concerned. When we do as
we'll by our civil population in times of
peace the health millennium will come.
Such increase IN fatality. amounting
to perhaps SO to 30 per cent. as appears
upon the surface of the returns of the
present war. is probably chiefly due to
another factor which has nothing what
ever to do with increased killing power,
and that is. the frequency of the battles
and the practical incessantness OF the
4 fighting
This depends upon the enormous i'm
provement in the commissariat and sup
i ply department, due to modern methods
and facilities. such az railroads. perma-
nent and temporary; motor car, tele-
graph and telephones.
This makes possible a constant and
unfailing supply of food, equipments
J clothing and ammunition: a prompt
clearing out and carrying away OF the
wounded to base and rear hospitals and
OF immediate substitution in their place
OF fresh cannon-food.
| Moreover. the most important and
deadly part of the fighting has been con-
Quoted for the last thirteen months in
one place. a long and narrow strip only
about fifteen miles wide. in highly civ
ilized country, with abundance of perfect
TOduS anu WIN edCn sue ndNlng n OOHen
first-class railroads connecting It by very
short haul with its base of supplies. so
that ammunition and reinforcements can
be poured in and empty shells and waste
human material hauled out as promptly
and regularly as IL supplying a factors
with raw material and bringing back the
finished product
There have been actually more battles
fought in the seventeen months OF this
war than ever were fought in any seven
teen years before.
The joking remark OF an English off
Ger that their army had been fighting
five Waterloos a week. was not 30 far
from the truth as It might sound.
Taking all these things into considera-
ton. modern warfare. like ancient war
fare, is still about the stupidest clum-
siest, most inefficient way of killing mer
that has ever yet been invented, and in
spite of the enormous expense the wal
god has to work harder today to kill one
man than no ever did in all history
bsfore.