Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-09-08
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4 The public mind has been unneces-
sarily affrighted by the news OF fear
full slaughter at Verdun, on the Somme
and at the Marne. 1t jumped to the
conclusion that enlistment in the army
means hardships unimaginable and al
most certainty OF wounds or death. we
have not stopped TO consider perhaps
that those reports while true enough
include only a small part of the en-
battled millions; that they are Incl
dents in the great war, not the daily
oc currences that we are more or less
! Historically prone to imagine, Also mat
the slaughter OF allied troops TOOK
| place before the green soldiers had
Learned the first lessons OF trench
fighting, when German artillery and
machine gun equipment were vastly
superior TO that OF the allies and when
officers unlsarned in the new warfare
| led men into the face of deadly fire
to the destruction OF themselves and
the men who followed them. AS the
war goes on the proportion of losses
aud casualties will diminish. And from
the beginning of the war the losses in
killed have been perhaps less than
those inShe civil war. They will be
.essened more and more as the war
goes on and men and commanders
learn the art of inflicting damage
with a minimum Of exposure The Old
Gays of at:a.E in mass are gone. The
hurrah and glory Of war rs over. It
has come TO a question of digging deep,
showing no mark for the enemy and OF
hand TO hand fighting only when con-
ditions force it
Most of the young men from fami-
Lies of reasonable and larger incomes
are being fed better than they were
a, home in the essentials of feeding
and as we'll in most OF the Injuries of
the table. Their letters prove that.
The menu at the barracks and the
training camps would put many first
class hotels TO shame. The prepare
ton of the food Is excellent. The
boys work hard and enjoy their food.
Their clothing is both sufficient and
comfortable. Their beds are good
enough for anybody. So the boys say
who have been IN the service for the
past few months And the same story
comes from our continenta! camps and
forts and from the outlying Islands
that guard the keys 10 our coasts. The
pictures OF those who have been
few months IN the srvice show clean
cut and powerful physical improve
men:.
Danger in its way exists everywhere.
Take for instance a LAD now MEM
Der Of a gun crew in the coast artillery
corps: He IS IN danger every time
The gun is fired Something may go
wrong with the breech mechanism,
misfire may hang long enough for
the breech to De opened and the ex-
plosion destroy the men no work the
gun. many things may happen-but
please notice that defective shell or
an accident with gun is very in
frequent occurrence and brings wide
publity--as in recent instance. Sucnt
accidents are very unusual. And that
same lad working in a Marshalitown
ma line shop came within an inch and
an instant Of losing hs hand a few
months soLand was lncapacitated for
weeks with a painful wound. The dan
ger in military training Is less than
the dangers Of peace. We get accus-
toned TO the list OF accidents that
crowd the news columns: we are not
hardened TO wounds and death in war
and the preparation for war. So We
magnify the latter dangers while we
minimize those Of peace
In actual battle the danger OF
wounds and death increases greatly OF
course: hut this idea tina, regiments
are wiped out and that few return
| where thousand go over the top is
\ wrong enc baseG on remarkable and
extraordinary instances like that of the
PRINCESS Patricia regiment Of Ganad-
| ians and certain regiments that found
| themselves the key Of position and
stayed to hold it with fine disregard
of consequences to themselves. There
come times now and then when men
choose to die rather than yield or re-
tire So among engine drivers 81 pas
senger trains come occasional oppor-
tunities of extreme sacrifice and they
stay to set brakes and reverse power
and are found under their engines
with hand on throttle-but those in :
stances are Incidents They are no,
daily occurrences. Neither do desper-
ate struggles come every day to the
soldier. Such instances do occur
There are notable instances in the
civil war of regiments that lost des-
perately; but they are instances ant
notable hecause they are extraordtnar ~
and out Of common.
return. If they were going on voyage
Iiof travel not all of them would return
Death is busy in the world always But
the hystcrical thought that our sons