The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-11-19

 military writer who is said to have foreseen more accurately than anyone else the nature of the war just ended, evidently correcting the proofs of book when the news reached him of the first atom dropped Hiroshima last August 5. Accordingly General Fuller appended long note about this new weapon to his Armaments and History which has just been published by Messrs. Charles Scribners Sons General Fullers opinions do not, as rule lean very heavily to the side of optimism but regards the atomic bomb he is less apocalyptic than most of us General Fuller thinks that the atomic bomb has for the first time being raised the airplane to the rank of what he calls "a master weapon-that IS, a weapon which monopolizes fighting power" Other historical examples of master weapon" have been Greek fire the cannon the ironclad ship and the rifle. However, the appearance of master weapon invariably sets in operation the principle that Gen. era Fuller calls the constant tactical factor Any improvement in weapons necessarily diminshes the danger to one side by increasing the danger to the other side. Therefore every improvement in weapons has eventually been met by counterimprovement which renders the improvement obsolete"
 For the very good reason that this principle has always been valid in the past General Fuller expects that it will be equally valid in the of the atomic bomb Indeed, he thinks he foresees exactly how his constant tactical factor may work in the of the bombs If, he argues fit is possible destroy every structural and living thing resting on plane surface of square miles, it is equally possible destroy every flying thing in cubic space of l6 square miles. This means that if the atomic bomb is used air depth charge, all aircraft in these spaces will be destroyed"
 This would apply also in of atomic bombs that might be sent as rockets instead of in man. piloted planes though the speed of the rockets would be infinitely greater than that of any plane With the aid of radio locaors, the general thinks, means should be found to point the positions of the atomic rockets in space and to destroy them with atomic counerrocketS. If this is, indeed, to be the trend of the further development of atomic weapons
  operations in the future will be fought in the even in pure space, by manless machines battling at attitudes beyond the range of sound and destroying each other without fear pain
 This sounds, offhand, like almost ideal form of warfare. The catch in it. however is apparently that somebody may find way to use atomic rockets instead of vertically, that is, ground instead of an air projecte How to apply the constant tactical factor" against horizontally pro- peed atom rocket to stump General Fuller for the moment However he is confident that sooner or later somebody will fir. how to do it.
 General Fuller has good deal to say about prime movers,' meaning the forces or materials which from age to age have determined the character of weapons and tactics and hence of politics and history. As examples of prime movers he mentions horses, gum powder steam power and oil. Each change of prime movers, like each change of weapons has brought new nation, class, to ascendancy. Thus the nine teenth century Pax Britannica which made pos Sibe by steam power ended perforce with the age of steam. In the concluding chapter of his book Gen. eral Fuller seems to envisage strong possibility of war between the Soviet Union and the United States to determine which is to have mastery in the age of oil He who has the petrol has the empire Therefore, until prime mover is discovered oil will decide whetfer the Pax Sovietica or the Pax Americana for another brief space of time to give peace to the world
 The great question: then, is whether atomic energy is to be the new prime mover" If it is, then all calculations as to the form that will take in the future must be left to the imaginaton; for if it should to trouble this earth it may be transferred by of m-propelled rocket ships to other worlds We leave the reader to gasp with