The Sunday Oregonian., September 27, 1914, Page 5, Image 73

.;T11K SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAXD, SEPTEMBER 27, 1914.
AT THE FRONT
Drawn Exclusively for The
uregonian oy Aavier kager
WAR SKETCHES MADE
i
Aa ' '
I
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WAR'S HORRORS REDUCED BY SCIENCE
THE horrors of warfare such as the
hacking and sawing in an over
ixmrXruA ftolri Snin) t 1 thA death
toll from fevers which has been al
most as great &s that from actual fight-,
ing, will not take place in the con
flict now raging in Europe, according
to a Kansas City surgeon who spent
several years in the United States med
ical corps.
The greatest number of fatalities In
the war between the United States and
Spain was from fevers contracted by
the men who were unused to the trop
ical climate of Cuba and the Philip
pine Islands. The English army in
India had more fatalities from fever
than from the bullet and bayonet.
Nearly all the great wars of history
show a large percentage of deaths due
to fevers and climatic conditions.
This will sot be lb case the ret
conflict now waging. German and
-French scientists are perhaps the most
skilled users of serums and antitoxins
of any ln'the worldt Every soldier in
the German army is" vaccinated against
typhoid, which is the Most common
ailment among them. . This is also true
of the armies of the other nations en
gaged in the war. Tests made by the
United States Army Medical Corps
show that fatalities from typhoid nave
almost been eliminated by the use of
"the anti-typhoid serum.
Tetanus serum, which is used, to
combat what is commonly known as
"lockjaw," a condition of poisoning
resulting from wounds of various
kinds, is widely used by army surgeons
of the present day. It is in use daily
by practicing physicians who - treat
men suffering from burns. That this
nrnm yffl h .widely. njHa jo Jhxrea
pean war Is Indicated by the large or
der for serum received recently by a
New York firm from Austria.
v Today, when a soldier is wounded
by a bullet or the bursting of a shell,
he is rushed to the emergency hospi
tal and his wounds dressed. To guard
against the infection which usually
causes death in such cases the wound
ed man is given an- Injection of 'the
tetanus serum. This acts as a com
plete preventive against such infec
tion. Before this serum was discov
ered, a few years ago, the only thing
the field surgeons could do was to
treat the wounds externally and rely
on the patient's condition to combat
the deadly tetanus germs.
The steel-jacketed bullet will be an
additional factor in eliminating the
former horrors of the battlefield. At
A trtmm t a Jm niv .FTniaian coa-s
flict in 1870 soft-nosed lead bullets
were used. A soldier, struck by one
of these bullets, almost invariably
died. In passing through the air the
lead spread out and tore a great hole
as it entered the body. I If- it struck a
bone it exploded,, shattering it and .
causing internal hemorrhages. Un
necessary amputations were 'often'
made as a result- ' ' '
As the medical professions of France,
England, Germany and Russia are In a
highly advanced state and as there is
a generally advanced feeling of com
passion for the injured, it is hardly
probable that the horrors of the Civil
War and the Franco-Prussian war will
be repeated. The efficiency of the
army medical corps will have much to
do with the efficiency of the troops
on the field.
HOW GERMANS ADVANCE
The Philippine Islands produce approxi
mately 10,000.000 gallons of alcohol yearly.
Almost all of this is made from the tap of
the nlpa palm that grows In' great abund
ance ta various swamps eC the eovatry. -
Belgium Correspondence London Times.
THE German commanders in the
north advance their men as if they
had an Inexhaustible supply of
bravery. Of the men it is not necessary
to speak. They advance in deep sec
tions, so slightly extended as to be al
most in close order, with little regard
for cover, rushing forward as soon as
their own artillery opens fire behind
them.
Whether their allies lie in an open
plain or behind a screen of wooded and
hilly 'territory, it is all the same. The
order invariably is "Forward, charger'
Our artillery mows long lanes down
the centers of the sections so frequently
there is nothing left but the outside.
But no sooner is this done than more
men double up, rushing over heaps of
dead, and remake the sections.
last week so great wu (heir suserin
orlty in numbers they could no more be
stopped than the waves of the sea.
Their shrapnel is markedly bad,
though their gunners. are excellent at
finding the range. On the other hand,
their machine guns are of most deadly
efficiency, and are very numerous. Their
rifle shooting is described as not first
class, but the infantry hurls itself at
the allies till frequently they and the
allied troops meet finally in furious
bayonet charges.
Superlolrity of numbers in men and
guns especially in machine guns a
most successfuiy organized system of
scouting in aeroplanes and Zeppelins,
motors carrying machine guns, the cav
alry and extreme mobility are the chief
elements of their present success.
Personally, I have hitherto refused to
credit many stories circulated on the
.Continent regarding; permi viols Man
of the laws of war. I am bound to say
that I have had most circumstantial ac
counts from several British soldiers of
the alleged practice 'of putting women
and children in front of advancing par
ties. In particular I was told that a
rifle brigade suffered from this practice
and had refused to fire for fear of kill
ing women.
On the other hand, one English sol
dier told me that he did not (Note
A sheet of the story is missing. Evi
dently it was relected by the censor.
It continues) believe that Germans
burned villages indiscriminately. This
impression is largely due, he Bald, to
the cavalry practice of setting fire to
a barn or hayrick as soon as they enter
a village. This serves as a signacl to
their friends that they have been
through the village and cleared it of
the enemy.
The Germans have a number of
wounded French and British soldiers,
and I believe that all are receiving the
b-e&t ot Attention .