LIFE RISKS IN THE GREAT WAR BY F. A: COLLINS No problem of the war has perhaps so vital an interest as the probable death rate among our soldiers at the front. In every home which may display a service flag the chances of fatality from every cause are questions of anxious interest. The current information is extremely contradictory, and leaves the average mind hopelessly confused. It has been urged by some enthusiasts that the danger of service is scarcely greater than that in ordinary life, while, on the other hand, a recent cable despatch stated that a French regiment had been completely annihilated twenty-one times. The most reliable sources of information to-day are doubtless the insurance companies. Before risking millions of dollars the insurance companies naturally make every possible effort to obtain definite figures. As a basis for estimate and comparison the records of previous wars prove invaluable. In the following table the ratio is given per thousand: War. Battle Disease Death Rate. Death Rate. The lowest death rate in battle, it will be seen, is .4, and the highest 12 per cent. It is very significant that the death rate from disease has greatly decreased in the past century. In no war, it is safe to say, have sanitary conditions and medical attention been so carefully looked to as in the present. The increased deadliness of modern weapons is largely counterbalanced by the improvement in the attention received by the wounded. One of the most reassuring tables summarizes the losses of the entire French army from the beginning of the war as follows: The loss includes all men killed, missing, and taken prisoners. Since there are supposed to be about 5,000,000 men in the various prison camps who will be safely returned in time, even this percentage will eventually be reduced. A comparison with the death rate of other wars shows that the risk in the present conflict is not excessive. Another interesting feature of this table is the rapid decrease in the death rate year by year. In 1916 the rate is little more than one-half that of 1915. This is attributed to the fact that the men learn to protect themselves. The only figures available as to the loss in the British army apply to the first year of the war, and are comparatively high. In a series of engagements the loss varied widely from 3 to 13.3 per cent, the average for the first year being 11.9. The death rate among British officers in the first year of the war is also reported to be high. In Her One Deformity the cavalry the loss for the first year was 11.4 and for all services 11.9. The famous Canadian regiment, the "Princess Pat," is believed to have suffered more severely than other regiments. The loss in this case was 12.2 per cent of officers, 9.1 per cent in the ranks, or an average of 9.2 per cent loss for the entire regiment. These British figures date from the early part of the war, and doubtless, as in the case of the French army, have been materially reduced. While it is impossible at the present stage of the war to fix an exact figure for the death rate, a fairly accurate approximate may be made. Some months ago insurance experts who had studied the problem decided that profitable insurance business might be done by assuming the death rate for the entire service at 7.5 per cent. The figure is considered high. Some statisticians place the rate at from 5 to 5.5 per cent. This rate applies to American soldiers in the first year of the war, and takes into consideration the risk of transporting them across the Atlantic in the face of the U-boat danger. It is entirely reasonable to suppose that the rate will steadily decrease among the American (920) troops, as in the French army, as they gain experience. The conclusion would appear to be that the development of more deadly weapons in the present war has been largely balanced by the improvement in medical attention, and that the death rate is lower than in other wars of the past century. FROM AN AMERICAN Our readers will be interested in the following extract from a personal letter sent to The Outlook by Lieutenant McKaine, the colored officer of a colored regiment and author of an article on "The Buffaloes" in The Outlook for May 22: "I fully realize the great service you have rendered, not only the regiment as such but the race, in placing before your readers an exposition of the accomplishments and promises of a colored regiment. We shall attempt partially to discharge this obligation by helping America to maintain her great military traditions when she casts her gauntlet into the fray of right against wrong." That is the spirit that earns victory. Can Save You Can Our Czechoslovak Allies.... The Bulgarian Cabinet. Medical Men in War Time... The Rendezvous of Good The earth is being torn by Armageddon, the great conflict between the positive forces of good and the negative forces of evil. It is not necessary for the moment for all progressive world cit izens to agree in detail upon all subjects, in order to work together for the establishment of righteousness on earth. The fields of grain must first be saved from the destroyer before there can be need of final winnowing of the grain. In the crucial hour the world is coming to recognize the uplifted standard of THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, international daily newspaper. The Monitor is standing firmly with democracy against autocracy, with abstinence and sobriety against license and insobriety, with the cause of equality for the sexes against the forces which seek to perpetuate the disfranchisement of woman and with the cause of medical and religious freedom against the reactionary elements of organized medicine and proscriptive religion. 372 372 373 373 378 378 379 The Christian Science Monitor, 3c a copy, is on general sale throughout the world at news stands, hotels and Christian Science readingrooms. A monthly trial subscription by mail anywhere in the world for 75c, a sample copy on request. THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE U. S. A. SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES MASSACHUSETTS SHORT-STORY WRITING A course of forty lessons in the history, form, structure, and writing of the Short-Story taught by Dr. J. Berg Esenwein, for years Editor of Lippincott's. 150-page catalogue free. Please address THE HOME CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL Springfield, Mass. Dr. Esenwein Dept. 68 Declare War on Turkey. The Russian Revolution. A Review by George Kennan The Shipyards of the Great Lakes...... 381 By the Hon. Crawford Vaughan The Strong Young Eagles (Poem)...... 383 By Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES NEW YORK St. John's Riverside Hospital Training School for Nurses YONKERS, NEW YORK Registered in New York State, offers a 3 years' coun general training to refined, educated women. Requs ments one year high school or its equivalent. Apply t Directress of Nurses, Yonkers, New York. NEW YORK CITY The Carson C. Peck Memorial Hospital New, thoroughly modern and excellently equipped, offen a two year and three months condensed course of training to young women desirous of becoming registered nurses Ideal location, in the highest part of Brooklyn. Pleas ing conditions. Highest professional standards. Classes 15th, September 10th. For further information address M A. 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Mg The "Babe " was a sickly, immaturelooking youngster who vowed he was eighteen and who looked to be sixteen. He was slouchy and had a poor complexion, and had a queer way of slinking about as though he feared to get in any one's way. He seemed horribly afraid that he might offend some one and was sometimes almost too obsequious in his willingness to run errands. To the sergeant he was abject. He seemed, in brief, a physical if not a moral and mental weakling, and the men often wondered how he ever got in. "Walked in backward," quoth the sergeant, who specialized in well-worn wit," and the guard thought he was coming out." Of course they all picked on him. You find some youngsters of eighteen, blessed with lots of "pep and good spirits, in whom the men often take an almost comical interest and who get many a helping hand. But no one could like this fellow. He had too many of the obvious characteristics of a worm. They all picked on him, therefore, but no one thought of hitting him. It would have been cruelty to children. In every company there is a man named or nicknamed "Buck." The "Buck" in Babe's company was a rather short, husky, overbearing man of twenty, and the Babe was his pet aversion. The dislike was mutual. One day in blew Buck with two pairs of boxing-gloves, and announced that he and the Babe were to give an exhibition. This announcement was greeted with roars of laughter. You wouldn't have laughed unless you had actually seen the Babe, but the mere idea of Babe and boxing-gloves was ludicrous. Babe slunk back into his corner and his sagging jaw sagged a little more. "Nothin' doin'," was his muttered comment. But they would hear of no backing out. Not a soul would have dreamed of hitting that poor wretch with a fist; but Children's and at McCutcheon's Reg. Trade-Mark Dainty and cool" describes accurately our Summer Garments for the Children. The bulk of our stock is composed of simple and sturdy clothing for every-day wear, but we also have a wide range of more elaborate goods for dress-up occasions. Infants' Hand-made Dresses short and long, 6 months to 2 years, $1.50, 2.25, 2.75 to 35.00. Colored Wash Dresses-2 to 12 years. In a large variety of styles. and materials, including Ginghams, Lawn, Dimities, Imported Cham bray, and Organdie, $2.50 to 16.50. Rompers for the warm days, made of White Dimity, smocked and colors, 1 to 4 years, $1.75 to 3.25. Spring Coats and Hats-all at greatly reduced prices. Bloomer Dress of Pink and Blue Gingham. Sizes 2 to 6 years, $2.50. We carry the Dix-make Nurses' and Maids' Dresses. A large variety of Aprons from 75c up. Orders by mail given special attention. James McCutcheon & Co. Fifth Avenue, 34th & 33d Sts., N. Y. boxing-gloves were different. Anyway, one had to do something in a mere enlistment camp or go crazy. So they cleared a space, dragged forth the unwilling Babe, tied the gloves to his lax hands, and stood him up before Buck, who, with much bragging, was making it obvious how pleased he was with himself. The contrast was so absurd between the two that for a while the boxing could not begin, for men lay right flat on their backs on their cots and howled. The Babe looked horribly uncomfortable and self conscious. Finally the sergeant, between gasps, said, "Go to it." Buck sailed joyfully into the combat. There was a sudden whirlwind of blows, a dancing mixture of bodies, arms, legs, and heads, out of which shot Buck as though flung from a catapult. He went right over a cot and lay there quite a spell, face down, while the Babe, with his usual worried look and sagging jaw, got off his gloves and abjectly, as usual, slunk back to his corner. The onlookers were paralyzed into dumb and motionless silence. Buck had been licked to a frazzle in just about a minute. When the significance of the performance was realized, some shouted with laughter, others got hold of the Babe and slapped him on the back-which seemed to embarrass him hugely while still others helped the staggering Buck wash up. And so we have here displayed the fickleness of mankind as well as the deceptiveness of his looks. The worm proved to be anything but a worm, which goes to show how little appearances will tell sometimes. He was really as strong as a bear. His attitude had no relation to his character-contrary to the usual. And now, of course, he was immensely popular. The men fed him from their personal stores of goodies, they lightened his burdens for him as much as he would let them when he had some nasty policing "-which is army for "cleaning"-job to do. 66 All of which goes to show, of course, that you can't "always sometimes generally tell," as the sergeant put it-and it is a mighty good thing you can't. ** |