64 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



time in the long record of man's inhuman struggle with his fellow man, 

 has become vitally essential. 



To carry out the figure, the modern Scipio, viewing from a height 

 in America the great war now waging in Europe (at present localized 

 along the lines of the Aisne and Vistula) must be "expert" in a multi- 

 tude of branches of knowledge, if he wishes to know accurately, either 

 for his own satisfaction, or the worthier object of conveying information 

 to others, with a view possibly to mitigating some existing horrors, or to 

 avert needless calamities. Such an observer must possess a fairly com- 

 plete theoretical knowledge of the science and art of war. He must be 

 informed as to topographic conditions, not only at the immediate scene 

 of combat, but in all directions wherever new lines of offense or defense 

 could be established. He must know thoroughly conditions of transpor- 

 tation, provisioning, armaments, offensive and defensive, powers, 

 ranges, etc., of ordnance and small arms of combatants, and not only 

 available present supplies, but resources, near and remote, of every pos- 

 sible kind. And his knowledge must take into account in this day of 

 novelty everywhere of sea-forces and air-forces, an approximation at 

 least to familiarity with all recent devices of mines, torpedoes, sub- 

 marines, etc., and a sufficient working knowledge of all varieties of war- 

 craft and scout-craft of the air. 



But besides all these informing utensils of elementary " militarism,"' 

 the onlooker must have an intimate acquaintance with the general trend 

 of history, not only of warfare, but of social, financial and political con- 

 ditions, and besides he must be able to pick out unerringly the true 

 meaning of those past events (like points on an orbit to the astronomer) 

 which have gone to the influencing of those of to-day. But above all 

 else this onlooker's acquaintance with the basic actuating and initiating 

 function (commonly called "common sense") of human nature must 

 be impregnable. This is in fact the chief ingredient in the puddler's 

 flux, which (while individual actions elude all attempts at prophecy) 

 give value to reasoning, and may be safely reckoned upon to provide 

 trustworthy data for foreknowledge. 



Viewing then the vast field of conflict now raging in Europe it is 

 evident that bases for ascertaining the inevitable final resultant must 

 be sought — not in any temporary incidents or conditions, nor from 

 segmental logic, however well founded, but upon the data practically 

 axiomatic — components equivalent in force and value to those of 

 Euclid. 



The inventor and constructor of a machine, which he is confident is 

 entirely capable of performing its work — gratifying the vanity of the 

 projector, adding to or making his fortune — is always restless, uneasy 

 and dissatisfied until he has tested that machine in action. 



This axiom of human nature applies to any machine whatever, es- 



