A recent innovation is the supplying of the infantry—for that matter of the cavalry also—with so-called machine guns. They are the Gatling guns of our own country, and every German infantry regiment now—since the army reform of 1913—has a machine-gun company. It consists of ninety men and forty horses, with six guns and three ammunition wagons. As the newest guns can fire at the rate of six hundred shots a minute, and as there are more than two hundred infantry regiments, not to speak of the cavalry and artillery, which also have their companies of “Gatlings,” one can gain some impression of the deadliness of modern campaigning. Many of the quick-firing guns now are supplied with stands on pivots so that they can be pointed in the air against balloons and aeroplanes. But their chief use will be in guarding bridges and narrow passes. Their bullets carry for two miles, but they can be silenced by heavy artillery far beyond this range, nor can they carry enough ammunition for long-continued use. Altogether, however, a comparison of their fire with the simple flames of the traditional hell makes the latter place seem a mere pleasure-resort. The training of a soldier has of late years become more and more humane and rational, and is no longer confined to manning guns, shooting rifles and performing long marches. Those Germans with whom I have spoken on the subject look back to their term of service with pleasure, and my general conviction is that the army in time of peace is the most perfect educational institution in existence. With school learning every boy when he comes to “serve” is more or less equipped. What he learns is _esprit de corps_, manly bearing, endurance and the feeling that his tasks must be quickly and faultlessly performed—in other words, regularity and discipline. The mere change of surroundings and interests is a benefit, and the outlook on the world is immeasurably broadened. The old argument against compulsory military training—that, namely, young men in their best years are withdrawn from productive work, does not amount to much in an age where the general complaint is of overcrowdedness in almost every calling and profession. The German boy does his work all the better for his military training and the nation has thoroughly adjusted itself to the falling out of these two years. There are dispensations for cases where the boy’s presence at home is a vital matter for the support of others, and, as a rule, a place that he filled before is kept open for him against his return. [Illustration: War Dogs Used as Messengers] [Illustration: Covered Field Artillery] [Illustration: A Howitzer Battery Crossing a Pontoon Bridge]