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Show CHILIAN rlOMuritt. TIlErAULTS IN TllEIII AltllY OIU1AM-D'ATION. OIU1AM-D'ATION. Tho uews that a w hole rerlmrnt and three battalions of Infantry sUtlon-l oearl'lsagui, Chill, have shot their fiftlcers nud gone over lo their In surgeuts Is generally regardel n, is;clally ominous for the Chilian government, who has fewer troops to lose than usually has been su-oted, l.veti ou paiwr the cutlre standing arinyoft'hllf coutalna lait 7IU men anlnl7uniceri. rhew trooH are lu cludnl lu eight battalions or Infantry, one battalion of sappers and miners, three reglmeula of cavalry, two regiments regim-ents of lleld artillery and one battalion ofroa-t artillery. This forco was UUIrllajted at the hreaklug out of the revolution as follows: fol-lows: In tho northern provinces, Tacna, Iqul jul and Aiitofagasta, two lailtAllon,, cue regiment of cavalry and one rcgimeut of artillery; near tho ml Idle ol the country, that Is, bo-twit bo-twit ti Vnliaralso and Hantlago, three lattlallons, two regiments of cavalry .two brigades of artillery and one brlgado of coast nttlllery; to the south three Inl-talloits, Inl-talloits, a battalion of aapjiers and mlberanndone regiment of cavalry. Tlieeirectlvostrenirtli el the Chilian army, liowo,er, falls fir below theta rigunvi. In ISM It wa, ttlnute. at only '. 103 men; since, during the period per-iod betaeeu January lit an 1 Novem-berlst, Novem-berlst, 11M prlvatra In I deaerteil. This rather drsperitu state of nltalrt Is due to several faults of army orgaulx-atlou orgaulx-atlou aa well as to the iivrtltteiit Interference Inter-ference of Influential lltlclans lu thu technical inanat ment of the soldiers. In the first t lore Chill Is the only country In the world that unite a regularvoluutcerservlcewlth an obligatory obli-gatory militia service. All menihera of the regular army receive liberal (ay, after the system prevalent lutho United Unit-ed Ktate-e. Once enlisted, however, tho solJlerl, not held tostrlctly to the duties of the service u with us. Ity thu iiersonal lufluenv, of friends, by petty bribery, and In a hundred other ways, he may secure his release without with-out lucurrlugarrest for desertion. At tho head of the Chilian military organization stands a minister of war. Thla minister Is known among the foreigners In Chill aa the "nomadic official" lu the Chilian cablutt. II Is by no means Infrequent that a Chilian ministry falls five or six months after Ita organization. Often, Indeed, mill latere resign four or five weeks aller having Ucn named for office. Thla flcklsueM of thu head administrator, combined with the division of resjwu-tlblllty resjwu-tlblllty between him and two lnsector gelietals. Is tegarded u one of tho most fruitful causes of the demoralization demoraliza-tion of tho tegular service. Tho drill, moreover, It conducted on tho most antiquated lints. Iho cavalry for Instance, follow thu Hpaulsh regulation regula-tion of 1800. The v. capons of the troops on the other hand, aro modern. The artillery hresKruppgiius, and the lu-lantry lu-lantry Mannllc'hcr rifles. The arsenals and repair shops are under the supervision o( German ofll. curs, rheChlllaii militia haiauonilnal strength of H.oflJ nrlvatta and 2110 ofllcers. Last year, uowever.ouly 10.W onicert and 7.Uoil men could Ui found for duty. All tho rrat had "dlaap teareU," tho tochnlcil expression lu Chill for desertion. A source of weakliest weak-liest of the recruiting aorvjee In Chill Is the law that whoever Serves at a volunteer llreinanhalllexempt from military obligations. Hence It It that Chill haa the largest and most willing forco of -.olunteer firemen of all countries coun-tries In thu world. Desplto all the deficiencies of tho or ganlzallou, and tuewldogapalu every division of (he army, the Chilian army U far from talug as completely Inctll dent as the armies of most of the uolgtiborlngBtalea. riieChlllau soldier haa two Inherent qualities which render ren-der him superior to all other Houth Americans, as welloa tu many Uuro tieans on the battlefield. He hu wonlerful endurance and few nei'ds, With a little water and s lar bites of bread he Is ablo to ireservu his strength throughout forced marches, of which tho l.uropean soldier hardly dreamt. During thn last war with l'eru he showed this quality of endurance endur-ance to a remarkable degree. Considerable Con-siderable boJIea of Chilian lufantry marched frequently thirty nil lee a day, Chilian cavalry, moreover, often coveted, marching day and night, sixty miles ntn stretch, Tho ux lanatlon of this exeertlonat I hytloal energy of (he cavalry Is to be found In tho fact that every Chilian la at home on horn, baok, aud that the horsea have ataylng uwert when on tho gallon (thn only gait the cavalry kuows) which l.uroiieau horses hover attain to. Iho common conclusion, however, that the Chilians aro weak on tin Ir feet I ecauie strong on horseback horse-back Is entirely false. Not only Is the average Chilian horseman utiexceji-tloually utiexceji-tloually rveverlug pedostrlau, I ut often the fastest foot courier In the worll. The regular militia couriers aro frequently able to cover uetweou fifty and slsly nillja a day, and a Chilian private of only slightly oxtrv ordinary running ablllly haa leen known to make, often under n totl of forty ioii mis, forty or forty-five miles a day, Aeui Yuri oo'i. |
