| Show CHINESE AS MODERN SOLDIERS having succeeded in making good soldiers sold lers of the land and of india the fell fellaheen abeen of the nile aind the negroes oft he west indiee and dhe dape cape great britain la is going fl to try her educational system the chinese A battalion of 1000 natives Tia tives of shantung are soon to be enrolled under british officers at wel wei hal hai wel in the length and br broadeth brea eadeth idith of china there could be TIO no more unpromising material mat erlat for the wel hel hal wel wei chinese Chin ieee are the ones ernes that led the flinching before the invading Jap Japan aniese leee in toe he winter of 1894 95 so go if the british officers ficera of succeed with them they may safely count upon the soldier luy qua lydes of the race that such qualities extejt wae VMS lomg ago asserted by gesetha oe benal geordon and was vms even recognized by baoan ini in the late larte war gordons go ealr victorious army wa as abe corps oo aps with which ile he the tat tai ping Tel rebell elltOn tom was called ponita iced men of indubitable courage and zeal so indeed did the hordes of ta wl i ping in the contest with japan the chinese in the ftc north held hedd their 0 own gallantly keeping from capture by mariba ya magatas army white admiral tings sailors made a drawn battle bart tle of the yalu balu foreign observers who saw them at their best in 1894 96 as well as during the ithe tat tai ping war concluded an aa mr maichell machell of the british army recently put it that they are doit at vai all a coraa cowardly adly people when properly paid and efficiently led while the regularity sod aud order of their habka which them thelm to peace in ordinary times give place to a daring bordering upon recklessness in time of war their gence and aind capacity for remembering facts make them well fitted for use in modern warf war fiare areas as do also the coolness and calmness of their deposition physically they are not to so strong sue as europeans but considerably more so BO than most moot of the other races of the east bast and oni on a cheap diet of rice vegetables salt fish and pork they cam caa go through a vast amount of fatigue whether in a temperate climate tor or 6 tropical one where europeans Euro pennis are ill for exert exertion lon their wants are am few they have no DD caste prejudices and hardly amy appet appetite tte tor for liquors what prevented the chinese from doing well at port arthur tallen wan and wei hal hai wet wei are matters foreign organization and discipline would remove in the first place the chinese government has never considered honesty or fitness as a sine qua non in the appointment of commanding officers A thief who had done well on the highway might be made a governor so that he could steal on a larger scale under a contract to divide with peking later he might be made an admiral to rob the navy and then transferred to a military command to apply his processes to the army all his official subordinates would be thieves like himself and between them the underlings would get no pay and scant rations soldiers and sailors will wih not risk their lives under men of that kind and men of that kind knowing and caring nothing about the mili military tary art dan neither drill nor lead theta them but chinese soldiers and sailors well dressed well fed and well paid and with confidence irr in the professional knowledge of their officers and in their personal honesty might do wonders we all know the difference in efficiency between the militia and regulars of the american army and how quickly the one flunks at aa what the other would carry with a dash yet the militiaman transferred to the ranks of the regular army grows to be a hero it is likely to be the same way with the chinese upon that assumption it becomes of first importance to europe not to let the great mogul empire fall into the hands of any one power europe has had experience with the tartar hordes of genghis khan it does not want an other give china to russia and in a decade or two the latter power might have the most formidable army arany in the world one capable of conquering india on the one hand and western europe on the other russia said a recent british lecturer in hongtong Hong kong to Is a aa regards china too much with us late and soon Is the great empire to find in china the drilled and armed millions with which to crush those daring spirits whose teachings Is even now molesting her despotic peace it if that is her aim germany and en england gland cannot move too soon toward organizing organ laring their own chinese leilous to hold the native warriors in check san francisco chronicle JA |
