Show THE CZARS GREAT ARMY it 11 Is one of the great civilizing forces of the muscovite empire tho czar Is in favor of universal peace but he has the largest army of the world he has more officer 3 than we have officers and men in our regular army and even in these piping times of peace his troops exceed 1000 writes frank G carpenter should war be declared ho could increase them to and could put into the tile field of the best horses in the world for the past thirty years military service has been obligatory upon all russians Russ fam every boy on becoming of ago Is liable to service and there are new recruits every year of these are taken into the active army and fleet and of the rest the majority go into the militia they serve oft off and on until they are 43 year years old and are always ready to be called out in case of i ar it takes a vast number of troops to keep this great empire in order during the chinese war men were sent into siberia and a great wall of fortifications has to be kept up along the western frontier to guard against invasion from europe the front frontlet lei guard now amounts to men and in addition vast numbers havo have to be st wv A cossack officer scattered throughout the various states and the russian territories in asia the cossacks are dark faced rough lo looking oldrig felloes fellows from about the black sea there are about of them all told and ard they furnish men for tho the a y they are sent out by the varl varin ks e cossack states each of which equips clothes and arms its own soldiers they belong mostly to the cavalry and are among the finest horsemen of the world indeed it is eald said that the average Cossa cossack cit can ride bareback standing up like tho the athlete of the circus the Ruid army Is ono one of the great civilizing forces of at this country the pr peasants arants aro are very ignorant ana ano there aro are but few schools those dratted drafted into the army are taught t to 0 read end ond write and they aro are sent back home with now ideas got through their service in different parts of the russian world indeed the change Is PO flo marked that a man who has bad mil tary service can command 25 per ce CO higher wages in almost an pursuit than those who nave not served utica globe |