The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-09-01
PRUSSIA.
The Secret or Her strength.

tho German war n careful observer of
events would mt once conclude that the
military strength OF Prussia must de-
pend upon a secret: What Is this coun-
try which has just crushed IL strong
confederacy with one arm and smitten
down II powerful monarchy with the
other? tits n country with pOpuln-
ti0n OF 1880, 900, or less than the pOpu-
lntiOn of England and Wales alone. 1t
has n revenue OF ie2O, 600, 900, or less than
One-third of our own revenue. Out of
these resources it maintained an army
on a peace footing of two hundred
and ten thousand men-ns nearly the
number of our own regular forces as
possible. Thus far, then, We SEQ that
tho military establishments OF Prussia
were not larger than ours, though they
were fur cheaper; and we may even pro-
coed further i'll these calculations and
comparisons without finding any mate
rial contrasts on the surface of the
figures. Every reader knows that PruS-
sin had an enormous force in reserve,
but perhaps every reader does not know
that the reserves of our own army are
at least as large. The Prussian army,
on u war footing, was reckOned at 609,-
600 men, while there was still available
i'll tho last resort about 100000 more.
These 100000 troops constitute, it must
bo owned, most formidable array; but
we find in an official publication issued
from the statistical Department of the
War Office that the war establishment
of our own army amounts to no less
than T69,6S0 men; so TINT in regular
forces and reserves together we have
the advantage even of that Power which
has just astOunded Europe by the mag
nttude of its HrmHments. But would
our armaments prove ns effective? We
leave that question without reply; but
il it is to be answered III the negative,
as nobody would consider n British
army inferior to II Prnssian army, SOL
dier for soldier, 1t follows at once that
the difference between the two estnb-
lishments must consist in the quality
of the reserves. Here, indeed, lies the
true secret of PruSsia'S military
strength, and secret in it's origin It
really was, though it has been employ
ed so long, and with such notorious
success, that it ought to be neither II
mystery or monopoly any longer.
"SiXtY years since, after the battle of
Jena, Napoleon imposed on tho defent-
ed Prussians the obligation of limiting
their military establishments to
strength of $4,000 men. 1t was impos-
sille to contradict the Emperor, and
not easy, rs might be thought, to de-
cCive him, but the device was accom-
plished by SchRrnhorst, the War Min
the decree of Napoleon, but laid the
foundations of that military strength
which has just been displayed in II ca
reer of unexNmpled triumph. Schnrn-
horst did restrict the actual or visible
army of Prussia to the specified num-
bers, but he kept this army in state
Ofperpetual change. Its constitution
months together, but reSembled the
waters of Il lake which receives river
mt one end and discharges it mt the
other. As soon as recruit was thor
oughly drilled and had Eecome an ef-
tcctive soldier, he was dismissed to his
home, and a fresh recruit was received
i'll his place, to be again disciplined and
again dismissed. The result of this
system was that the standing army be-
chme but specimen corps of u nation
Ofsoldiers. For every soldier in the
ranks there were five ns good as he in
the body of the people, all ready mt the
first call of the trumpet to re-enter the
line of the army. When, therefore,
seven years after her great defeat, Prus.
Sin once moro rose, force of two hun
dred thousand men, admirably discip-
lined, appeared in the place of an army
which Napoleon believed he had cut
down to fifth of that number. The
Prussians were not ungrateful to their
benetactor. To this day the statue of
Schnrnhorst in white marble stands by
the side of the great guard house in the
great thoroughfare of Berlin-u record
of military sagacity, as we'll rs nation
nj fame.
"Tho secret, then, of the Prussian
strength consists i'll this, that the re-
serve force is practically as good as the
force in the field. The regular army
merely represents portion of the en-
tire army on duty for the time. The
reserves are simply troops not on duty,
but just nS competent for duty if their
services should be required. BY this
II q n ~ mi mo
We have already seen that, as far as
numbers go, they are not inferior to the
PruSSian reserves, and though some
abatement must be made on this score
for the foreign and colored troops in
cludCd in the Imperial muster rolls, tho
figures will still be satisfactory. In
British militia, British volunteers,
British yeomanry and British reserves
generally, we have q force OF between
three hundred thousand and four hun
dred thousand men actually within
the limits of these isles. There is GER
tninly, mt first sight, no reason why
this force should not be made as effect
i've as tho Landwehr or Landsturm of
Prussia. A Prussian soldier is made
by service of five years, commencing
at the nge of twenty-One. But of this
short term of service one.half only is
passed in the regular army, the other
halfbeing spent in the army of reserve.
Il t.
any rate, moro effective training, than
is given TO our militia; but II the Prus-
sian Landwehr could, at few weeks
notice, fight their way from their own
country to the very walls of Vienna,
the British militia should surely be
competent for the less trying work of n
home campaign. 1t is, in short, quite
evident from the german war that IL
soldier can be made in u much shorter
time, and by much easier process
than is generally supposed. Two years
and half of consecutive duty made
tho men who won the battle OF Sadowa
against nm army which boosted with
reason of its professional discipline and
experience.
AFRAID HE MIGHT DE DEAD.-Scene
at the eCounting-roOm ofR morning news
paper. Enter man of TeutOnic ten
denotes, considerable the worse for last
nights spree.
1emom-(To tho man Mt the tlesls)-
"If you blense, sir, / wants dc bnber nit
dis mornings. One Vot hash dc names
of de beebles Vot kills cholera all dc
vile" v, ..t...H
He was handed paper, and after
looking it over in II con fused way, said:
"Will you pc so good ash to read dc
names what don't have dc cholera any
more too soon just now, and see If Carl
GeinsenkOopenotfen hash got 'em2"
Tho clerk very obligingly read the
list, the Teuton listening with trem-
bling attention, wiping the perspirntion
from his brow meanwhile, in great OK
citement. When the list was compile
tod, the nHme of Carl Geinsen-, we'll,
no matter about the whole name. IL
wasn't there. Tho TeutOn's fnce hripht-