Sharp County record., 1891-05-07
GILLIAN SOLDIERS.
The Faults of Army Organizatlon-Re'
markable Endurance of the Men.

markable Endurance OF the Men.
Even on paper the entire standing
army of Chilli contains but 5,719 men
and S97 officers. These troops are in
cluded in eight battalions of infantry,
one battalion of sappers and miners,
three regiments of cavalry, two regi-
ments of field artillery and one battal
ion of coast artillery. This force was
distributed at the breaking out of the
revolution as follows: In the northern
provinces, Tacna, Iquique and Antosa-
gasto, two battalions, one regiment of
cavalry, and one regiment OF artillery;
near the middle of the country, that is,
between Valparaiso and Santiago, three
battalions, two regiments of cavalry,
two brigades of artillery and one brig
ade of coast artillery; to the south three
battalions, battalion of sappers and
miners, and one regiment of cavalry.
The effective strength of the Chilian
army, however, falls far below these
figures. In 1890 it was estimated at
only 1906 men; since, during the period
between January 1 and November /,
1,15S privates had deserted
This rather desperate state of affairs
is due to several faults of army organi-
zation as well as to the persistent inter-
ference of influential politicians in the
technical management of the soldiers.
In the first place, Chilli is the only coun-
try in the world that unites a regular
volunteer service with an obligatory
militia service. All members of the
regular army receive liberal pay, after
the system prevalent in the United
States Once enlisted, however, the
soldier is not held so strictly to the
duties of the service as with u.s. By the
personal influence of friends, by
petty bribery and in hundred other
ways he may secure his release without
incurring arrest for desertion.
AT the head of the Chilian military
organization stands a minister of war.
This minister is known among the for
eigners in Chill as the most ''nomadic
official in the Chilian cabinet. 1t is by
no means infrequent that a Chilian
ministry falls five or six months after
its organization. Often, indeed, min
listers resign four or five weeks after
having been named for office. This
fckleness of the head administrator,
combined with the division of RESPONSE
bility between him and two Inspector
generals, is regarded as oneSo the most
fruitful causes of the generalization Of
the regular service. The drill, more.
over is conducted on the most anti
quated lines The cavalry, for instance,
follows the Spanish regulations of 1907.
The weapons of the troops on the other
hand are modern. The artillery has
Krupp guns and the infantry Mann
licher rifles. The arsenal and repair
shops are under the supervision of Ger
man officers The Chilian militia has q
nominal strength of AZ, 2,602 prlvates and
2,110 officers. Last year, however,
only 1,O55 officers and $4,000 men could
be found for duty. All the rest had
disappeared, the technical expression
in Chilli for desertion. A source of
weakness of the recruiting service in
Chilli is the law that whoever serves as
volunteer fireman shall be exempt
from military obligations. Hence it is
that Chill has the largest and most
willing force of volunteer firemen Of
all countries in the world.
Despite all the deficiencies of the or
ganization, and the wide gaps in every
division of the army, the Gillian army
is far from being as completely inefli-
cient as the armies of most of the neigh
boring states. The Chilian soldier has
two inherent qualities which render
him superior to all other South Ameri.
cans, as well as to many Europeans on
the battlefield. He has wonderful en-
durance and few needs. With little
water and few bites Of bread he is
able to preserve his strength throughout
forced marches Of which the European
soldier hardly dreams, During the last
war with Peru he showed this quality
of endurance to q remarkable degree.
Considerable bodies of Chilian infantry
marched frequently thirty miles a day.
Chilian cavalry, moreover often COW
cred, marching day and night, sixty
miles at q stretch The explanation Of
this exceptional physical energy of the
cavalry Is to be found in the fact that
every Chilian is at home on horseback
and that the horses have staying pow
ers when on the gallop (the only gait
the cavalry knows) which European
horses never attain TO. The common
conclusion, however, that the Cmlians
ara weak on their feet because strong
on horseback Is entirely false. Not
only is the average Chiian horseman
anexceptionally persevering pedestrian,
but often the fastest foot courier in the
world. The regular military couriers
are frequently able TO cover between
fifty and sixty miles day, and q Chilli
an private of only slightly cxtraordi.
nary running ability has been known to
make, often under load of forty
pounds, forty or forty five miles n day,
N. Y, Sun,
There Were No Objections. -"1f
any present." said the officiating
clergyman can show just cause why this
man and this woman may not lawfully