The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-05

ties of North Americans-Our Young
Men as Warriors-ChiIi's Soldiers Small.
er Than Ours-Veterans in Congress.
Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25. Senior Pedro
Montt, the Chilian minister to the United
representatives few days ago, curiously
watching the proceedings and studying
the faces of the representative men of
America who were gathered about him to
the number of 300.
Minister Montt is man of slight figure,
with the quick, nervous movements char
acteristic of the Spaniard. His skin is dark,
his hair jet black, his eyes keen and twin
king. He belongs to one of the greatest
families OF Chill. Among his ancestors
have been two or three presidents of the
republic and great number of men promi-
nent in civil and military life. His cousin,
Jorge Montt, is now president of Chill, and
one Of his uncles is the Gillian minister at
Paris. Don Pedro Montt is himself a
member of the CHILEAN congress, and has
been for fifteen years. In his country a
man may be member of congress and a
cabinet minister Or diplomatic representa-
tive at the same time, though he cannot
draw more than one salary.
Senior Montt remained for an hour in the
American house of commons keenly watch
ing all that was going on about him and
asking many questions OF the two mem
bers by whose side he sat-Mr. Cultivate,
Of the military affairs committee, and Mr..
Hit, the accomplished former chairman
of the foreign affairs committee. The Chill
ian minister was often much amused at
what he saw and heard, and he laughed
and joked with his friends as if there was
no talk OF war between his country and the
United States. Mr.. Cultivate asked him
what were the chief differences between
the CHILEAN congress and the American
house of representatives, and he replied
smilingly, In my country the congress
men do not all try to talk at the same
time"
Senior Montt was much interested In the
physique of the members of the house. |
saw the minister at his home the next day,
and in speaking of his visit to the house
he expressed his surprise at the large mum
Der of men of great frame whom he had
seen. Your men grow SO much bigger
than ours" he said. Il saw in your house
of representatives fifty, yes, a hundred.
men larger than the largest man in Chill"
''Then you think we should not be al
easy people to whip?"
Oh as to that" responded the minister,
with an expressive shrug of his shoulders,
size doesn't count for much. Sometimes
the smallest man makes the best soldier.
Our men are more accustomed to fighting
than yours" he added, with smile some
what grim, ''we are fighting nearly all the
time, and have been throughout our ma
tional history. We are used to it, while
your people have done no fighting for more
than quarter of century,"
Every true" said l, but you must re-
member that we are Anglo-Saxons, large
ly English, German, Scotch and Irish, and
where in the world will you find better
fighters than these people?"
well, we are not going to have any war
with you," said Senior Montt; you are too
big for us, individually and collectively"
Since Senior Montt had said this much in
his easy, conversational way, and with no
idea probably of being quoted in print
and quote him because what he said was
entirely to his credit made bold to tell
him that whoever tackled the United
States would find US anything but easy to
master, and pointed to the desperate,
bloody fighting in the war of the rebellion,
the persistent attack of the stronger north
and the stubborn, heroic defense of the
south, for proof of my statement.
Besides" | added, IF our young men
DO not know how to fight because of mex
perience, we have plenty of the veterans of
our last war left to teach them. When you
were in the hous # representatives yes
terday you saw 300 typical American citi- |
zens. A large number of them impressed |
you as young men, no doubt, and it is
fact that about fifty of them are under
forty years of age and hence could not
have served in a war which came to an end |
years ago. Probably you
will be surprised when tell you that of
the remainder fully one-half, or 100, served |
in the war between the states-on one side |
OF the other. Twenty of the members |
Of congress whom you saw were wounded |
severely enough to lead them to mention |
the fact in their biographies, and many |
others were wounded less severely Prob |
ably thirty of these men were captured as |
prisoners of war and spent time in military /
prisons on one side or the other. So, you |
see, my dear minister, that our race of |
lighters has not yet run out"
Minister Montt was somewhat aston |
Ished at the figures which l gave him, and |
it really is surprising thing that twenty |
seven years after the close of the great |
war of the rebellion $50 members OF |
-he popular branch of congress-, num- |
Dering in all $50, should be sUrviv- |
ing veterans of that war. / wanted /
10 tell Senior Montt, but thought under |
all the circumstances / had better not,
that even if our new generation should |
prove to be worthless as fighters, which is
known to be the belief of many Of the min
ster's countrymen, we have left enough |
of the last war able to go to the
front to whip half a dozen nations like
Chilli together.
1t is another remarkable fact that of |
seventy-eight representatives now in con
yress from the states which were in rebel
ion, more than fifty were participants in
the war. The meaning of this is that In
.he south nearly all the white boys as well /
as the grown men enlisted under the stars
and bars. Naturally enough many of those
boys who survived became ambitious and
popular men Of affairs, and in time found |
their way TO congress. The same thing is
true TO a lesser extent of the north, and
hence it is Minister Montt, on the occasion
Of his visit 10 the house, saw large num-
Der of congressman whose youthful appear
ance indicated that they could not have
taken part in the war oil the rebellion.
To- - 4 1.,Fx