The Indianapolis journal., 1893-09-17
A NEW MILITARY POWER.
Formidable Preparations for War Made By
4hn

the Chinese Empire.
Henri Bryos. regular correspondent of
the Paris Figaro. Is travelling in China. and
writes for his paper an account of the prep
aratiOns for war that are golng forward In
the Celestial mpire. He has devoted much
time anu research To the subject. and what
he says must be taken as true. He writes
that the ola and childish method of war
fare has been almost entirely abandoned
and In its military and navy departments
modernlzed. The man who has brought
about the transformation is the Nicoroy
Ii Hong Tchang. NJ Bryos says:
since the last Franco Chinese war the Celes-
tials have opened their eyes. The great sleepy
has rudely shaken off their night covering. He
has undertaken the task OF waking them up
thoroughly. He can claim the honor of having
created genuine soldiers, organized In European
style and armed with the improved modern
rf1es.
In the imperial Military School the cor
respondent saw the soldiers drilling in
regular German fashion. under u German
instructor. and marching In the stiff,
heavy. noisy. but automatically precise
method OF the German army. He learned
that a German artillery officer had been
commissioned By the ViceToy to organize
new army OF the north. that another off,
Ger, from Berlin. was installed at the arse
nal at TikoD. aud that under bis direction
Chinese wOrkmen were turning out shot,
she'll and schrapDel.
NJ. Bryos continues: "China is arming.
and arming formldably. and her present
aim is TO find within herself the military
resources and the war material that che
WAS formerly obliged tn procure elssw here.
She Is erecting upon di fferent points of her
immense territory numerous and important
workshops and foundries. which change
completely the national character
of this country by modifying it in
The European sense. The city of
place short time ago. has now
become, IN less than p year, military post
OF the fret Oruer, which is designed IN
the future TO outstrip all others. 1t Is the
dries. workshops. brick yards and rifle fac
tories" The KrupD works are furnishing
the country with guns of the most modern
invention and deadly power. At Port
Arthur there sro splendid cruisers. battle
ships and gunbOats built with all
the recent improvements of naval
science" The Arsenal of Nankin.
which the correspondent visited, was
building artillery for the fleet. great
quantities of guns and rifles for the army,
and was supplied -wiAh=a,0lds for shells
1T is not neo-ssrry." he concludes. Ito en-
ter into further details and to multiply ex
amDles. What have seen IN the center of
China exists also In tho north and In the
south. Throughout the empire the manu-.
facture of arms goes on with q feverish
activity. China is working for war. and
the time Will soon come when she will be
supplied with armaments equal In quality
and. in numbers to those of the greatest
European nations"
If these things are true &c is evident that
the war maps of the world must be
changed. With her vast population. with
the posi- bility of putting into the field an
army almost Gs large as the combined
armies OF Europe. with the uniled strength
that common religion. q common en-
peror and common conntry would give to
this vast body of men. China was suifi-
ciently feared as she was.