The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-14
TRAINING FOR WAR.
Naval and Military Preparations
in the Celestial Empire.

The sleepy Chinese Becoming Aroused t.
Their DefenseIess Condition Arc Pro-
vidinS Themselves with Improved
Impiemsnts Of War.
NJ. Henri Bryos, the correspondent
of the Figaro of Paris, at present trav-
cling in China, gives the following ac-
count of the naval and military prep
arations which are going on in the
Celestial empire:
A fact of tho highest Importance,
which for all that has escaped the no
tice of diplomatists, consuls, and my
English confreres of the cast, has just
come to light in China mean the
sudden Transformation Of the old and
childish method of warfare SO long in
use in that country. The Chinese art
of war has become thoroughly modern
lied. and tends to rival that of tho
western nations The ilustrious man
who has brought about this radical
Transformation is Viceroy Ii Hong
Tcharg. It is at Tientsin that he is
operating. Tientsin is the industrial
center Of war material, where the
agents of Canet, Krupp and the Arm
strongs enter into competition for the
acceptance of their deadly wares. In
the tournament Of the rivals the Ger
mans have almost always carried of
the prizes. At Port Arthur, in the
province of Petchili, there are splendid
cruisers, battleships and gunboats,
built with all the recent improvements
Of naval science. It is noteworthy that
a regular feet has been created here
in less than six years.
Since the last Franco-Chinese war
the Celestials have opened their eyes.
That great, sleepy people has become
aroused. Ii Hong-Tchang 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 SOL
diers. organized in European style. and
armed with the improved modern rifles.
On visiting the Imperial military
school at Tientsin I had a chance to see
the soldiers maneuvering. Their exer-
cises had the trade mark of their
training. Their movements, regular.
stiff and sturdy. and their heavy and
noisy march, with automatic precision,
clearly indicated that German instruc-
tors had been there. Ii Hong-Tchang
has reformed the army of China.
A German artillery officer, Maj. Won
Richter, has been commissioned by the
viceroy to organize the new army OF
the north, that is to say, in the prov
ince of Petchili. Another officer from
Berlin ia installed at tho arsenal at
Tilou, not far from the forts that COM
mand the entrance of the Pei Flo.
Under his direction Chinese workmen
turn out enormous quantities Of shot,
shell and schrapne1. The Krupp estab-
lishment supplies the forts and ram
parts with guns Of the latest pat~
tern.
Such is the progress in China. The
destructive industry is booming in that
country. China is arming, and arming
formidably, and her present aim is to
find within herself the military re-
sources and the war material that she,
was formerly obliged to procure else
where. She is erecting upon different
points of her immense territory nu-'
merous and important arsenals, work.
shops and foundries, which change.
completely the national character of
the country by modifying it in the Eu-
ropean sense. The city OF HanYang,
an insignificant little place short
time ago, has now become, in less than
a year. military post of the first or
der, which is destined in the future to-
outstrip all the others. 1t is the CEN
ter of great works and gigantic foun-'
dries. workshops, brickyards and rifle.
factories.
From Han-Yang. which is the CEN
trail and strategic point of the empire.
railway is about to be built which
will Join Pekin to the north and Can
ton.
The arsenal of Nanlin. which I was
permitted to inspect, is vast con-
struction. entirely modern. 1t is sup
piled with all the modern material for
the manufacture of engines Of war:
and from this place guns and rifles are
abundantly supplied to the army. The
rifles that are made at Nankin are
something new. They are like our
duck-guns. very heavy, and are han
died by two men. But their range is
extremely long. have procured some
of, the cartridges Of these guns. They
are furnished with metallic cases.
This Nankin arsenal provides for
everything. There are molds for shells
of different sizes and forms, and one
large section of the building is devoted
entirely to the construction of the ar
tillery of the feet. 1 found there guns
of the Hotchkiss, Maxim and Norden-
field patterns
But it is not necessary to enter into
further details and to multiply exam
Piles. What have seen In the center of
China exists also in the north and in
the south. Throughout the empire
the nanufac ture 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 arma-
ments equal in quantity and in number
to those of the greatest European ma
tons.