The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-01-18
HER. VERY CRIPPLED ARMY
Dsp, Grab 10 Condition Of the Red Osat.
Of Johsny
Full.
TIRE WHOLE ARaAMEST a DISGRACE,
4 Fat Place for Impoverished English
Melodies to Sustain Theme '15
8aiYa4.

Reynolds Newspaper, published in
London, which has a circulation of over
a million, in a recent article says:
/ With war pending between this
country and Ashantee; possible conflict
with Turkey; constant troubles on the
Indian frontier; ultimatums issuing at
short intervals, from the colonial Of
/ flee; and reorganization of the war Of
flee on the retirement of the duke of
Cambridge, the time is opportune for
review of some of the chief defetcs which
still cling to our obsolete, and clumsy
system of army administration. In this
we are assisted by the weighty letters Of
'Vetus" in indictment Of the war Of
! flee, now re-issued by Caswell & Co., as
shilling volume.
! "Vetus," who evidently has had ex-
ceptional means Of scquainting himself
with the facts, and whose familiarity
with the subject is apparent in every
sentence he writes, starts with the pre-
liminary proposition: ""The war office,
which administers gross annual ex-
penditure now exceeding EGO 100000 has
proved totally unable to provide for an
|
requirements 1t appears that In all
relating to organization and the prepa-
ration for war, we are not only behind
every European country, but Immensely
in the rear. Our annual maneuvers Of
various branches Of the army, have
shown that the men have not been ade-
auately trained, and IAN appalling want
of practical proficiency, even in the high
er commands" Some battalions were
incapable OF accomplishing a short
march without leaving large percent
age Of their numbers who had been
obliged to fall out. Says ''Vetus.' 'The
gravest doubts arise as to whether, even
now, we posses a single equipped army
corps. Faster maneuvers have illustrat-
ed every phase Of administrative inca
pacity, and operations have been in
couraged or sanctioned, which would be
ludicrous but for their terribly serious
side. Indeed. so un satisfactory and
dangerous is the position that the gov
eminent have absolutely declined to pub
lish the dannning evidence given before
the commission presided over recently
by the then Lord Harrington. From this
sinister fact the public may guess the ter
rible condition of muddle, Incompetence,
waste, extravaganza, ineff1ciency. favor
itism with which the army is honey
combed from top to bottom at the present
time.
The higher Offices in the army have
long been VIGOROUSLY the happy hunt
ing ground of superfiuous, ornamental
officers whose only object was to draw
large salaries from the public, and to
strut about in cooked hats. The men
have been given army sinecures because
they belonged to the classes and had i'll
| ,li r1,17r icr1Ne no CrES1
| the affairs of the army. They are as
much the nations paupers as it they
were receiving outdoor relief from a
workhouse. The worst offender was the
Duke of Cambridge. He was long past
the age of compulsory retirement; he
was VIGOROUSLY unfit for his post, and
he strenuous1y opposed all attempts,
either to make the army more efficient
or to get rid of the host of unnecessary
parasites who had fastened themselves
on the army estimates. Under the
Dukes commandership-in-ch ief Lord
Wolseley was able to say that many OBJ
tanned the Victoria Cross-our highest
military distinction-"by asking for it
and by charging upon their own deeds
of heroism in order to get it." Talk OF
scandals in the French army! It has
nothing to equal this. Yet the nation
calmly permitted such state OF affairs,
simply because the offender was royal
| duke, the servile instinct OF OR people
believing that any scion Of the German
| family, by whom we are governed, can
do no wrong.
! 1t is startling to reflect that some
"a 100000 annually of the taxes go to
support non-effective services. The Ger
man army is the finest military machine
~1l CiCfc nf
armed and trained men, including the
reserves. Our war Office has to provide,
all told, some 1000 men. Yet the Ger
man army costs actually less than the
British army! Now. let us give preg-
nant fact to show one main reason for
| this. A German army corps Of $1,000
men has but sixteen general staff Off
GERS: British force OF 10000 men has
twenty-eight! or about tllirty-six British
officers against sixteen German officers
for the same number of men. The extra
| twenty are so many unnecessary sons
of the classes who are living free at the
public expense, the army thus being
kind of charitable institution for the
aristocracy.
This is not ALL Small as the British
army is compared with that of Ger
many, and infinitely, greater as the cost
is of that smaller army, India bears the
expense of $4,000 of our soldiers. Need
anything more be said to show the gross
waste, extravaganza and jobbery con
nected with this branch Of the public
service? And wfthal, it appears, that it
would be only with the greatest diff
Guilty, and after the expiration OF some
time. before we could put in the field one
ful1y-equipped army corps.
We may give one further instance OF
how the classes bleed the nation through
the army The total headquarters staff,
exclusive of messengers. consists Of
about $50 persons. The German head
quarters staff, which administers an
army five times as large as our own,
NUM- ers only sos persons. The army
IN India, including the native soldiers,
consists of 2OS.oo0 men; the headquar-
tiers staff Of si3ty-one. We look to Lord
Wolseley to clear out this Augean stable,
irrespective of court or other influence.
III doing so, he will have the enthusiastic
support of the nation.
In the next place, so superior is the
German system to our. own that a sol
der admirably trained for war. is
turned out In less than three years. Our
own troops require seven or eight years
of instruction. Moreover, at any time.
some SO per cent Of our army, are phys
icaliy incapable Of taking the field. The.
service has been sacrificed to the I'M