Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-14
they were properly handled and under
skilled generals"
The Army of Ruasi1.

tney were properly nanQleQ ana unQer
The Army of Russia.
How were you impressed with the Rus
sian soldiers, general?"
Very favorably indeed replied Cen
eral Miles. 1.-THE Russians have one of the
best armies of Europe. and their popula-
tor Is so great that the other nations fear
Europe would at some time be all Cossack
or all republican. The Russian empire has
now a population Of more than 1901 600. 900.
five inhabitants, Russia has a possible army
of 24.OOO, 600. The Russians are a military
nation: The car expects every man to be
a solder HIS people nave long been ac-
l could see. is well armed. well differed
and well equipped; I have never seen any
finer horses anywhere than those used by
the Russian cavalry
Gen. Miles Audience With the Car.
PLEASE tell me about your audience with
the car. general"
Peterhof. not far from St. Petersburg,
ard had a very pleasant interview with
him. Our conversation was in English.
was largely devoted to military matters.
HIS majesty was very enthusiastic over
the prospects Of Siberia and the ans
eEce to his empire. The car is. you
know. president of the road. He has, L
says it will develop a wonderful country.
It gees through some of the richest soil on
the globe, and the climate of the lands
Of Minnesota: From what he said, l Judge
that 1t is his majesty's idea to develop
Siberia as rapidly as possible"
Where did you go from st. Peters
II did some travelling before / left Rus
sia," replied General Miles. 81 was the
mo Nf tho
special car to go to Moscow, where / was
entertained In the palace near the Kremlin.
Near the palace grounds there I saw a
and was told that those guns were all that
remained Of Napoleon's famous army that
Invaded Russia. According to the Russians,
Oc men. and when he went out his army
was reduced to 10000 TIL Russians buried
the magnificent city. of Moscow to defeat
along his line of march and conquered him
more by starvation and cold h by fire.
ormS.'
Germany VS.. France.
The conversation next turned to Ger
many, and General Miles described for me
the discipline of the German army. He
says that Germany is one great military
camp, and that the soldiers seem to be Of
more Importance there than in any other
country. He chatted for some time about
the young kaiser, of whom he saw much
during his stay.
He next talked Of the French soldiers.
French fully the eaaa nc Of c the Germans 1ne
and that he evidently believes that a war
will some time again break out between the
FIR French and the Germans. TIL Germans,
French ever since the close of the Franco
Prussian war, when they forced the French
70 pay them hen, sl,ooo. oSGi 600 and to give civ, them
forgive thatIsaid General Miles, land the
battle will! nave to be ought over again
impressed with President Faure. whom he
described as one of the most dignifed and
one of the ablest rulers of Europe.
Queen Victoria and Her Army.
In talking of the English troops the gen.
eral said he saw $4,000 Of them in the ma
neuvers. He describes them as well equip
ped and well differed.
While looking at the maneuvers of the
army Queen Victoria called General Miles
to her carriage and asked him what he
thought of her troops. The general says
the queen, and that he found a strong royal
sentiment among the English people. AS
the queen appeared before the soldiers they
The men put their hats on their bayonets
and swords and cheered with wild enthu-
sissm. This SO affected Queen Victoria
that tears ran down her face.
As the general said this l asked him as
to whether there was much republican
sentiment In England. He replied:
IN Is pSopIS lIldS VAIL T6DuDlC
and 1 think they would like a liberal gov
ernment They are. however, devoted to
the queen: and they have a right to be
proud Of her wonderful reign during the
past sixty years"
Did you see the Prince of Wales. gen.
eF @4es,h asked replied Genera, Miles .1 had
some conversation with him. He was very
civil, but he had changed considerably
since I saw him on the Boston Common in
1850. He was. you know, then visiting the
United States"
New Things in Warfare.
Genera Miles, said I. you have Just
seen all the armies Of Europe; suppose
there would be a war tomorrow, what
would be some of its new and character
iStic featureS?"
There would be a greater use of the tel
egraph than ever before" replied General
Miles. The telephone would have a part
In It and steam power would be largely
used IN moving troops and supplies. There
would be many improved arms and long
used. While the principles of warfare
change in tactics. Battles would be fought
important than ever. The great wars Of
the future will probably be of shorter dura-
ton than those of the past. There will
probably be fewer lives lost"
Our Army Too Small.
How about the increase of our army,
general? Do you still hold to your opinion
that we should have more troops?"
Yes, I do" replied the general 'I have
held that opinion for many years. Our
army is too small for our wealth and pop
ulation. l think the army and navy should
grow as the nation grows"
But are not the European countries
loaded down with soldiers?"
Yes. they have more than they can COM
fortably support. They are at one end of
the extreme; We are at the other. We
should have a fixed ratio for the Increase
Of the army. I think we should have at
thousand of our population. and as a min
imum one to every two thousand. If we
had one to every thousand this would give
us an army of about three times the Size
of the present one. This ratio should be
kept up. the number of troops to be de-