The record-union., 1897-10-03

of War-We Gould Raise an
Army Twelve Million Strong.
LONDON, Oct. General Nelson A
Miles, Mrs Miles and Aid-de-Camp
Captain Maus sailed for the United
/ States on the American liner ST. Louis
to-day. The commander of the army
has been in Europe since May on his
tour of military observation, and has
inspected everything of military inter-
est from the armies of the great Pow
ers in field of action down to balloons
and bicycles" as he remarked. He has
looked over fortifications, barracks,
camps, ordnance works of all classes,
and in the intervals of this work has
written three reports to the Govern
ment covering different features of Eu-
ropean militarism After his return he
will with the assistance of Captain
Maus, prepare another and more COM
plete report, in which will be embodied
recommendations for the improvement
of the United States army.
Incidentally. General Miles has met
most of the rulers of Europe, including
Queen Victoria, the Czar of Russia, the
Emperor of Germany, the Sultan OF
Turkey and the President of France.
The President of the French Republic,
however, he considers to be in every
characteristic the peer of the royalties
of Europe
President Faure is one of the most
courtly, dignifed and accomplished men
/ I have met in Europe" he said, and
added that the French Republic need
have entertained no misgivings as to
! how its Chief Magistrate would com
port himself during his recent visit of
state to the Car, a question which al
one time deeply agitated the press of
France.
General Miles talked interestingly to
| the representative of the Associated
Press of his tour and although he de-
clined to give any opinions upon certain
questions as to the relative strength of
/ the French and German armies, his
| CONN., Hs upon the characteristics of
! those organizations as they impressed
/ him while on exhibition in the field
maneuvers at Hamburg and San Quen-
tin were fervidly significant.
! Concerning changes which may be
made in the organization and equip
ment of the American army as results
of his own observations, General Miles
would not speak. Certain changes
might be made by executive action,
others would have to be by authority of
! Congress- Those matters were dealt
with in his reports, and whether they
would be made known to the public de-
pends on the Secretary of War to
whom the reports We're made.
when / left Washington the war be-
/ tween Turkey and Greece had assumed
such proportions that it looked as
though the neighboring provinces would
be drawn into it, and possibly one or
| two of the great Powers of Europe" "
! General Miles began.
! mo one realized at that time that
| Greece had assumed hostilities when
/ she was wholly unprepared for war; nor
| did anyone anticipate that Turkey
! would. in forty-fve days, mobilize a
great army of 100000 men.
| when I arrived at Constantinople an
arnistice had been declared, and war
was practically over, although the ar
mics have remained in hostile attitudes
and it has taken three months to agree
upon the conditions of peace for war
! that had been fought in five weeks
| "But as my mission only partially
concerned that war, and as the Presi-
dent and Secretary of War had author
/ lied me to visit such countries as I
might think advisable for the purpose
of military observations 1 continued
nv Journey, looking over all the prin-
cipal armies of Europe, many of the
most important military establish
faotnTfnC
where the material of war is construct
! ed. from the most minute small callber
proiectiles to the heaviest armor plate.
"I have seen all the great armies of
/ Europe. except the Spanish army. and
/ if Spain should declare war against the
United States, 1 may possibly have an
! opporturity of seeing that. OF some
1 thing over 100000 under arms, l
/ have seen nearly 100000 in bar
racks and in garrisons and in field
maneuvers, beside nearly 100000 men
engaged in the construction of war ma
! terial.
what I have seen does not indicate
| that the millennium is at hand when
swords viii be beaten into plow
shares. There never was another time
/ in the history of the world when such
energy. ingenuity and wealth has been
devoted to war purposes. The resources
and industries of many people are
largely devoted to maintaining large
standing armies and formidable ma
yies. Fortunate are the people of the
United States. that they are not walled
in by two great nations, that this fact
would not warrant them in any policy
other than keeping a reasonable per-
centage of the population fully equipped
and instructed in modern appliances
and methods of war.
"It so happened that important
events which occurred in Europe this
wear have contributed to my opportu-
nity for observation. giving me chances
to see the best of the armies of all the
great powers. The celebration Of
/ Queen victoria's sixty-year reign
brought together fifty thousand of her
army and thfrty-eight thousand men
of her navy The field maneuvers
Russia were conducted on a large scale.
and were exceedingly interesting. Rus
sia. for hundreds Of years, has been a
great military nation. Her people have
been accustomed to war, and her popu-
lation is so numerous and she is so To-
Gated geographically as to be PRACTICAL