The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-03
BEFORE SAILING FOR
HOME.
TOO LATE FOR THE WAR.
MANEUVERS ON LARGE SCALE
ARE ONLY DRILLS AFTER
ALL.
GERMANS MAKE THE BEST SHOW
Nearly All the Rulers of Europe
visited BY the American Com
mnnder-in-Chief.

LONDON, oct. 2.-Gen. Nelson a.
Miles, Mrs. Miles and Aide-deCamp
| Capt. Maus, sailed for the United
| States on the American line steamer
| st. Louis today. The commander of
the army has been in Europe since
| May on his tour of military observa-
lions, and has inspected everything of
military interest, from the armies of
| the great powers in field action down
| to balloons and bicycles" as he re-
marked. He has looked over FORTH
cations, barracks, camps, ordinance
works of all classes. and in the in
tervals of this work has written three
reports to the government, covering
different features of European mill
| tarlsm. After his return he will, with
the assistance of Capt Maus, prepare
another and more comprehensive re-
! port in which will be embodied recon-
mendations for the improvement Of
the United States army.
incidentally, Gen. 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, dignified and accomplished
men L have ever met in Europe he
said, "and added that the French
republic need have entertained no mis-
giving as to hove it's chief magistrate
| would comport himself during his re-
cent visit of state to the car, ques-
ton which at one time deeply agitat-
ed the press of Europe. Gen. Miles
talked Interestingly of his tour, and,
although he declined to give any opin-
ion upon certain questions, as the re-
lative strength of the French and Ger
man armies, his comments upon the
characteristics of those two organiza
lions, as they impressed him while on
exhibition in the field maneuvers at
Homburg and ST. Quentin, were de-
cidedly significant.
Concerning the changes which may
be made in the organization and the
equipment of the American army as
the results of his observations, Gen.
Miles would not speak. Certain
changes might be made by executive
action others would have to be au-
thorized by congress. Those matters
were dealt with in his reports, and
whether they would be made known to
the public depended upon the secre-
tary of war, to whom the reports We're
made.
SAW NO BATTLES.
"When I left Washington the war
between Turkey and Greece had as
sumed 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 Eu-
rope" Gen. Miles began. mo one re-
allied at the time that Greece had
assumed hostilities when she was
wholly unprepared for war; nor did
any one anticipate that Turkey would
| in forty-fve days mobilize great
army of 100000 men. When | arrived
| atConStantinople an armistice had been
| declared and war was practically over,
| although the armies have remained
| in hostile attitude and it has taken
| three months to agree upon the condi-
| lions of peace for a war that had been
| fought in five weeks. But as my mis-
| sion only partially concerned that war
| and as the president and secretary of
| war had authorized me to visit such
| countries as l might think advisable
! for the purposes of military obserVa-.
| ton, / continued my journey looking
over all the principal armies of Eu-
rope, many of the most important mill
| tary establishments, the principal gun
| factories and foundrles, where the ma
I terial of war is constructed from the
most minute small calibre prOjectile to
! the heaviest armor plate. l have seen
| all the great armies of Europe except
| the Spanish army and if Spain should
! declare war against the United States,
l may possibly have an opportunity of
seeing that OF something over 3.000,
! 600 men under arms, | have seen near
| ly 100000, in barracks and in garrison,
and in field maneuvers, besides nearly
| 100000 men engaged in the construc
j ton of war material
What / have seen does not indicate
| that the millennium is at hand when
| swords will be beaten into plough
! shares. There never was another time
| iii the history of the world when such
/ energy ingenuity and wealth has been
| devoted to war purposes. The re-
| sources and industries of many peo-
| Piles are largely devoted to maintain
| ing large standing armies and formid-
! able navies. Fortunate are the peo-
/ pie of the United States, that they are
! walled in by two great oceans, yet
! this fact would not warrant them in
any policy other than keeping rea-
J sonable percentage Of the population
| fully equipped and instructed in mod
ern appliances ard methods of war.
OPPORTUNITIES TO OBSERVE.
TT so happened that important
| events occurring in Europe this year
| have contributed to my opportunity for
| observation. giving me chances TO see
| the best of the armies of all the great
| powers. The celebation of Queen
| Victoria's sixty-year reign brought to-
| eether So 900 of her army and $4,000
men of her navy. The field maneuvers
| in Russia were conducted on a large
scale and were exceedingly interesting.
| Russia for hundreds of years has been
| a great military nation. Her. people
have been accustomed to war and her
population is so numerous and she is
| so located geographically as to be prac-
| tically Independent of the other powers
| of the world Though her government
| has been autccratic and her people far
| behind the age in enlightenment, only
| & per cent of the population being able
| to read. the rays of intellectual en-
| lightenment are penetrating that vast
| region and there is a great future for
| Russia. What the headlight of the To-
| connective has done for our own coun-
| some extent being done for that coun-
! try through g construction Of the
| railroad across Siberia, one of the
| greatest enterprises of modern times.
| Remarkably enough, it is being built
under the direction OF a self-made Rus
| sian prince who served his apprentice
| ship in the machine shops of Phila-
| delphia. but like Peter the Great, has
| become master of his trade and is now
contributing immensely to the material
| welfare of Russia.
| 1.-The Russian army is composed of
| strong, hardy men, and its officers are
! highly educated and skillful officials.