New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-08-15
THE FRENCH ARMY.
,pprARANCE COMPARED WITH THE
AMERICAN TROOPS ON GRANT DAY.


49,. marched past President Felix Faure 1T
y.,ochamns. on Tuesday, April -. sa" ''e
s,,,, thousand men comprising the elite or the
.~,,,or and volunteer forces OF the United STATES
90 they marched past President Mckinney a'
che dedication Of General Grants TOMB A'
, ,,ocbanos AS ut New-York. 1t was the Ma
.,.,a, Military Academy OF each repubiic-the
G, Cvr cadets and those Of West Point-wn'cp
,.on the most marked applause for mi''aiS
hearing. precision Of movement ana resui"'"'
:, marching The characteristics OF the hs"'
to force OF each nation are well shown py 'hei'
resnective corps OF embryonic ofrcers' ne OF
cor cadets have q free, swinging eias'ic gal"
wore gymnastic than military. whlcn iori's
.,r,kinc contrast with the West Point step WIN
q. steady mea1ured cadence Inc 81 Cvr
cadet IS as a rule shorter, less ROBUST ana u
uohter weight than his West Point coheasue'
"a wears an EASY loose-fitting blue tunic and
vide airy red trousers, quite different from the
.,os. smartlv cut and severe gray uniform OF
West Point The ST. Cyr cadet preserves GER
tain individuality in his appearance ana man
NOR while the West Point cadets seem 10 De
moulded upon and TIE same model ana one
=, them resembles another like coins struck
,-or, the same mint. 1t appeared TO me that the
G. Cvr cadets, as they marched past on July
"A evinced less military precision, less accuracy
I, alignment and less rigidiy. especially in pre-
.srying the regulation distances. than was the
ease with the West Point cadets on April q,
The French infantry Of the line came march
,rr by with a nervous. swinging yet somewhat
,srky ttep totally different from the 'nne
r.rch,ng" OF the United States regulars or OF
.,ch crack corps IS the New-York 9TH. the oth
MARYLAND or the Boston Cadets. In fact the
marching OF the French infantry Is radically
dNerent from that Of any other army IN the
world II has been my good fortune to see re-
views M Potsdam, at Adershot, at Tsarskoi-
seIo at the Vienna Prater. and have seen
Turkish and Egyptian. American and British
troops IN actual campaign. II Is evident thal In
.be march past at review the French infantry
81 fret sight seems disappointing but yet THESE
same little "piou-pious'' cannot he outmarched
IN rapldity or in long distances BY any foot
soldier IN the world
BAGGY CLOTHES. GOOD BOOTS.
The French linesman is badly tailored. his
clothes do not Sem to fit him properly, put on
the other hand. he Is perhaps the best-shod SOL
der IN Europe. His plant laced shoes made or
excellent leather comfortable, durable and
waterproof. may be considered as models. One
regiment that Of the 311th Of the reserve, which
was modified especially for the OCCASION
marched past IN campaign uniform with kit and
cooking utensils lust as IL they were taking the
field in actual warfare. and after the ST Cyr
cadets Il was these "reservists"-men who have
already served their thr years In the actlVe
army and have since returned to civil life-who
carried off the honors Of the day. The cavalry
division commanded by General Rapp was
greeted with enthusiasm, especially when the
charge was executed with startling precision
the troopers refining In their horses to halt
IN beautiful alignment within twenty PAGES OF
the reviewing stands.
There is as much difference to the outward
eye In the bearing and appearance OF trooper
Of the Sd or the 9th United States Cavalry and
French chasseur- "a cheval. or dragon, as be-
tween the TRIM well-cut uniform of the one and
the baggy. booted ovcrans and ill-fttng tunic
~ the other But when work begins the
French cavaryn an proves that if he is not orna-
mental he Is at least useful. individually, the
French horseman shows a want Of smartness,
bat he Is picturesque enough in mass with all MS
blue and scarlet. IT, as see him trotting
through the streets ~ a garrison town, he APP
pears anything but a ferocious warrior. the long
line OF cuira ssiers dragons and chasseurs that
came laundering down on the reviewing stand
encountered with light heart.
The French horseman does not ride as we'll as
his prototype in the United States Regular
ARMY but the horses Of the French Army are
better and more servceable than those in the
United States The half-bred barbs OF the
chasselrs are I'd to any amount Of work, and
the heavier Normans and Bretons OF the
dragons and cuirassers, although perhaps too
light for the weight they carry, are splendid
specimens OF horsefesh. The French artillery
believed elsewhere than IN France to be the
corps d'elte Of the army--was beyond praise
The physique Of the personnel of the field ana
horse batteries Is superior TO that or the hne'
and the average efficiency Of the officers Is
higher The steel gun that 1t is armed with is a
most effective weapOn-the heldpiece or wv
nm. weighing 1O.43 hundredweight, and nring
q II 9S-pound common shell, 1S.5-pound shrap-
mel; the horse artillery gun weighing $50 hum
dredwe!sht with 13 15-pound common shell
and a 1884 shrapnel. The large number OF
batteries attached to an army corps-more IMAM
four guns 20 a thousand infantry and cavalry
IS not the only indication that the French place
great reliance upon their artillery the batter
,es as they marched past on Wednesday pre-
sented an admirable appearance The old max
In Of spit and polish was not as minutely
carried out az IL the with the batteries Of the
United States Regular Army. The steel names
and collar chains were In some instances not as
bright as they might have been. nor were the
leather harnesses absolutely immaculate But
the horses are beyond criticism, and everything
pertaining TO each piece and each casson Is
thoroughly serviceable and businesslike.
TOO OLD AND TOO YOUNG.
II has been said % the French Army that It's
generals are too old, and its non-commissioned
officers are too young. General Saussier' VINO
commands the Army Of Paris, IL already sixty
nine years Of age is prodigiously corpulent ano
mus, be retired. The average age OF 'he
Wrench corps and division commanders Is Sixty
four. while in Germany the average age OF CORE
spending grades Is only nfty-nine. The com
parative youth Of the German leaders is al once
apparent 10 all who have had opportunities VI
seeing the armies Of both countries. Germany
as well France. however finds the same DIM
guilty in keeping up the supply Of competent non
commissioned officers Since government employ
nent in France has been more freely ACCORDED
Y The under officers and they Lave had the dls