The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-03
GEN. MILES TALKS OF HIS TRIP
BEFORE SAILING FOR
HOME.
TOO LATE FOR THE WAR.
ARE ONLY DRILLS AFTER
ALL.
GERMANS MAKE THE BEST SHOW
Nearly All the Rulers of Europe
Visited BY the American Com
mander-in-Chief.

Miles, Mrs Miles and Aide-de- Camp
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-
tons, 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
tarism. 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 car 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 ever met in Europe" he
said, land added that the French
republic need have entertained no mis-
giving as to how it's chief magistrate
would comport himself during his re-
cent visit of state to the ear, a 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 organize
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 QedlI WIN III HIS fepOTtS, anu
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
81 41,o of NIl
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
III forty-five days mobilize a 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-
tionS 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 I 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 fOundrieS, where the ma
| 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.
] may possibly have an opportunity of
| seeing that. OF something over 3,G00.-
| 600 men under arms, l have seen near
| 1U 000 n ha ckS and in garrison
| and in field mareuvers, besides nearly
| 1901 GOO men engaged in the construc-
| ton of war material.
What l have seen does not indicate
| that the millennium is at hand when
swords will be beaten into plough
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 re-
| sources and Industries of many peo-
| pies 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 sonabie percentage of the population
| fully equipped and instructed In mod
| erTl appliances and methods OF war.
OPPORTUNITIES TO OBSERVE.
at 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 sixtyyear reign brought to-
eether $4,000 of her army and $4,000
| men of her navy. The field maneuvers
| in Russia were conducted ON 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 autocratic and her people far
behind the age in enlightenment, only
| 8 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 lo-
connective has done for our own coun-
| try in the last generation is now to
| some extent being done for that coun-
| try through a 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
| 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
Germany is one vast military camp.