The San Francisco call., 1898-02-06
ENCLAND'S = BlCKD0VN II(, ,
 UNPOPULAR Right About Face Policy Regarding
 Talien w an. Whole Country Prefers War to Seeing Rus
 sia Own China. But the Aged Queen Now De- sires to End Her Days
 in Peace. DEFICIENCY OF THE ARMY Britain's Land Forces Are in
 Deplora ble State.
But the Aged Queen Now De- sires to End Her Days
 in Peace.
DEFICIENCY OF THE ARMY
Sir Charles Dilke Shows That Great Britain's Land Forces Are in
 Deplorable State.
Copyrighted 1898 by James Gordon Bennett.

U.
 LONDON, Feb. 5.-The newspaper event of the week was the Times re- port of England's right-about-face in regard to Talien Wan. It is not be- lieved here, but if it proves true it will arouse ugly popular displeasure, because the whole country is solid for war rather than see China closed to commerce or owned by Russia. If the Times story is the true reason it must be the desire of the aged Queen to end her days without war. The English press to-day, between the lines of it's editorials. warns the sovereign that de- spite loyalty, even monarchs are apt to be forgotten when the nation is angered.
 Foreign military officers have long been saying that the British army is largely paper force, and that 1t is falling into a perilous condition. It re- mained for Sir Charles Dilke to be the first to tell the English the same thing with facts to prove it. This he has done in a series of articles in the whole of this weeks issue of the Daily Mail, entitled, Why we need an army" He says that although the British policy is a defensive one, yet when war comes 1t will have to be aggressive. He scoffs at an alliance, and says that no Brit ish government will bind the country to one of the great combinations in time of peace, and as to arbitration. he argues that by means of it other powers might squeeze the vital inter ests out of England under the present forms instead of a by a downright threat.
 Tt is probable" Sir Charles says, that in any general European war in which we might engage against a combination the United States will be neutral and will free us from too close This might tend to produce feeling less favorable to peace than the exist ing condition of affairs. It Is certain that no British government will pro- pose to keep a large force in Canada in time of peace, while to send one there in time of war would be more a question of command of the sea than an army question"
 He sums up the situation by saying: "No one who knows the true condi- tion of the home army and militia and volunteers can imagine that we pos sesS an army fit at sudden call for any of the duties I have described. The British public has never before been told the truth, and such are the ridicul- ous conditions that recruiting has grown difficult. Minimum height and chest measurements have been reduced md 1ar hQr nP ho admitted, and recruits who die like flies, if sent to India or the tropics, or even to the Mediterranean, under 20, have been sent in increasing numbers. Swiss militiamen can march with their heavy packs as we'll as the French two- a-half-Year men or German two- year soldiers, but our men for years never marched in such marching order"
 He says there is no resemblance whatever between England's reserve and the reserve of other powers in the world. AS for cavalry regiments, he says the time which would be con- sumed in making the cavalry fit for the field out of the present skeleton regiments, is incredible.
 As for the artillery, its condition is absolutely disgraceful, the last year three batteries sent to South Africa be- ing chosen as in the highest state of preparation for war. They should have required twenty-seven men to complete them, but they actually required 189 men to do so. Horses were taken from twenty other batteries, whose efficiency was thus destroyed. The home cavalry would require nearly 10000 horses. It possesses only 3600. The militia is paper force; there are 14.000 men ab- sent, and 641 officers lacking.
 As regards the army and the militia there is no provision for waste in war. There is nothing behind the front line, for the army reserves and the militia reserves are both counted in that line by the authorities.