Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-24

OF the country undergoing the most rigid
gymnastic and military training. Boys of
from fifteen to eighteen, whose fathers are
worth millions we're marching through the
same exercises as the recruits of the ma
tional guard. They handled their guns well
nd the discipline was perfect. There is Il
naval school at Valparaiso. There are mill
itary and naval clubs here and Chile has
military and naval journals subsidized by
the state. There is no lack of martial spirit
and the ambition in military way of both
old and young is boundless.
Too Many Carriages.
Speaking of the necessity for immediate
action on account of expense. Senior Jorge
Asta-Buruaga, the son of the former Chill
minister to the United States and for
a time Chilean secretary of the legation
at Washington, accompanied me on my
tour of military inspection here. During
the day I remarked several times on the
splendid training and equipment Of the
men. when Senior Asta-Buruaga said:
Yes they are very fine and they look
very well, but Chile must use them soon
if at all. We like a who has
twenty-five fine carriages and nothing with
which to keep them up He may have the
carriages brought around to his door every
morning and the people will open their
eyes and say, See what magnificent turn
outs that man has while all the time he
may be starving in the kitchen. These
SOitli-IS are very H-icr Dul Slllie can Stdlll
the expense long This is true. Chile has
all told only 100000 people, not as many
number of our American states. Five
siXthS of these are poems or labOrers, who
pay practically no taxes, and the burden
Of the military esta blishment comes on
but few. The country does not grow in
population to any extent and its tillable
territory is comparatively small. 1t has,
however, good credit, and it has always
promptly paid its foreign Indebtedness.
Patriotism in Chile.
1 have not yet seen the soldiers of the
Argentine, but l doubt whether their army
will compare with this for effective work
The Chileans are natural soldiers. They
would rather fight than eat, and when the
tiOnal Guard between the ages of seven
teen and twenty to come to the field for
the present drill more than fifty per cent
above the quota asked for applied Bust
ness men tell me they could not hold their
employees. and that thousands were ready
to enter the ranks who could not get in
1t is said that Chile could put $50. 900 SOL
diers in the field within a week, and by
the reorganization of the National Guard
according to the law of 1896 every Chilean
from twenty to forty years of age must
serve. By this system the fighting force of
Chile is now over 432 900, and the 10000
and more young fellows now in training
are under those ages. The Argentine mil
TIA ana national dudrd are more numerous
than tndt OF Chile, but it is believed here
that the men are not such good soldiers
and that they are anxious to escape service
while the Chilcans court it. At recent call
OF troops in the Argentine about half of the
number failed to appear. The Argentine has
about 1,oOO0O0 more people than Chile, but
among these there are tens of thousands of
Italians who have been warned by their
nome government to keep out of the Ar
gentine army. There are tens of thou
sands of Germans who still hold their al
legiance to the kaiser, and tens of thou
sands of English who are out here to make
money and who will not fight for ANYTHING
else. Buenos Ayres alone has more than
100000 people of English blood, and these
nave almost no patriotic regard for the
country Here in Chile there are compare
lively few foreigners and every Chilean is
patriot There is no country of the world
which has so many fiagstaffs on its houses
as this, and the people are wild with en-
thusiasm for everything Chilean This is
especially SO among the higher classes, the
people who run the government who own
almost all the property and are the leaders
In everything. They are as intelligent and
as well educated as we are Few of them
have any Indian blood IN them, but thew are
10 man ready to fight for Chile
The War VIII He IA Bloody One.
III the war occurs it will be one of the
bloodiest of history. 1t will be fought with
the latest improvements in arms and with
all the sayagery of the middle ages. In
the war with Peru there was not much
need OF hospitals The Chileaus stabbed
the wounded TO death with their lances or
cut their throats as they lay the field
L nave told you how l saw the Presidents
guard lancing wounded dummies in the re-
view. L Imagine that the Argen:ines would
not be much better in 1his respect. and it
Will be a war to the death 1t is hard for
one who has not seen :he Chilean peon to
understand him. He is as Tough as a knot
and he can endure all sorts of hardships
He can sleep on the ground for weeks at a
stretch. and can live for months on rations
or a handful or so of toasted -four for his
meals. He comes Of the best CastiIian
blood crossed with that of the bravest In
dams of this continent, and he will stick
to his commander until he falls. He seems
to care nothing for life and little for pain,
and will do TIE most foolish things rather
than he thought coward. One day last
week two poems were drinking together
with a crowd of their fellows. when one
said to the other that he thought him a
Rn y I'd W. a