Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-28
A Million Soldiers Without a Central
Commander.
BRAVE MEN NEEDING ONLY LEADERS
Arms Are Even Queerer Than the
Troops Themselves.
NAVY LIKE THE ARM

Berlin Correspondence Of the LONDON Times
lam alb. bv arrangement with the Wis
senschaftiiche MittheiiUI gen, to forward to
YOU a translation of the most interesting
portion of an article on the Chinese army
which Will appear n that publication from
the pen of Baron Won Reitzingen, d major
in the German army. who has been out for
some time in China reorganizing portion
of the Chinese forces. and who holds the
Chinese rank of general.
The following is his description of the
Chinese army:
The peculiarly of the political geograph-
icaI and economical conditions of China
the historical development of the state and
of the family. and other causes. have given
a peculiar character to me Chinese de-
fensive system. As military forces are to
be noticed the Manchu troops, the provih-
cial troops and the so-caIlcd irregu!drs,
which are enlisted in case OF need and
again dismissed. No sucn thing exists as
a centralized command of these bodies.
The Manchu troops are in general the de-
scendants of the MancnuS and of these
Mongols and Chinese who in the seven
teenth century overthrow the Ming dynasty
and established the present one upon the
throne. They still constitute the chief sup
port of the T4-tSing dynasty, and are d.
vided into eight 'bauuers, according 10
their eight differently colored flags. Their
strength may be reckOEed at about 10000
men Originally they were kept in Peking
as a body guard but the viCerOys OF the
provinces, IN order TO weaken the central
authority, managed To break up this force
under the pretext that they wished the i'm
perial power to have personalities IN the
provinces According t. other accounts the
detachT1entS were sen. them from the be-
ginning in order to cradle them to keep
control OF the conquered territories. These
troops are qUartered in parts of the town
specially walled in, The so-called Tartar
quarters. The obligation to military service
is hereditary among them, and originally
In addition TO concessions OF land, they re-
CeiVed high pay and portions of rice from
the court Even now every Manchu re-
Ceives 4 salary from The emperor, but II is
80 small thai ii does not suffice for his own
maintenance. much less for thai Of his
family. However, the military duties are
not fulfilled very corscientiOusly, and the
soldiers have plenty of time to devote to
other occupations. Maj riageS between Man
Shus and Chinese are strictly forbidden. but
/ have none the less seen a considerable
number of small-footed women in the Tar
tar quarter at Hawking, and Manchu wo-
men, as is well Known. are not allowed 10
cripple themselves by artidcially lesseniug
the size Of their feet. Every SON of Il Man
Gnu and Mdnchurln Is entered by name in
roll kept by the government and is entitled
To a salary from the imperial treasury.
Although the ManChu troops have degen-
tIdirN CONSIDERABLY through the ldltnGSS OF
Their ht-, they have, nevertheless. even in
quite recent times. given proofs of their de-
NotOn 10 the throne and Of heroic courage.
In the streets of the Tartar quarter the
angular, HShJ-brown faces of the Weu-built
men, ana the curious headgJar and long
red trousers of the women. form an agree
able contrast to the Chinese costume. The
Tartar general is the commander of the
few thousand Manchus who are stationed
IN each province He holds with the GOV
ernor privileged position in the province
These Mdnchu garrisCns are of very little
use. they rather tend TO increase the dis
content Of the Chinese by reminding them
that they are a subject race. In consider
ing -he external development of the i'm
perial power the Mauchu troops may be
neglected.
The Provincial Troops.
The provincial troops. with their green
banners. are recruited entirely from the
Chinese population. They are under the
control Of the viCeroys and governors and
are enlisted voluntarily. They constitute
the garrisOns Of the most important towns
and are intrusted with watch, police and
Inspection duties They number about
4pp.u1D or 5UOUD men. \ small number of
these troops stand in a close relation to
the governor and act as his body guard
The OH.y control the central government
mas over the provincial troops is that Ii
settles the amount Of the annual estimates
Judged by our conceptions the Chinese
troops are. TO all intcnts and purposes
quite unframed badly armed and thus
useless. Moreover they lack a centralized
command. The sO-Called braves" are still
TO be counted as among the best. They are
better armed and provided for. Some of
them have been through a course of Euro
pean drill and their officers have been
trained in military schools. The duty of
arranging TOr the cummissaTiat and arna-
nent OF the troops is intrusted to the gen.
era and the superintendent of the camps.
These maintain. as rule. only a small
proportion OF the regulation strength, a
fraud which Is conniyed at by the
superior officials, who divide the profit
with them. Occasionally a camp is
temporarily or even permanently bro
hen ur. but II still appears in the
accounts. The wages which are paid are
generally insufficient. and the soldiers en-
ccstvur 10 supplement their means by pri-
Vstte work and by robbery. Chinese officers
regard the post Of superintendent of a
camp as speculation Cheating is uni
NtE~tL The announcement and training Of
the soldiers are different in every province,
In one province the men are exercised with
antigua ed lanCes. haIberds and pixies, in
aLOtntr with Martini rifles, and in another
with German model -. In one year krupp
guns are ordered, ia the next Armstrong;
and in the one after that Nordrnfeldts. The
guns are brought out, remain lying about
s.mtN here and in a short time are in such
he officers ara secretly glad of the up-
Eortumty To buy new weapons and make
Il small PROFIT on the transaction The Off
GERS, like al other officials in China have
10 make their living by embezzlement.
They obtain their positions by the favor OF
high officials and disappear with the fall
OF their patrons without receiving either a
pension or further employ ment. The cor
ILption Is Increased by the fact that rank
and official posts are obtained by purchase,
and that Punishments. even for serious
crimes. can be bought off. AS is natural in
such circumstances, disobedience is rife in
the oticia. world The attempts at reor-
EaUiZIrion after European models which
have been made by some governors have
made no progress. The body of troops
formed at Wusung has fallen back into
Chinese hands.
Navy Almost as Bad.
What has been said of the military forces
applies to a certain degree to the navy, al
though the officers are here better trained
and IN some Instances honorabiy anxious
to do good work. The purchase OF modern
ships Of war and torpedo boats is being
carried on as rapidly as means will allow;
but there is a lack OF officers capable OF
commanding all these ships and maintain
ing an undivided control over them. II
must be added that neither the land nor
the sea forces are sufficiently supported
There is a lack of roads, railways and mod