The Washington weekly post., 1899-11-28
Gen. Miles Inspection Con-
firms His Previous Views.
HIS REASONS FOR A LARGE ARMY
Posts In the West Are Not Sufficiently Gar
risoned-Tbe Danger of Becoming "A Ma
tion Of fNon-eom bs tants-He Say the Brit
i-h Have Very Serious Campaign on
Their Hands in south Africa, but Their
Great Resources viii Bring Victory.

Mai Gen. Miles, commanding general
Of the army, returned to Washington
late Sunday night. called upon Secretary
Root, at the War Department, yesterday
morning, and then began the preparation
Of his report. describing the inspection
made Of various posts and seacoast forti-
fications on the Pacific and Gulf coasts.
and the measures which should be ADOPT
ed 10 Improve existing conditions
In regard to his inspection, the general
said; THE fortifcation along the Pacific
coast and the Gulf are in very good con-
dition- While the harbors are only part
ly protected, IL would not be safe for
hostile battle-ship or fieet to enter them
now. None of the harbOrs is complete
ly fortified. The four great harbors of
the Pacific coast at which defensive
works are being erected ere Puget
Sound. the mouth Of the Columbia River.
San Francisco, and san Diego. There are
only enough artillerists stationed on the
coast TO take care of the guns, not
enough to man them. The guns are
great pieces of machinery, and require
very skilled artillerists to take care of
them and handle them. More artillery is
needed along the entire coast of 1900
miles, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and
Gulf.
Garrisons Need More Men.
''The garrisOEs were not sufficiently
strong at the posts l visited. This is due
to the fact that most of the army Is out
Of the country at present. Congress au-
thorized regular army of $500 men and
5000 men for the existing emergency
For good many years / have been n
favor of pne soldier for every thousand of
our people | think $500 men should be
skilled in the modern art of war and the
use OF modern appliances. That would
be a very small number as compared
with other armies of the world, but vet
sufficiently large to keep abreast OF the
Improvements in warfare which are being
made. OF course, the size of the army
should be TO some extent commensurate
with the population and wealth and posi-
ton of tie government. A country like
Mexico would not require an army as
large as that of Germany or Russia.
Our country is nearly twice the size of
Germany of France, and a small force
OF comparatively skilled. educated.
trained soldiers would not only be wise
and JudiciCus, but would be in the inter-
est of safety and good administration.
The best Illustration of disregarding the
necessity and the welfare of a nation in
this respect is China, which DOS
sesses the greatest population and vet
has been repeatedly whipped, overrun. and
placed under indemnity, and in fact her
very existence threatened at present
simply because she has become a nation
OF n-combatants."
Serious Campaign for the British.
Speaking in regard to the South African
war. Gen. Miles said:
The British have entered upon very
serious campaign in South Africa. They
have the advantage of enormous resources
and a powerful army, and the Beers have
the advantage of knowledge of the coun-
try and operating on interior lines The
result will depend very largely upon STRAIT
egy. The British forces will be from 70
to 400 miles from their lines of cOmmuni-
cation. This is great disadvantage to
them, and the advantage in this respect
is on the side of the Beers. 1t must rot
be forgotten, however. that the British
have great resources and splendid means
of supplying thei" troops with munitions
of war.
THE large percentage of officers killed
and wounded is the natural result of ac-
curacy OF fire with long range weapons of
war. l am not surprised at the behavior
of the Beers nor their efficiency. Many
are hunters and good shots, and they have
a comparatively large army"