Arizona republican., 1899-12-23
3 a!eess@eee9ssese4 s4s%eNe<e 9
 5 TOPICS OF THE HOUR 3


d Kansas City paper q few days ago contained an interview with a reg ular army officer on the most interest ing topic of the h9ur-the South Afri= | can war. This military authority com pares the way in which America pre- pared for and prosecuted the Spanish | war with that of Great Britain in the Boer war and criticises the military tactics of the English officers. He spoke as follows:
 Every American soldier who fought in Cuba during the war with Spain is following the progress of events Tn South Africa with intense interest. In the first place, while tine view is at long range we have had a chance to com pare the United States and England In the act of going to war and to sum it up briefly it may be said that with the United States everything went wrong until the fighting commenced. when everything was made right. With the English everything went along smooth ly until the fighting began and now everything seems to go wrong.
 "The United States had before 1t the task of assembling and equipping 10000 men, taking them on three days sea voyage and keeping them supplied with necessary food, ammunition and other military stores. Considerable of a mess was made of the whole business The artillery and hospital corps were sadly neglected and the people of the coun- try have not forgotten the many trying days that followed. When the fighting commenced. however, the men were gallantly and wisely led and achieved almost enough glory to wipe everything else off the slate.
 
 With less fuss and in much less time" continued the officer, '' England got together twice as many men, sent them on an eighteen days voyage at sea and many days journey by land to meet an enemy. These 10000 men were well equipped when they started and there has been no break down that we have heard of in the staff machin- cry. Every time these English soldiers have gone into action, however, they seem to have been led blindly by their officers into death traps. They have every time come across the Boers where they did not expect to find them and the Boers have chosen their posi- tions with great military skill.
 At Santiago, in a most difficult country, and in the utmost confusion, the casualties were about 1,4OO, but the fighting was then at an end. In South Africa the fighting has just com menced the English have steadily lost ground and the casualties, not includ- 1 ing General Buffers fight, are more than 1000.
 There is another curious thing, you will notice,'' said he, "and that is the fact that while the British are fighting | in their own country, country they have occupied for fifty years. they seem to know very little about it. One would naturally suppose the intelli gence bureau of the army would have | had every foot of it carefully mapped | by this time. There also seems to be | a terrible lack of reconnaissance work At Santiago the American army had with it a lot of officers who were ac- customed to Indian fighting in the west. Some of these men were out night and day looking the country over ahead of the lines. The British seem to have no idea the Boers are anywhere near until the firing commences. One of the most remarkable things I ever heard of is the advance of Buffers artillery with out a preliminary advance of cavalry or infantry. It seems almost incredible that a general should send out three or four batteries as a sllirmish party in a broken country, where the enemy was l almost sure to lie in wait for an ad- vance. Of course it is difficult to judge l these things from the scanty news we have as yet, but it does seem as though something was wrong with the British tactics in South Africa"
 
 Another army officer, an infantry captain, now stationed at Fort Leaven- worth, a man who has a long record of honorable and adventurous service against the Indians on the frontier, when asked if he thought the American officers could cope with the Boers any better than the English said:
 "I think the American officers train ing in Indian fights would enable him to handle troops against the Boers a great deal better than the English do. I base it on the ground that the Boers in their fighting are not dissimilar to Indians in their methods. They always select the positions for a battle and seem able to refuse it when conditions are unfavorable. The Boers are some thing like our western frontiersmen, and they take naturally to fighting.
 Tn almost all the engag agements they have had with the Boers it seems that the Boers have been able to surprise the English and fire on them in col umn formation. This is evidently due on the English side to faulty reconnois- ance, that is, not having the country properly secuted before the advance is made. The nature of the country where the operations are taking place
 is very favorable for defense, and a
 mobile force like the Boers is able tC
 take advantage of it.
 "The Boers are naturally good fight CTS, and all their lives have been useC to handling firearms. They are wei
 led and they seem to have officers 1T
 command who understand the proper way to handle them.
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