The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-12-22

am able 10 forward TO you a trans
lation of the most interesting portion
of an article on the Chinese army from
the pen of Baron Won Reitzngen,
major in the German army, who has
been out for some time in China re-
organizing a portion of the Chinese
forces. and who holds the Chinese rank
of general The following is his de-
scription of the Chinese army
The popularity of the political geo
graphical and economical conditions of
China, the historical development of
the state and of the family, and other
causes, have given peculiar character
to the Chinese defensive system. AS
military forces are to be noticed the
Manchu troops, the provincial troops
and the so-called irregulars, which are
enlisted in case of need and again dis
missed. No such thing exists as
centralized command Of these bodies.
The Manchu troops are in general the
descendants Of the Manchus and OF
those Mongols and Chinese who in the
seventeenth century overthrew the
Ming dynasty and established the pres
ent one upon the throne. They still
constitute the chief support of the Ia
tsing dynasty, and are divided into
eight banners" according to their
eight differently colored flags Their
strength may he reckoned at about
5000 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 pre-
text that they wished the imperial
n a n no
provinces According to other accounts
the detaChmentS We're sent them from
the beginning in order to enable them
to keep control of the conquered ter
ritories. These troops are quartered in
parts of the town specially walled in,
the so-called Tartar quarters. The
obligation to military service is here
ditary among them, and originally. in
addition to concessions of land, they
received high pay and portions of rice
from the court. Even now every Man
chu receives "A salary from the emper-
or but it is so small that it does not
suffice for his own maintenance, much
less that of his family. However, the
military duties are not fulfilled very
conscientiously, and the soldiers have
plenty of time to devote to other oC-
equations. Marriages between Man
chus and Chinese are strictly forbid
den, but | have none the less seen a
considerable number of small footed
women in the Tartar quarter at Han
king. and ManChu women, as is well
known, are not allowed to cripple
themselves by artifcially lessening the
size of their foot. Every son of
ManChu and Manchurin is entered by
name in roll kept by the govern
ment and is entitled to a salary from
the imperial treasury. Although the
Manchu troops have deCenerated con-
sideraby through the idleness of their
live, they have, nevertheless. even in
quiet recent times, given proofs of
their devotion to the throne and of
heroic courage. In the streets of the
Tartar quarter the angular, light
brown faces of the well built men, and
the curious headgear and long red
trousers of the women. form an agree
able contrast to the Chinese custom.
The Tartar general is the commander
of the few thousand Manchues who
are stationed in each province. He
holds with the governor a privileged
position in the province. These Man
chu garrisons are of very little use;
they rather tend to increase the dis
content of the Chinese by reminding
them that they are subject race. I'm
considering the external development
of the imperial power the Manchu
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 gdrrisons of the
most important towns and are in
trusted with watch. police and inspec-
tion duties. They number about i00,-
900 or 100000 men. A small number of
these troops stand in a close relation
to the governor and act as his body
guard. The only control the central
government has over the provincial
troops is that ii settles the amount OF
the annual estimates and appoints the
superior officers.
Judged by our conceptions the Chi
ncse troops are, to all intents and pur-
poses, 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 for the commissariat and
armament of the troops is intrusted
to the generals and the suporinten-
dents of the camps These maintain,
as rule, only small proportion Of
the regulation strength, a fraud which
is connived at by the superior officials.
who divide the profit with them. Oc-
casionally a camp is temporarily or
even permanently broken up. but it
still appears in the accounts. The
wages which are paid are generally
insufficient, and the soldiers endeavor
TO supplement their means by private
work and by robbery. Chinese officers
regard the post of Superintendent of
a camp as a speculation. Cheating is
universal. The accouterment and
training of the soldiers are different in
every province. In one province the
men are exercised with antiduated
lanccs halberds and pixies. i'm another
with Martini rifles and in another with
German model S.. In one year KrupD
guns are brought out, remain living
about somewhere and in a short time
are In such state that it is impossible
to use them. The officers are secretly
glad of the opportunity TO buy new
weapons, and make a small profit on
the transaction. The officers, like all
other officials i'm China. have to make
their living by embe7slement. 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 corrur tion is increased by