Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-22
BRITAIN's MILITARY POWER.
Put to the Greatest Test Since the
Crimcan War.

The immensity of the task of the British
admiralty in transporting to South Africa
the reinforCements needed for the war with
the Beers, and of the army service corps
corresponding to our cOmmissary depart
menO in providing eustenance for such an
aggregation of troops in country generally
speaking destitute OF the necessaries of life,
will be appreciated in the United States in
view OF our recent and still continuing ex-
perience with the difficulties of carrying on
military operations at a 12,OOO-mile range.
The distance from Southampton to Cape
Town is somewhat greater than that be-
tween San Francisco and Manila; and
whereas the problem confronting our army
transport service is the carriage OF about
60, 900 men and their equipments to the
Philippines in the space OF about three
months, the British authorities are wrestling
with the far more serious one OF transport
ing an army nearly twice as large In as
many weeks. The dispatch OF l5,OOO sol
diers from England to Egypt in 1852 WITHIN
three weeks was considered great feat at
the time and was said to have elected words
Of praise even from the taciturn Won Moltke'
The present undertaking exceeds the latter
in misunderstanding regard for the greater
length OF the voyage and the number of
Eighty steamships have been drawn into
the service OF the British government and
the conversion of liners into transports is
proceeding with feverish haste at every
shipyard on the British coast. Beginning
with Friday next six troop ships will leave
Southampton daily, which means that over
80 900 troops will be dispatched in six days
Such a task would be beyond the power
of any other European nation for none has
a fleet Of merchantmen to draw on com
parable in tonnage or numbers with the
| British merchant marine. The army about
to be sent out from England will be by far
| the largest land force that has ever lett
her shores for a campaign beyond the seas;
| it will be twice the size OF the British con-
| tingent in the Crimean war and greatly
superior in number to the British army
| under Wellington at Waterloo. BY the re q
| suit OF her present efforts the strength OF
| Great Britain as a military power will be
| gaugel. The efficiency OF her army viii be
| put to the test for the first time in several
| generations in a conflict with white men,
| According to so excellent professional mill
tary authority as the Berlin Military Wochen-
| blatt the strength OF the Boer forces Is
! 60 900 well equipped men, so that the oppos-
| ing armies will be numerically pretty
evenly matched with the odds very slightly
| in favor OF the BRUSH, Inc smallhess OF
! the two armies compared with the massive
organizations engaged in the great European
| wars OF modern times will be compensated
! for by the desperateness of the Beers, the
| immensity OF the scene OF operations Uhe
! Transyaal alone being as large as Franco
| and the distance OF the British from their
! ultimate base OF supplies. In every sense,
therefore, the pending conflict will put the
military power OF the British empire to the
severest trial to which 1t has hitherto been
! subjected.