Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-03
NOTED GERMAN
IN CHICAGO
Was the Man Who Took Aug
usti From Manila.
PRAISE FOR THE AMERICANS
He Corrects Some False Impressions
Regarding the Attitude OF
the Germans.
FOR THE AMERICANS

Chicago, Jan. 3.-Maj. Von Sonnen-
burg, German military attache to
the emperor of Japan. the man who
carried the message between Admiral
Won Diedrich and Admiral Dewey by
which permission was given for the
transportation of Captain General Au-
gusti from Manila to Hong Kong on a
German warshiD, is in Chicago. Major
Won Sonnenburg is the typical army Of
ficer. He is a broad-shouldered young
man with an erect carriage. he was
seen by a reporter at the Auditorium
and related certain hitherto unwritten
bits of the history of the American oper-
atoms in the Philippines.
II am a student of military affairs"
he said. perhaps 1 might be called a
theoretical warrior"
Inasmuch as he has the Iron Cross for
bravery at Sedan and was in q battles
of the Franco-Prussian war. he is GER
tainly a practical fighter as we'll.
after the Greek-Turko war I went on
to the Orient" he continued. Il was
with Prince Henry and at the outbreak
of the Spanish-American war I accom-
panied Admiral Won Diedrich to Manila.
L uldll I lllC uSoJl VI = "
tejo's feet by you dmiral Dewey, but
I saw much of the subsequent events.
Because of what I saw I want to correct
at least one false impression, that there
was any i'll feeling between the COM
manders of the American and German
fleets. There was a disagreement, 1 ad-
NIT, over the right of the Americans to
search German ships, but that was soon
settled. Then as to the August incident,
there was nothing secret about that
transaction. I myself, was the messen-
ger between the two admirals in the dis
I%cussion over the disposition of August.
Admiral Won Diedrich asked whether or
not Admiral Dewey would object to Cap
tain General August taking passage on
one of the German dispatch boats run
ming to Hong Kong. Admiral Dewey
said that he would not if the captain gen
eral would make some kind of parole by
which he would no longer bear arms
against the United States. This was
given and he incident was closed, as
the diplomats would say.
LAS to the Americans. both ashore and
aboard ship, l may say that 1 never met
a finer body of men. l admire your VOL
unteers. To my mind they furnish nag
nlf1cent material for soldiers, but l am
afraid that they ave q hard task before
them in the Philippines. I shouldn't
want the task of controlling those islands
unless l had fully so, 900 men ehind me.
Those natives are going to be hard prob
lens to solve. Since the finishing of the
Philippine question, l have been con-
nected with the imperial army of Japan
as a student of it's methods of military
Jpn To speak very c~onservatively.
l believe that next to the German army
there is not a finer body of fighting men
IN the world than that same little Japan
csc collection of troops. Their discipline
is perfect and any nation that picks a
quarrel with the Japanese is going to
have no easy time of it. I consider them
n of the important factors in future
Oriental complications"
But when Major Won Sonnenburg was
questioned in regard to these same ORR
entail problems he was silent. He said
that he was still connected with the
Japanese government and with that of
Germany as we'll and could say nothing.
turning to more personal matters, he
sad that he was on his way to Washing
ton with letters to Secretary Alger and
General Miles. He would spend q few
days about the department in Washing
ton and then would go on to Berlin to
report to his own government.