Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-11-09
Britaia,s Military Power.

The immensity If the task Of
the British admiralty in trans
porting to South Africa the re-
Inducements needed in the war
with the Bo-rs, aud Of the army
service corps CORRESPONDING to
our commissary Department. in
providing sustensnce for such q
aggregation Of troops in a country
generally speaking destitute OF the
necessities OF life will be appre-
ciated in view of our recen. and
still continuing experience with
difficulties OF carrying on military
Operations at a 10000 mile range
The distance from southampton
to Cape Towb,is somewhat great
or than that between San Fran.
DISCO and Msnils; and vhereas the
problem confronting our array
transport service 10 the carriage
Of about 3O,00O men AMI their
equipments to the Philippines in
the space of about three months
the British authorities are wrest-
ling with a far more serious one of
transporting An army twice as
lsreain as many weeks. The die.
patch OF $4,000 soldiers from Eng
land to Egypt in 1882 within three
weeks was considered q great feat
at that time and was said to have
elected words Of praise even from
the tscituru Won Aoltkses.
f'ne n-eaant upde rtaking exceed
in mngnitudr-Aaving regrad for
the greater l-ngth of the voyage
and the number of men carried-in
ratio OF four to one. Eighty steam
el.ips have been drawn into service
1T the British government and the
c"ryersion Of lipers into transport
is proceeding with feverish haste
at every shipyard on the British
coast. Beginning with Friday
next troop ships will lenye Sonsh.
ampton-d daily, which means that
over $4,000 troops will he Dispatch.
cd in sig days. Such task wcnld
hs beyond tie power of any other
European nation, for rome has q
feet # merchantmen to draw on
comparable in tonnage OF 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
left her shores for campaign be-
you'd the seas; it will be twice the
size of the British contigentin ~
(!r;- .-o
..o.n war and grertly superior
In number to the army under
Wellington at Waterloo. By the
result OF her present efforts the
strength of Great Britain as q
military power will be gagged.
The efficiency of her army will be
put to test for the first time in
several generations in a conflict
with white men. According to SO
excellent military authority as
the Berlin Militrr- " ochenblatt
the strength of the Boer forces is
10000 we'll equipped men SO that
the opposing armies will be num-
erieally pretty evenly matched,
With the odds very slightly in fa-
vor Of the British. The smallest
Of the two armies compared with
tho massive organizations engaged
In the great European wars of
modern times will be compensat-
ed for by the desperateness of the
Boers, the immensely Of the scene
Of operations the Transvasl alone
being 40 large as Franee) and the
distance of the British from their
ultimate base of supplies. In
svery sense. therefore, the pend
ing conflict will put che military
power Of the British empire to the
, severest trial to which it has hith-
erto been subjected Philadel-
phir Record
The record Of grain shipments
Of the year show that for the first
time in history more grain has
bsen sent eastward by rail than by
water. Last year the lake boats
carried go per cent Of the grain
and the year before SO per cent,
but this year, SO far, SO per cent
Of the total amuont of grain ship