Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-16
ON
AFRICAN WAR
lie Compares It to the One
in This Country.
GENERALS UNPREPARED
But Must Make an Aggressive Move
Butler Will Keep Beers in Check
Until Roberts Has a Chance to
Move.


New York, Feb. 16.-Lieutenant Gem
eral John NJ. Schofield in dispatch from
81. Augustine to the Herald, reviews the
war in South Africa as follows:
nhe experience of the British in South
Africa up to near the present time has
been the natural result of lack of pre-
paration and previous experience and
over confidence in British prowess They
have suffered defeats in attempting 20
DO what q cool and fully enlightened
military Judgment would have decided to
NJ impossible. The situation thus Gre
ateS may inevitably lead to further loss-
es. especially that of the garrison Of
Ladysmith. But the worst feature Of
; this situation is that 1t has forced upon
the British general in chief the moral
necessity of pressing aggressive opera
| tions before being fully prepared for
them and along very difficult line, in
the hope of raising the siege of Lady,
smith before the garrison may be COM
PEELED to SURRENDER.
But the general estimate in England
and on the continent of Europe of the
magnitude of the results already reach
ed or probable in the near future is out
OF all proportions to the facts. The Brit
ish reverses so far have been incompar-
aDly less than those suffered from strik-
ingly similar causes by the union army
In the east and by the confederate army
in the west during the early stages of
the slvll war in this country
I The present situation hardly affords
! ground for conjecture as to what the ul-
inmate result will be. From the mill
tary standpoint in this country the war
In South Africa has only begun. In
making a just estimate Of the more re-
cent opera tions of the British forces it
is important to bear in mind that the
situation conpeQs their commanders to
press aggressive operations as constant
ly and vigorously as possible-first to
prevent the Beers from detaching large
bodies of troops to oppose the advance
along the line chosen by Lord Roberts
and second. to take advantage of any
considerable weakening of the Boer lines
which the other movement of Lord Rob-
erts may cause, to break through the
Boers lines and relieve the beleaguered
British garrisons.
time In the near future that General
Butler may find the Boer line at some
point in his front too far weakened to
resist his vigorous assaults. If not
General Buffers vigorous operations and
those of General Methuen on the other
flank must SO occupy the Beers as to
make sure Lord Roberts advance on an
intermediate line.
~
British operations in South Africa
should be conducted on at least three
, lines. If fourth from Delagoa were
available 1T would add greatly to their
advantage. Such division of a super
Tor force increases very greatly the prob
abilities Of the success of some one OF
/ three or four grand divisions and the
success of one is the success OF all.
When the union army Of the west, af-
ter three years Of hard fighting, were
able to march through Georgia and the
Carolinas destroying all the military re-
sources of the confederate army in Vir-
ginia, the end necessarily came. in spite
Of the fact that the confederate army
of northern Virginia had been able to
defend Richmond nearly four years. Yet
the army of the Potomac, though It
made little progress in all that time,
performed the most heroic and difficult
task of all by holding the most formid-
able of the confederate armies while the
western union armies did their deadly
work. So General Butler may yet per-
form the most important British work
in South Africa, by holding the Beers
along the lire of the Tugela river. until
Lord Roberts pentrates into the heart Of
Boer territory. In the meantime.
whether the troops at Ladysmith are
able to hold out to the end or must sur
/ render before they can be relieved the
! course. Of General Butler must be the
same. He must press his operations
there to hold the Beers while Lord Rob-
erts advances on the other line.
OF the Beers the information received
! IN this country though meagre. appears
| to justify US in saying that their opera
tions have been conducted with admira BILE
skill and courage. A long time may be
| required to determine which side is most
i Dowerful Unless our British and Dutch
| cousins ON the other side Of the Atlantic
are degenerate our own civil war must
| be acdlepted as fair indication OF what
| the character of the conflict in South
| Africa must be. We can only hope that
| the ultimate result may be as beneficial