The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-12-04
DEMAND FOR NEGOTIATIONS
WITH BOERS.
ENGLAND LOSING PRESTIGE
London Statist Urges Government
to Cease Further Hostili-
ties in Africa.

ment should begin negotiations with
Commandant General Botha and Cen
eral Dewet to bring the war to a close
AS the Boer leaders might misunder-
stand the motive Of an overture from
the military authorities it will suggest
that the highest civil authority in
Cape Town should beign the negotia-
lions if not Sir Alfred Miner, then
the chief justice Of Cape Colony, or
even J. H. Hofmeier.
This great financial journal will
lead up to it's proposal by an analysis
of the situation in South Africa and
will say: 1--WE are losing in every
way, losing in prestige and losing in
life. We are seeing our South Afri-
can possessions plunged into greater
distress and the opinion is gaining
ground abroad that weSare incapable
of bringing the struggle to a satisfact-
DRY termination
Military lncompetency will be al
legged and the Statist will aver that
military harshness should be avoided
and the Beers conciliated.
dSllllSUOu, AON. Oo1
Reichmann, of the Seventeenth in
fantry who was detailed by the war
department. to report on the operations
of the Boer forces in the South Afri-
can war, has returned to Washington
to prepare his report and collect the
information gathered.
Captain Reichmann's experience was
varied and interesting. During the
month of March he was with General
Dewet's army. For several succeed
ing months, as he himself expressed it,
he 'shifted for HIMSELF until after
the fall Of Pretoria and then joined
forces under General Louis Botha,
commander-in-chief in the Transvaal
republic. With him much of the
time were attaches from the Russian,
French, Norwegian and Dutch nations.
LIT is difficult" Captain Reichmann
said in an interview with an Associ-
ated Press reporter, :'to foretell what
the Beers are going to do. Whether
they will continue their desultory
fighting or not is a question that is
very difficult to answer. General
Dewet's motto was to Fight, until
our children grow up for indepen-
dence, and it begins to look as if the
Beers might be working that way
now. They are a persistent, obstinate
people, crude and simple in their man
neIs, tough and strong as hunters from
Kentucky and Tennessee, and willing
to undergo hardships. They are
different from the ordinary organized
soldiery and the sever %repressive
measures adopted by the British in
their effort to stamp out the Beers and
their homes evidently had no serious
effect on them. They started in the
war without military training, except
a limited number. 500 from the Trans,
vaal and about 100 from the Orange
Free State. They have stood the
rigors of the campaign very well.
II have figures showing the casual
ties in the Boer forces, but they are
not available just now Fifty-twc
thousand men in all were furnished
by the Boer republics to carry on the
war, but not more than 35, 600 of this
number were in the field at any one
time. OF these probably 1000 are
still in the field keeping up a warfare
against the British.
"When fights occurred between the
contending forces it was usually IL
the ratio of at least five British to one
Boer.'