The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-07-22
CURRENT ENT.

CURRENT COMMENT.
The New York Sun quotes Major A. e.
]. Marshall, British officer, who is sup
posed to be one of the best authorities on
the subject, as follows:
On paper the Chinese nrny is divided
INTO three lnes-the regular army, re-
serves under arms, and the reserves be-
tween sixteen and sixty years of age who
are trained for only few days each year.
The regulars and reserves under arms
form what may be termed the Imperial
standing army, and are reckeoned at G0,000
cavalry and $4,000 infantry and artillery.
MAYOR a. Il. j. Marshall, a British officer,
VINO is perhaps one OF the best authorities
on the subject, recently prepared a memo
randun containing the following details:
Inc hghung troops he classed as-Man-
chur.an Field Force, $1,000; Manchurian
lrregulars, 10000; Fighting Braves, 125, 600;
and Chien-Chun, or disciplined troops. no.
0V0. The Reserves under arms he de-
scribed as-Pekin Field Force, 1900; Ban
ner Troops in Pel1in, 900; Banner Troops
IN provinces, $4,000, and the Luh-Ying or
Green Standnrd regiments, $4,000. The
militia reserves could not be calculated,
put each Viceroy has certain number of
more or less trained troops under his per-
sonal control for local service. The arma-
ment OF the infantry is for the most part
the Mauser rifle, and the artillery hns
large number and great variety of wea-
pons, comprising ordinary breech-loaders,
quick-firers and machine guns The cav
airy is the least effective portion of the
Chinese army.
Russia is supposed to be able to move
within short space of time at least two
hundred thousand troops to Manchuria.
Cf course, the Chinese army, while reck-
oned at $4,000 infantry and 6O.GCO cavalry,
is in all probability neither armed nor
equipped as we'll as Major Marshall seems
to think If they are, then European
manufacturers of arms will have paid
large price for the trade they got in
China
AS to property qualifications for negro
voters the New York Times says:
There may not be any more in the story
from Virginia that the coIored people of
that State have acquired the ownership
of One-tWenty-s sixth of the land than APP
pears on the face of it. 1t may be an en-
tirely fortuitous circumstance, but then,
ngain, it may not. The leaders of the col
ored race are by no means as short
sighted as many imagine them to be, and
they are perhaps wise enough to discern
the growing solidarity of the sentiment
against them in the South. They are
quite capable of formulating a policy for
their people nnd of foreseeing the need of
providing against the day when the white
lawmakers will impose upon them a pro-
perty qualification for the enjoyment OF
the franchise. The acquisition of the land
in Virginia seems to bear out the belief
that some such plan has long been in
operation. If such is the case, the intro
ducion Of the property qualification will
not disfranchse the negro, but it will so
far toward placing the ballot in the hands
Of those who will have a. direct and lively
interest in good government and the pre-
servaton Of law and order.
The New York Times takes the Sun to
task very good humoredly on the question
Of a third ticket. The Suns says:
Our neighbor, the New York Times. Is
giving good advice this year to Gold Demo-
Gratis, so called. who want to put up a third
ticket. 1t calls them assistant Bryan
ties" It tells them that the idea of a
third ticket is folly" It says squarely
that their motive IS desire for personal
comfort" that is to say, they are i'm
PEELED merely by that pride OF personal
opinion in the past which makes them re-
luctant to cast a vote for Mckinley under
any circumstances, no matter how much
they abhor Bryan and his doctrines. s =
The position of the Times to-day in OPP
posing the third ticket idea and advising
Gold Democrats to vote directly for Nc
kinley and Roosevelt is creditable both
to It's political sagacity and to its patriot
ism. We congratulate our esteemed con-
temporary. We are reminded of the atti-
tude of those honorable and prescient Dem
ocrats in 1896 who refused to follow the
lead of the men who insisted on setting up
| a third ticket for the sake of their per-
sonal comfort in that never-to-be-forSotten
| contest.
To which the New York Times replies
that the need for third ticket in 1896 was
| that some person might be brave enough to
| demand the gold standard. The Demo
! cratic party had declared for silver and
| the Republican party had truckled in
| cowardly and cringing way to the silver
| paranoiacs with weak and cowardly words
| about international bimetallism. Tbs
| Times goes on to say:
| The Indianapolis Democrats ran the gold
| standard flag TO the masthead and nailed
| it there. They have never regretted it. II
| was time that some political party should
! construct a platform that squared with
| honest principle and natural economic law
| The people, misled by years Of preaching
/ about the double standard, had to be sci
| right Why. we remember that our es'
| teemed neighbor, the Sun, no longer age
| than March l. 1855, expressed its unre'
served acceptance Of the extreme silver
| view in these terms:
| Such q continual fall in prices as WE
have had for ten years kills all enterprise
and restricts trade to the limits OF absolute
necessity. A rise in prices such as Woule
follow their measurement in silver would
| revive confidence and encourage trade
Men would see a prospective profit In pur
chases where they now see only a loss
and they would buy freely where they nov
buy stingily. If active trade is desirable
at all. the way to create it is by adopting
tho silver standard and giving up all effort:
to maintain that of gold.
] Bryan himself was never 50 radlcal, posi-
tive. emphatic and mistaken. Our goo
i neighbor will understand how the prevail
ence of such opinions as we nave quoted
from its columns made men feel mat tner'
was need OF a party giving outspokel
support to the gold standard.
The Sun vii! probably come PACK IN on
Of its choicest creations but 1t would seen
that its only hope, in view OF its editorial
In 1855, is to claim repentance ana bette