New-York tribune., 1900-04-01
Mr.. STICKNEY AGAIN.
HE THINKS ENGLAND is ONLY AT THE BE-
GINNING OF HER SOUTH AFRICAN
CAMPAIGN

! To the Editor of The Tribune.
! Sir My friend, your correspondent 'Monometal-
| list in your yesterdays issue has not read me
with care But grayer omission is his not reading
| his Tribune with care. He has charged me with
uttering unfulflled prophecies to the South Az
| rican
But have made prophecies. In my book on
| THE Transvaal Outlook at page 49, may be read
! these words Here. of course, all that can be
done Is to state conditions Results, especially the
results of serious and bitterly contested war;
| beyond the knowledge of finite human beings. The
| conditions however, that we have thus far ascer-
tanned to exist in South Africa to-day these" I"
| The chief of those conditions then stated to
! be % the impossibty OF supplying large modern
army at long distances except by rail, C2 the ex-
treme of destroying railways in South Africa
and (3) the extreme difficulty of rebuilding railways
In South Africa. One further condition men
| toned the approach of the arid season. which
would greatly increase the difficulty of transporta-
tion and supply except by rail
Here comes the point TO which my friend needs
to read his Tribune. The issue of The Trib-
une most interesting extracts from
private letters from the British army. from which
will copy two short passages. One is:
The march clearly showed the dangers Of ia taking dn
without proper water supply it pratteay lea sSsr de
along a railway or along the rivers
But the rivers do not where they are needed
for such march. The other passage is:
The deep, hot red sand makes intolerable the
of nG and the qGss fe s at
The sidings are Ghoked with trains Loaded
fired across the Modder the land was green IN its
1t had r. at on 1t non OF
man and beast accepted as fodder. Now 1t is a
blazing red waste of sand.
A further intimation was made in my book that
If Lord Roberts should capture Bloemfontein he
might possibly find It another Moscow. The great
est soldier of modern times, IL not of all history
was conquered by two Of Natures great military AIRY
that Lord Roberts of Kandahar win conquer
Rssr tSse nd 6e Is
point or the campaign. be 1t remembered Is Pre.
o @ meE b fash e 0 By
l understand it to be nearly five hundred miles At
Lord to AS far VIM
a ms poh goes osh ns
level From that point. however; the line runs
mile will have every advantage for the defence, and
will cost much time and life From that point % ON
armies will be compar lively slight, For each mile
communicat tions to the rear To-day. at his present
point Of advance Lord Roberts r may have - sixty 1
hundred miles especially after severe lighting how
m not w b he eo hsys 6ssy hs lord Robers will
much larger army than he has now; he will use
Pretoria, Of which he speaks so jaunty-that is
unless the Dutch collapse, which does not yet seem
only people who have ever Beaten the ocean. They
hold the worlds record for staying.
In short the would seem to be at Its begin
ming, 1t would seem to have now REACHED the stage
battle of Long Island; marked in Napoleon's career
Bear in mind the situation as to men. Mr.. Kip,
ling states it thus: Truly the guns and men and
but but England cannot keep up the supply She has
drawn on her last resources
9ng by rev hours and aanP{
are equal to many thousands q men. .,.u,ar,u
New-York, March 49, 1900