The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-03
JAP SAILORS AND SOLDIERS
MIRA 4CULOUSo MILITARY DETEL-
 OPMENT
Fly the "YanIees of the East'--HOw
 They Managed It.

hhey Muhhseu Gas
 Tn an address MT. Arthur Diosy, at
 the opening of the ninth session of the
 Japan Society, in London, related some
 experiences of visit to the Far East.
 Among the things which filled MT.
 Diosy with admiration was the navy of
 Japan
 Upon this topic he says: 'There is on-
 ly one word for the navy of Japan, and
 that is miraculous It is, indeed, a
 miraculous navy When you think that
 thirty-one years ago the navy of Japan
 consisted of two steamships, one of
 them about the size of Citizen A on the
 Thames, the other very ancient man. of-War, which had been sold at very
 high price to Japan, and when you
 think that at the present moment the
 ships of the Japanese Navy are second l to none in the world in their power,
 in their handiness, in their rate of speed,
 in what may be called their fighting efficiency, which is produced, as naval
 experts know, by pulling together the
 ships speed, armor, size, weight of met
 al that the ship can throw at the enemy
 in a certain time--coal consumption,
 't'''iiiiAiSo lddlusp etlINt iiIllN'iilS'7p 4e AN gratifying to be able to say that in all | these essentials the ships of Japan are behind none in the world.
 Even in numbers, the Japanese navy
 now stands eighth on the list of navies of the world, and in another two years
 time will probably stand fifth, maybe
 even fourth, but at all events fifth, un- less some very great efforts are made to increase their navy by the powers now ahead of Japan. Moreover the ships of the JapaIiese navy may be de- scribed, l think, as being the most in- telligent designed warshps in the world, because they are designed for the par ticular work that they have got to car ry out, and for no other. The Japanese
 know that their battles will be fought
 near home and that consequently they need not have very large spaces for car
 rying coal and thus the space which
 would otherwise be filled by bunkers can be devoted to more guns and more projectiles which, as we know by recent naval warfare, is the chief point, The ship that can pump the greatest weight of metal into another ship in the short est time will be the victor
 That is as regards the material. Now, what about that which is much more important, the men? The men of the Japanese navy are simply perfect, The officers who command them are first rate; they showed it not many years ago. Besides. I had an opportunity, thanks to the great kindness of certain Japaness naval officers, old friends of mine, one of whom is an honorary mem- of al A1- mral Kawara. whom many of you will remember as Captain of the fine cruis- | CT Yoshino who entertained many of us so hospitably on board his ship in Ply mouth Sound in 1S93--of seeing how they l make Japanese naval officers. I saw the | factory at work.
 On the island of Etajma, one of the | most beautiful islands in the beauti- ful inland seat there lies the Imperial Navy College, at which the cadets are trained. who afterward become officers in the Japanese Navy. l will not weary you with a description of what is one of the most perfect naval educational establishments in the world: I will sim ply tell you that the Russian naval at tache at Tokio, an authority who could not be suspected of any undue predlec- tion for things Japanese, said to me, 1Ha! It is model for all the navies of the world; it is absolute perfection' And absolute perfection it is There several hundred young Japanese gentle men of splendid physique-I have never seen finer body of young men between the ages of fifteen and twenty than l saw there-are trained in all that goes to constitute an efficient modern naval officer, that is to say, in every mortal thing that you can think of. They are trained there in the midst of the healtb- est surroundings. The island is entirely given up to the Naval College, they can roam over it at will. they can even go deer in the woods: they have their games, their sports, their boating, their sailing, and their life Is an abso- utely healthy one, Every care is taken to keep their minds as healthy as their 0odies, l was taken into the battery. the finest, most accurate representation of the fighting battery of a tirst-class bat .leship that l have ever seen, a battery every kind of the most up- -o-date guns are used at sea Outside, Dn the green eward, were 120 cadets lad in their flannel sneets and their Nn1lp uuck trousers, ana Wlln tnOSe white Japanese socks, with a division Or the great toe which forms such excellent footgear on board ship--stand- ng at attention, solid like a wall. I { vas requested to inspect them. I did io. I never saw finer lot of young nen in my life. is
 At one word spoken by the Chief Gun lery Instructor the 120 young men , umbled into that battery. L timed ( hem by my watch--twenty-eight sec ,nds from the giving of the order every ( nan stood at his gun There was abso- | ute silence, most perfect order. The ( Officer of Quarters came toward me and ( aid. What would you like to see?" I ( aid, T would like to see exercise ac- { ion" The words were hardly out of t ny mouth before the buge sounded, | nd I can assure you--and l speak, as t 'Ou know, with some technical knowl- t dge of this matter-it has never been a ny delight to see better gun drill in the f whole world than ] saw there, The fel- l ows simply tumbed over one another I Ike mice or squirrels. and for the whole