Arizona republican., 1901-09-29
THE BOER WAR PUZZLE
British Officer Explains Situa-
 tiOn in South Africa
Kitchener's Proclamation Not Likely
 to be Effective-It was Forced
 by the Cape Governments Ri diculous Humanity.

recrudescence of Boer activity in the field and the state of semi rebellion re ported to exist in Cape Colony the sit uation in South Africa has grown in interest. The cent reverses of the British following the proclamation of Lord Kitchener would seem to give point to the allegations abroad that the British government has not adequately backed up the commander in chief inI his campaign. In order to obtain some light upon the present puZZling situa- tion the opinion of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur H. Lee, a member of parliament and well known here as the British att tache during the Santiago campaign. was sought.
 People over here don't seem to quite understand what is going on in south Africa just at present or why the war drags on. To what do you attribute the recent activity of the Boers at the very date when Lord Kitchener's pro- clamaticn comes into force announcing the adoption of more stringent meas ures?" he was asked at the Waldorf Astoria.
 q think" was the reply, "it is the natural desire for a spectacular reply ol the part of the Bosrs to Lord Kitch- ener's proclamation After all. such occasional reverses are more or less iE- evitable when one considers that the British forces are split up into small bodies in order to cover the vase amount of territory over which opera tioas extend"
 Than how long do you estimate tha- this condition Of affairs will continuee''
 Well. if the Boer losses go on at the present rate they cannot hold out many months longer. although the fewer they are the less easy it will become to hurs them down. But they have less than 10.CC0 left now, and they are losing 3. the rate Of some hundreds week"
 Don't you think. however. that their forces are recruited largely from rebels in the Cape Colony? Do you not think that the whole of the colony is in re- beiiioa. although the facts are more or less suppressed?"
 T hope not" said the officer "No. | see no reason @ suppose such a thing You see it really amounts to this: Take country the size of half Europe, and set loose in it 10000 cowboys. all well mounted and knowing the country like a book, ana they could go almost any-l where. It Is the difficulty of catching ther7 that is prolonging the war. Btu; stIll the Boer forces are greatly da- creased since the beginning of the war, anu llassl Ol the nave OUiN about 100 men Tn them
 About Lord Kitchener's latest pro- c,auiation. Is he within his right in banishing theeBoer lenders permanent ly from south Africa2 Is not guerilla warfare declare1 distinctly leSitima te by The Hague confercnce?"
 That may be 90, but all methods of dealing with the enemy are quite al- lowable- There Is no international law forbidding ths permanent punishment of Boer leaders from South Africa. Bat if you ask me whether it was wise proclamation I am inclined to doubt It. l think it was probably done to satisfy the governments of Natal and the Cape Colony. which desired to see more' stringent measures adopted against the Boers. I believe the British govern ment more or less followed their sug- gestion in this matter and I do not think this proclamation will have much effect
 Anyway. there Is not the slightest doubt that the British conduct of the war has besn ridiculously humane We have not even begun such a policy Gs that of General Sherman in the civil war or the Germans in France in 1871. At present we arr housing and feeding families of our opponents. The Ameri- can general declared that non-cori- batants should be left only their eyes to weep with. ''
 What do you think are the pros pects of Q permanent peace after the war? Do you think the Bcers will c--| quieSce in the new order of things?"
 ''I don't see why they should not They cannot well restart the war with out arms and when they are scattered all over the country on their farms Besides. I think the 35.o00 odd prison- CTS in St. Helena India and the Ber- mudas desire peace pretty unanimous ly. I am quite confident that in the end we hall succeed in reconciling the two races SO that they will work to- gether to uphold one flag. Of course. they will be granted the widest auton- omy possible under the empire
 Lieutenant Colonel Lee feels quite confident that eventually the Boers will submit to be brought within the circle of the British empire. In vie " of the criticisms that havs been made of the recent French military manoev- CTS in that frontal attacks were cou- stantIy made in spite of the lessons taught the British by the Boers, he was asked:
 About frontal attacks, Colonel Lee. Do you think they are played out or not?'
 q think modern armaments hay,s rendered thsm exceedingly difficult {, accomplish
 But at the beginning of the war Lord Methuen repeatedly made sue cessful frontal attacks at Belmont, Graspan and other places
 Still they would have been evcnl more successful the other way
 But is not the percentage of loss lower in modern warfare than at any previous time?'
 Yes. ParadOxfcal as it may seem the percentage of loss decreases with each new improvement in weapons. be- cause this improvement is more than counterbalanced by the defensive meas ures. Of course, the time when war fare was most deadly was when the