The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-10-28
ENGLAND AND The Beers
REASON IL WELL KNOWN WHY THE
LATTER ARE NOT CAUGHT.
kitchcner's Gcneralship Amounts Ia
Nothing While He Has No
Mounted Troops.

London Letter IN New n rk POST
A military problem. not so much gigantic
as irritatingy difficult Of solution, faces the
Britons and the British government at the
present moment. Despite all that the best
British generals and 10000 seasoned British
troops do few thousand Boer
burghers are keeping the British empire at
bay in South Africa. There is practically
no difference of opinion a. to the main
reason for a state of things so Illuminating
to British pride. 1t arises chiefly from the
fact that, with all his mighty legions, Lord
Kitchener has not at his command men of
the type necessary 10 chase down Generals
Botha and De Wet and the leaders OF the
other Boer commanders and put them out
of action In a word, there is no section of
the British army now in South Africa pos
sessed of sufficient mobility to beat the
Beers at their own game. 1t is not a pleas
ant confession this for any Englishman to
make after two years of Boer warfare, and
the military critics who have discussed it
in the public press evidently do so with SUI
preme distaste. But the fact is so in
sistent, and lies nearly at the bottom OF
England's embarrassment in South At
rica-an embarrassment which may at any
moment be dangerously enlarged by open
revolt in the Cape Colony-that it cannot be
burked If, seems probable, the war
drags on.
DEARTH OF RECRUITS.
What, then, shall England do? Where
shall she get the needed men? OF course,
the class of military critic who has a rem
edy up his sleeve for every contingency
will tell you there is nothing for it but con-
scription. One distinguished officer. who is
at this moment holding a responsible COM
spoken words; You animadvert'' he
writes ION the bad quality of recruits and
yeomanry that the authorities have been
sending out and come, with the Times, to
the conclusion that somebody ought to be
hung for il. But do you not see that the
rea son is much deeper one than the i'm
aginary one that some one has failed in his
duty Of picking recruits? Do You not see
That the country has come TO the end of its
boosted voluntary enlistment, and that the
proper men I'm the proper number are not to
be mad? l have studied the question fairly
deeply. so may perhaps be allowed 10 eX-
press the opinion that II you examined the
recruiting returns for few years back
you would change your views (as to the
impOssibility of conscription) Even in nor
NAL times of peace. of the men scraped to-
gether by hook or by crook by the recruit
ing authorities land / can assure you that
these do not fail in their dutyl, almost half
disappear before they have finished their
color service, through death, desertion and
| physical incapacity. And now, after two
| years perpetual drain to keep 100000
men in the field, even with the added FLIP
| OF national excitement and patriotism, do
| you think that we can keep up the supply
which is 80 per cent. short in peace time?
You must be very sanguine IL you do. | am
really quite pleased at these revelations of
incapable yeomanry and volunteers, for it
| may have some effect in dissipating that
monStrous and poisonous idea which is
gradually gaining ground that we can do
| without trained army, and can rely on an
unframed horde of men with rifles and
Temporary enthusiasm plS
who may-but also might not-come for
ward to defend the integrity of our vast
empire"
Il do not write this for publication" adds
my correspondent, but have no objection
to your publishing it-or the sense of it
over my initial only If you like" The in
itial does not matter. but the statement
may be taken as fairly representative of a
class of opinion to which the present war
situation Is again giving some prominence.
In recent letter / think / showed conclu-
sively upon authoritative and even official
information that conscriptiOn cannot be re-
garded a possibility of the near future
| in England. The British army is by the
very nature of the British empire NOV
| ing army. Its movements constant as
| the empire Is scattered. In this respect il
| differs entirely from the army OF Germany
| France or even of Russia. So also does the
English character differ from that of any
| OF these continental peoples. and those who
by political experience and knowledge of
the military machine are best competent to
| express an opinion have been driven to a
4
be- that conscription is not the remedy for
| Englands present military difficulty
| LACK OF GOOD MATERIAL.
| The question. therefore. still remains.
| What shall England do? Lord Roberts OH
| Tuesday of this week publicly said at I,iv-
| erpoo that there was not man or horse
| or anything else that Lord Kitchener de-
| manGed which had not been supplied No
| doubt. in way. But. OF course. Lord
| Roberts knows that it is not a>compIiance
| with commanding officers demand for
! efficient mounted men 10 send him raw ard
| unframed troops such as so many Of the
| last batch of yeomanry undoubtedly were
| Many OF them are now back in England re
| turned as useless, while a quarter OF their
| officers have been also sent home az Of NO
| service. Moreover, Lord Roberts knows a.
| we'll as anybody does that the secret of the
| trouble is that men of the class Lord
| kitchener wants are not to be found i'm
sunclent numbers in England-at all
| events, they do not respond to the induce
| mentS offered. These Inducements have
| been many. including a high rate OF paw
| and shillings day must be so consid-
| ered-but candidates who are fit and can
| also ride and shoot have not so far come
| forward in sufficient numbers And here
| let me quote an expert. They never will"
| ing TO enlist simply do not enlist in sniff
/ cient numbers in the United Kingdom We
are not a nation OF ranchmen and stock
riders, but of traders. If the government
| desires to raise n large force of efficient
| rough riders in the United Kingdom-the
| question of endeavOring TO raise them in
| the colonies is, in the opinion of the mill
| tary authorities, another and an Infinitely
| more difficult and delicate one-thev n1ust
! be manufactured from the class of mon
| who now join the mounted branches of The
| service.
THAT the War Office is straining every
nerve TO find horsemen is apparent from the
| fact that men already discharged for va
rious causes from South African irrep,,Iar
| mounted corps have been invited by a re-
cent army order to re-enlist for the Imne
| rial YeOmanry. The actual text of the order
| is as follows and speaks for itself: IT il
| notified that the question of allowing men
! discharged from South Africa irregular
mounted corps to re-enlist for the Imperial
Yeomanry is under consideration Men Of
/ such corps who wish to return TO Soutb
Africa at once should apply to the quarter
master general for passage. forwarding any
/ papers In connection with their military
service The cost Of messing about 20
| shllings, will have to be paid TO the en-
| barking staff officer. An opportunity for
providing indulgence passages will occur
about the 18th inst. I'm the event of more
/ mounted men being needed for South Africa
| "a great many more-it will be wiser for
| the authorities TO enlist young men and
| train them mounted infantry. than to
| trust TO filling with the Imperial Yeomanry
4 with the class which is wanted. but which
| does not exist i'm sufficient numbers i'm in
/ duStrial England Recruits will present
| themselves i'm plenty if the pay OF the reg