Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-30

'UISE IS A BEAUTY.
During the same year we spent in round
numbers S112 OG0 600 upon our War Depart
ment and $13S, 000O 600 for pensions or in all
SEQ, 0OO, 900 more than the Germans.
The actual expense here, however, is equal
to two or three times what the government
pays. There are 100000 private soldiers in
Germany who receive from 9 to II cents
day outside their rationS. The rationS are
poor and they must have more to supple
ment them
The result is that every family which has
a son in the army supplies him with a
weekly or monthly allowance as great as
ii can afford. and the total of these allow
ances amount to hundreds of millions Of
dollars a year. / have seen 1t estimated
at two hundred millions. but it Is probably
more. This sum includes the sons of Of
ficerS, who must spend proportionately
more than the private soldiers.
At the same time the standard of living
among the military is more expensive from
year to year. Germany is a much richer
nation than it was few years ago and all
classes are living more eXtravagantly than
in the past. The military class especially
is spending much more. Many of the Of
f1cers are club men and in the best clubs
that some of the old families of Germany
have been ruined by the play Of their sons
who belong to the army.
A Nation Of Soldiers
Germany has undoubtedly the best
trained soldiers of Europe The whole ma
ton belongs to the army, and the country
is a vast military camp. There are mill
tary clubs in every village, and a constant
drilling goes on in every province. Ac-
cording to law every able bodied man must
spend seven years in the army 1t Is not
possible to send substitute, and this Is
SO of rich and poor. of noble and peasant.
There are some who get off on account of
undersize or delicate physique and some
because they are the sole bread winners of
the family but rule every German be-
longs to the army until he is forty-five
years of age, and be called out at al
most any time.
There are over 100000 new recruits each
year, and the drilling which goes on every
where makes it so that 5000, 600 soldiers
can be called to the support of the kaiser
at an hours notice. In the reserve and
Landwehr alone there are 3, 1900 900 men and
more than 600 officers
In other words. there are more officers
than we had soldiers and officers in our
regular army before our war with the Span
iards. There are about 1900 900 men in the
Ersatz Reserve and the Landsturm, and
these can be called out In case of the In
vaSon of Germany.
A Great Machine.
The most of this enormous force is such
erything is prepared to feed it and move
1t from place to place. The government
has control of the railroads. 1t has its mill
tary lines, it's secret telegraphs and it's
fortresses at every weak spot along it's
boundaries. The German frontier has a
total length of 1910 miles and it must
guard 1T all. 1t has s43 miles to fortify
against Russia, 242 miles against France
seventy miles against Belgium and 377
miles against Holland. 1t divides it's from
tier defenses into ten great fortress dis
tr1cts, each of which has it's own organiza-
lions and troops 1t has altogether sew
enteen fortified places which serve as camps
and nineteen other fortresses The for
tresses are all connected by underground
teIeSraphS and there are military railroads
from the chief military centers to the from
tier.
The government has 100000 horses in the
army, and it could double or treble this
number in time of war. l have seen the
cavalry at the maneuvers. The horses are
wonderful. They are trained so that they
Keep perfect STEP and so that In parade
tney Will take so many steps to the minute
ana march in perfect time with one an
other
Americans and the German ARMY.
The Germans are very proud of their SOL
dlers, and the common people, generally,
DO not object to military service 1t does
their sons good and they are proud of hav-
Ing them in the army. They do not like
emigration on the ground that 1T takes
away so many soldiers, and the German
American who returns here has to be care
full as to what his military record has been.
We have treaty with Germany which pro-
vtdes that such men shall be treated as
American citizens, but this treaty is not all
ways regarded. / am told that scores of
German-Americans who have come here
have been warned to leave the country
within eight days, and that some have been
ARRESTED and fined because they had left
without performing military service
According to the German law, every boy
at eighteen must serve in the army The
records of birth are carefully kept, and
the names of those reaching eighteen are
published from year to year. If there is
no record of their deaths and they do not
appear fines are assessed against them and
If these are not paid they are liable to i'm
prisonment.
Many a baby thus recorded has been
taken to the United States with his par
ents and become an American citizen, and
some such babies on their return to Ger
many as grown-ups have been compelled
to pay such fines. l heard of case of
one man who had served several years in
the army of the United States. He return
ed here on the death of his mother to look
into her estate, and this fine which had
been assessed against him was demanded
He could not pay 1T, and was sent to Jail
1t took the best efforts Of the American
ambassador to get him out.
Another more recent case was that of
two of our rich business men. They had
left Germany as little boys, had grown up
as American citizens and had returned here
intending to stay a couple of years and
educate their children. AS long as thew
remained at hotel no notice was taken
of them, but few months ago they rent
ed flats and began to furnish them. This
brought their names to the police who
have to keep track of such things for
taxes. Their records were examined, and
they were ordered to leave the country,
for police reasons, within eight days They
OF no avail, and they may yet need the in
tercession Of the American ambassador be-
fore they can stay.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.