The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-09-14

sSDrage, sis General Kuropatkin, the
an on whom the mantle of the ia
4 NOUS General Skobelef has fallen,
and who has been since 1895 Minister
s#ofa War He is the most brilliant sol
ier and one Of the most capable ad-
Il M fnis traitors in the service of the Gar
Practically in the prime Of life, en-
lowed with indomitable will and IN
u Yiring industry, the strictest of dis
& ci p1inarians, he is gentle and modest
I'm manner. He has had more than
4 ahirty.hve years Of military service,
B ian and has won the affection and respect
H of all who have served under him.
He has studied the practice Of war
under great chief, and has an init
mate knowledge of the peoples OF the
East and the balance of power in Asia.
4 His first distinctions were gained IN
1S6S, when, at the age OF 20, he as
sisted at the storming of Samarkand
Il and won the orders of ST. Stanislaus
and st. Anne for distinguished gal
b Iantry. The years 1S71-4 were spent
in a course Of special studies at the
star College, which was followed by
promotion to the rank OF Captain. In
1875 he was sent on a special mission
TO France and Germany, in the course
8sof which he took part in an expedition
from AIgiers into the Sahara and be-
n came Knight of the Legion Of Honor
ssOnS the outbreak of the Russo
4 Turkish war in 1877, Kuropatkin be-
came Lieutenant Colonel and Chief OF
$stan to General Skobeleff, and greatly
xdfsIfng uished himself at Plevna. In
deed, there is little doubt that some OF
IESkobeleff's laurels were won by him.
Skobeleff was dasiing, impetuous-
reckless leader; Kouropatkin the cool,
4 s,atient, calculating corrective who
res trained him. In 1879 Colonel
SRuropatlSin became professor OF mil
4 ltary statistics at the Staff College,
bur. pining for more active service,
~ as sent, in 1880, as commandant of
the I,urkestan Rifles on the expedition
which resulted in the reduction @
B Kuldia
s;7..-:S rs -- -------
Later in the same year he COM
8Snanded the reinforcements sent to
General Skobeleh, Who was conduct
4fIss the campaign against the Tekke
I.yrconlans. Starting from Samark-
nd in November, 1880. with a detach-
nanI SEQ strong he hurried through
/ Bukhara 10 Charjuy, barely three days
ride from #Tekke lair al Merv; then,
fetching a long detour by way OF
Khiva to avoid the Tekke bands with
Il which the desert swarmed. he joined
Z headquarters on December %. Well
nigh Skobelef say: 'Kouropatkin is
i IN = only man capable of performing so
81 dangerous a mission. 1t was under
1 his leadership that the Southern col
b ilrnng forced the entrenchment OF GanSi
Raka on January 81, 1881, and he
headed one OF the columns in the ia
itloIIS assault and capture of Cock
8Teppe on January "a.
After period OF service on the
staff at st. Petersburg. during which
III was entrusted with schemes of mo-
hiIization and defense OF the western
Z Erontier of Russia he became governor
and cornmander-in-chief of Transcas-
d pta when it was made a government
in 1890. In this post he showed great
capacity as a civil administrator, and
obtained a reputation for firmness and
sympathy, as well as for thorough
y knowledge of the native character,
and he remained there until he be-
came Minister OF War
General Kouropatkn has thus been
trained in many schools. He is a mas
# ter of the science Of war on its theo-
&reticaI side, besides having had album
SgIantS experience in the field. He has
ieoniucted diplomatic missions. and
has made the military politics of Asia
g his specially. His opinions are there
fore of the utmost value. and the eX-
preston he gave of them in an adj
dress at Askabad on November %,
1897, in speech to party of English
tourists was remarkably frank. He
laid special stress on the fact that
since the Introduction OF railways and
I telegraphs Central Asia had been COM
pfeteIy within the control of the cen
4 traI government, so that whatever
happens there now is a proceeding au-
thorized by the Gar. The days when
"a General could take a city and then
Fl report the fact to his imperial master
y are over. The policy of the Governor