Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-05
years of military service
India.
Division Commanders and Staff.


ant generals, each having command Of the
four military divisions into which the en-
pire is divided The Calcutta division is
under the command of General Sir Alfred
Gaseley, who led the combined international
forces to the relief Of the besieged legations
in Picking. Lord Kitchener has general
staff similar to that recently organized in
the United States army, who look after the
equipment, the feeding. the clothing and the
transportation Of the army with an enOr-
nous corps of clerks and subordinate Off
GERS.
Qualifications of Officers.
Z The officers Of the staff corps number 2, 700
and are appointed from the line of the ma
tive army upon the merit system. Many Of
them were educated at the military col
leges in England, many others have seen
service In the regular army of Great Bril-
tain and have sought transfer because the
pay Is better and promotion is more rapid In
the Indian than in the British army. How
ever, before an officer is eligible for staff
employment in India he must serve at least
one year with a British regiment and one
year with a native regiment, and must pass
examinations in the native languages and
on professional subjects. Many young OFF,
GERS who have submitted to examinations
have demonstrated their ability to talk, read
and write one or more of the native tongues.
The gussips say that during his voyage
from London to Bombay two years ago
Lord Kitchener shut himself in his state
room and spent his entire time refreshing
his knowledge of Hindustani.
No officer is allowed responsible COM
mand until he can speak the native lam
guage OF the district in which he Is serving,
and as there are IFS different dialects
spoken in India, some of the elder officers
have to be familiar with several of them.
Such linguistic accomplishments are to the
advantage of military officers in various
ways. They are not only necessary for
their transfer tn Stan 6lfV huf insure m
rapid promotion, greater responsibilities and
render them liable at any time to be called
upon for important service under the civil
departments. Several thousand officers are
now occupying civil and diplomatic posts.
and are even performing judicial functions
In the frontier provinces.
The armies Of the native states look for
midabie on paper. but most of them are
simply for show and are intended to graft
ify the vanity of the Hindu princes, who
love to be surrounded by guards and es-
corted by soldier with banners Some Of
the uniforms of the native armies are as
picturesque and artistic as those of the
papal guards at the Vatican, and on occa-
sions. of ceremony they make brave show.
the provinces. the native forces would be
of very little value In a war.
Health of the Troops.
The military authorities of India are ex-
ceedingly proud of the morale and the by
gienic condition of their troops, and the
records of the judge advocates and medical
departments show remarkable improve
ment in these respects, which Is largely
due to the scientific construction of bar
racks, to the enforcement of discipline and
regulations framed to suit climatic condi-
TONS q better knowledge of the effects of
food and drink and the close observance of
the laws of hygiene The climate Is very
severe particularly upon Europeans, who
must take good care of themselves or suf-
fer the consequence. The death rate in all
armies in time of peace should be much