The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1904-03-09

sian and japanese soldiers are seen 10
be first class fighting men, says a WIT
or in the New York Mail. There is lit
tie to choose between them except that
the Russian is far less intelligent ana
depends much more upon leadership
than the japanese. Their courage and
discipline may be ranked about equal.
The Japanese is a fiery, impetuous
fighter, always eager to lead forlorn
hope or storm a battery; the Russian is
heovv logged and determined to the
point of death.
The British found in the Crimea that
when once the Russian infantry Occu-
MED a position and got ready to hght
it was practically impossible to drive
them from that position. 1t was nee
essary to kill them all before it could
he taken. But, on the other hand,
surprise frequently made them lose
their wits and retreat in confusion,
and after the loss Of their officers they
were of little use as an effective hght-
ing force. They simply became MOB,
knowing not where to turn or what 10
do. This estimate of the Russians was
given to the writer by retired Brit
ish officer who fought them in most OF
the battles of the Crimean war and
was wounded in the attack on the Re
dan.
The discipline of the japanese army
is not so strict as that of the Russian,
but in the judgment of foreign experts
it is quite as effective because the
men are so keen on doing their duty
They obey readily because they like to
be good soldiers. not because they fear
their officers. There is a strong spirit
of brotherhood among officers and men
in the Japanese army, which is large
Iy due to their experiences in the Chi
no-Japanese war and the Picking re-
lief expedition. They have tested
each other and been satisfied. The
Russian soldiers discipline is stolid-
perfect from the military point OF
view. but devoid of all enthusiasm. He
obeys the officer because he has never
dreamed of doing anything but obey,
even before he became soldier.
The Japanese officers are mainly
drawn from the ChOSu clan, to which
the emperor, Marquis Ito and nearly
all Japan's leading generals belong.
The officers of the navy, on the con-
frary. belong, with but few exceptions,
to the Satsuma elan. All the officers
in the japanese services come from
Samurai stock, and their ancestors for
over 1000 years were as fine fighting
men as the world has ever seen.
The weakest branch of the japanese
army is undoubtedly the cavalry. The
Japs are not good horsemen, and the
breed of horses in Japan is distinctly
inferior. Heroic efforts have been
made by the Tokyo war office in re-
cent years to improve this branch OF
the service, but without much success.
Among other things, special college
for the education of cavalry officers
only was established.
THE Japanese cavalryman," an Eng
fish officer once remarked to the writ
er. "can master with ease every de-
tail of his work except how to ride
decently. He never learns that"
The Cossacks, on the contrary, have
the reputation among military experts
of being the finest Irregular cavalry
in the world and those whom one sees
in Russia and central Asia are always
splendidly mounted. OF course it does
not follow that they would be equally
well mounted in Manchuria and ko-
rea. Native horses will probably be
depended on to a large extent, for the
transporting capacity of the Siberian
railway will be sufficiently taxed in
carving men without bringing their
horses.
The artillery of the Japanese is a
strong arm of the force in number of
guns, excellence of material and train
ing of the gunners. The Japanese, as
a rule, are not good marksmen, because
the eyesight of the entire nation is
more or less defective. But men with
first class vision have been picked out
for the artillery, and the military at
faches of the foreign legations at To-
kyo have praised their shooting over
and over again in official reports to
their government The only defect Of
the artillery-and it is a serious one
is the inferOfity of the horses. The
Russian artillery is better horsed and
bears a reputation Of high efficiency
In the Russo Turkish war, it may be
remembered, the Russian guns were
splendidly landed, as a rule.
The Japanese infantry was declared
by General Grant, Lord Wolseley, Gen
eral Chaffee and many other compe-
tent observers to be as good as any in
the world. "The only thing l would
object to in it if 1 were an officer de-
clared former military attache of the
United States legation at Tokyo, is
the absolute likeness Of the men to one
another They are as like as dish of
peas. l don't see how their officers can
tell them apart, and that is awkward,
you know, when you are commanding