The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-07-07
THE JAPANESE Army
AND NAVY.
John n. B. SCherer, Ph.
D. l.. l.. D.
AUTHOR OF -FOUR PRINCES, "
JAPAN TODAY" ETC.

AUTHOR OF FOUR PRINCES,
JAPAN TODAY" ETC.
1t was not until the year 1872
that reawakened Japan under
took the organization of a mod
ern army and navy. Being by
this time thoroughly CONVINCED
taat Western nations could teach
them somewhat In the matter of
military effectiveness, the new
Sat-ChO government, surround
ing the Emperor and holding the
reins of rule, concluded from the
Investigations of their world
touring embassy that France
could furnish the best drillmas-
ters. French military advisers
were therefore employed for tie
army, but these were afterwards
supplanted by Germans. An eff
fective modern army resulted in
a surprisingly short time, simply
because the soldiers of old Japan
were surprisingly brave and 10y
al through immemor;al drill, with
q native alertress and thorough
ness that gave them immediate
grasp of new forms, and a self
control that adds the summit \
teueh to soldiery. ConscriptionN
laws of the most radical eharae-
ter annually supply fresh materi-
al from the flower of the youth
of the land at the rate of forty
thousand or more. In the rigid
weeding-out process-for the
most stringent mental and phys
ical tests are in practice-those
who are rejected as fighting men
are sent with the army as trans
pprters: The father of the army
is the MARQUIS 4amagato, WHO
has now lat the age Of 66) at
tanned to the rank of field mar
shall. In 6fteen years his army
has grown rom an enlistment of
228, ,848 men to a strength of $685.
268, all told, on a peace footing.
There are six chief military
stations, evenly distributed
throughout the empire.
Baron Yamamoto, the present
minister of the navy, is to this
branch of the service what va
magata has been to the army. In
1902, against the most vigorous
opposition, he induced parlia-
ment to undertake the construc-
ton of six firSt-class battleships
within the next ten years, so
that Japan has not yet approach
ed the limit of her naval expan-
sion. 1t was Great Britain that
supervised the beginnings, send
ing out a small school of instruc-
tors SO long ago as 1867, under
the Shogunate, and a larger one
in 1873, after the Restoration.
Dockyard work, however, was
committed to the direction of the
French. The principal dockyards
are at Yokosuka, in the gulf of
! Tokyo, but there are others at
Kuoe, in the Inland Sea; Sasebo,
near Nagasaki; Maizurn, on
the west coast; and Mororan, in
the Island of Yazo. There are
four shipbuilding concerns where
steelframe steamers can be con-
structed; and some idea of the
rapidity with which Japan is
mastering this difficult industry
can be gained from the fact that
out of the nine and half mil
lion tonnage of steam vessels
passing annually through her
ports, fully three million are of
native construction. At the be.
ginning of the war with Russia
the naval fleet included six first
class battleships, eight armored
cruisers, and fourteen protected
cruisers. At the close of the first
years fighting three of these yes
sells had been lost, while the
Russian Eastern fleet, of equaI
fighting strength in the begin
ming, had been practically swept