The sun., 1907-03-31

anesswereInolIneti 20 bully. Cen. Hamilton
heard n story Of how q Japanese soldier wa
having q dispute with q Chinese shop
keeper who kept booth In tho main street
OF Liaoyang. Suddenly the soldier took his
rife by the muzzle, and with its butt In one
fell swoop swept to the ground the whole
| of the mans lemonade, cakes, sweetmeats,
tea and other merchandise. A third cause
Of disillusionment OF the Chinese was that
as winter came on the Japanese would often
burn doors and windows OF Chinese farm
houses in order TO cook their rice.
One day In January, after deputation
Of Cinnamon had visited Marshal Kuroki.
his staR officers entered into q conversation
about the Chinese which greatly interested
their English guest. From all the latter
could gather, after a fairly close study Of
the question on the spot there 10 no doubt
that the northern Chinese peasant will
| make an excellent soldier. He is hardy.
Obedient, brave and intelligent. Ample
material is also available for the requisite
number Of non-oommissioned officers. As
regards the officer class. ON the other hand.
the situation is more obscure. Our author
feels assured that there Ii no present pros
pect Of China's being able TO create a corps
Of officers. What have seen myself of
Chinese officers and Chinese military stu
dents gives me the strong belief that for
three or four generations to come it will
be impossible for the Middle Kingdom to
produce instructors and administrators
who will be patriotic enough to resist the
temptations Of power and to devote their
lives to an ideal higher than that of money
making. They are ut present so entirely
lacking In the true military feeling that
they will have to be born again before they
will be At for military officers
Yet while these are Gen. Hamilton's
opinions, he confesses that the subject is
mysterious and Acknowledges il to be
conceivable that a general change might
take place suddenly in the attitude OF the
Chinese nation toward the profession Of
arms which would awaken enthusiasm
dormant for one thousand years and flower
forth into a rsgenerated corps Of officers.
The Japanese are Of course immensely
interested in the problem. They would
like to put China on her feet but not on
horseback. They listen with amused con-
tempt TO the common Western notion that
there is some sort Of an affinity between
Cinnamon and the Japanese. Except the
shadowy spiritual link furnished by Con-
fucius and the more material one OF identi-
cal ideographs, they consider a Chinaman
resembles a Western man much more nearly
than he does any inhabitant Of Nippon.
Again. "the Chinaman IL as pure a type Of
individualist as is the American Of to-day
or the En9lishman Of yesterday. The
japanese is nothing il not an altruist"
In the judgment OF the writer of this book
the battle Of the Sha-ho, which followed that
OF liaoyang, must from every point Of
view. be considered one Of the most i'm
portant engagements ever fought upon
this planet and must be expected to form
a favorite teSt for the dissertations OF his
torians. Numbers will be- checked and
weighed in the balances OF time and oppor-
tunity; maps will be studied and masses
Of individual testimonies will be sifted.
Not until then can any authoritative iudg-
ment be pronounced on the commanders
OF troops on either side. Nevertheless
Gen. Hamilton ventures the provisional
opinion that Kuropatkin, who had the
superior force could and should have won
the battle.
On the occasion OF our authors visit to
Port Arthur in January, 1905, after the sur
render Of the fortress, Gen. Nogi directed
one Of his officers to take the English Cen
eral over the battIeaelds in the neighbor-
hood. In the course Of the ride the visitor
picked up few odd scraps Of opinion and
sentiment. He found that the japanese
think the Russian sailors better men,
stronger, more intelli gent and more highly
trained than the Russian soldiers. The
Japanese admit that the Russians fought
bravely enough at Port Arthur, and yet
there was not a man in the beseginR army
who did not think it wrong Of the garrison
to have surrendered. To exemplify the
Japanese point OF view, our author was told
that il the Mikado gave a color to a regiment
il was deemed the duty OF every single man
TO die before letting it be taken, No lower
standard Of military conduct finds accept
ance or even condonatiOn.
We observe lastly that Gen. Hamilton was
very much impressed by Gen. Nogi, the
commander OF the Third Army, by which
Port Arthur was taken. He is, we read, "a
man Of great nobility Of character, endowed
with a philosophic heroism, which pene-
trates through the mild dignity of his man
ners and appearance. He seemed utterly |
simple and unspoiled by success The
date Of his birth places him among the war
rior1 Of his country's old school, yet he has |
never spared time or labor in his efforts to |
keep himself abreast of the times. He has |
read a very large proportion OF modern |
military works. Our author says |
that IF were Japanese. would venerate |
NOgi. Happy is the army which possesses
such a General. and fortunate the nation.
Indeed, l would go further, and say that |
well constituted must be the army and ably |
governed the nation which, possessing such |
a man, puts him exactly in the right place"
There seems 20 be no doubt that the eye Of |
the Japanese Government serves IL mar
well in the selection Of its instru- |
ments. NJ. H.
A Great Woman Traveller.