Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1907-01-03

China's military forces to-day are
vastly different from those which the
combined armies of the allied powers
met with during the march on Pellin
at the time of the Boxer uprising
Then in the estimation of western mil
itary men, China had nothing worthy
of the name of army. 1t was scarcely
more than an undrilled rabble, badly
disciplined, and without pride in its
calling. But at the recent big military
maneuvers, what was it that met the
astonished eyes of military experts
from other nations who were permit
ted to be present? Not the old army
of China, nor a half-drilled and organ
lied force, better than the old but far
Inferior to the military forces of other
nations. No. 1t was a transformed
army. Transformed it seemed, as by
magic during the past few years, and
the foreign observers and experts who
were present and saw the maneuvers
admitted that it was a force to be
reckoned with.
On Oct. 81 the Viceroy Yuan Shi
Kai and Gen. Tie LANG, the minister
of war, received the foreign guests
and explained the plan of the opera
tons and the theater of war to them.
He pointed out to them that while
until now each province had had it's
own army, quite Independent of any
other, this was the first time that any
Chinese military maneuvers would be
conducted by united armies.
Each foreign nation had received
permission to send three military OBJ
servers, and the American officers
present were Capt. Henry Leonhard,
United States marine corps, military
attache at Pekin Capt. Reeves,
United States cavalry, from the Phil
ippines, and Capt. w. II. Clifford,
United States military commander of
the legation guard at Pekin. Capt.
Leonhard is the officer who lost his
right arm in the attack on Tientsin
during the Boxer uprising.
The opposing forces were complete
in infantry, cavalry, artillery, en-
gineers, transports and medical serv-
ice corps, and the appearance and dis
cipline of the new army amazed rather
than surprised the military critics, as
the organization is only four years
old. 1t is proposed within the next
ten years to train 100000 men for ter
ritorial defense purposes. There are
thousand cadets in the Chinese mill
tary academies, 100 are studying in
Japan and there are several in almost
every country in the world. 1t is to
these students of the military science
of other lands that China looks for
her own future efficient staff of Of
ficers.
One of the military experts writes
privately, for no official report is yet
to hand: "Of all eastern institutions
none, perhaps, is regarded by the west
with such contempt as the Chinese
army. No great degree Of
military capacity is claimed for the
Chinaman, but ample evidence might
be adduced to prove that he is very
far from being totally devoid of it. i
is sufficient to say that there does eX
list an army, the organization, dis
cipline and bearing of which excited
the astonIshment OF the large number
of foreign officers who witnessed the
maneuvers and to whom what has beer
accomplished within the last fou
years came as a revelation.
Efficiency in the transport ant
commissariat departments is general
ly accepted as indicating efficiency il
other branches The Chinese arrange
ments on the present occasion were 81
complete and worked out so perfect,
as regularly to confound those VIII,
anticipated breakdown in the com