The Washington herald., 1911-11-19

the paper strength and that no man is
absent, the total strength amountssEio
240Sl5 men. Careful investigation. how
ever. shows that these numbers are far
beyond the real numbers, and that the
actual strength consists OF 5000 foreign
drilled men with 162 batteries Of mountain
and field artillery, each OF six guns. OF
this number 10000 are combatantS who
have received a more or less efficient mill
tary, training. Foreign drilled troops are
now quartered in varying strength In
each of the three provinces of Manchu-
ria, in each Of the eighteen provinces of
China proper, and in the New Dominion,
including Kuldja and Kashgaria, and
preparations are in progress for station
ing in the future 1000 men in Mongolia,
barracks to accommodate this number be-
ing now under construction in Urga. 1t
is this nonexistent Mongolian force which
is airily described in Russian papers as
two divisions of 10000 men. With the
exception of the metropolitan province
where there are five divisions, and Kirfh,
where nominally there are two very i'm
perfecD divisions. no. province has more
than one division and one mixed brigade.
Frontier Poorly Protected.
AS an indication of China's indiffer-
ence to the adequate protection Of her
frontiers, may mention that 1t has been
estimated that ten armed Europeans
could capture the chief fort on the Tong
king frontier; while I found the garrison
of UIugchat, the first fort on the Chinese
side Of the main route to Russian Tur-
kestan, to consist of four men, OF whom
on the occasion of my visit two were
wedding in the fields, another was wash
ing onion sprouts, and a fourth was play
Iyrr In ha
village On the Yunnan frontier Of Bur-
ma there is on paper a strength of thir-
teen battalions, not of the Lu Chun, but
of the provincial troops, each nominally
3Ol strong armed with Mausers of the
1884 pattern. In Burma British belief in
Chinese strength on the frontier Is al
most ludicrously exaggerated. 1t disre-'
CARDS the difficulty with which Chinese
troops could be brought to the frontier
the mountainous country, the immense
distance from any base, the lack Of re-
serve ammunition, the absence of trans
Iort In Burma this belief is understood
to be based upon the report of police
officer who, expecting to find Chinese
armed with bows and arrows, was sur
prised to find them carrying Mausers.
His glowing description of Chinese mill
tary efficiency is said to have been in
spired by the wish to arouse the Indian
authorities from their alleged lethargy-
Reports Of China's strength in Tibet
also require revision. A large body OF
troops is not required. for they have only
to deal with a semi-barbarous people
armed with obsolete weapons. The force
sent into Tibet, detached from the Szech-
uan incomplete division, consisted Of 1000
mentin all. including two battalions Of
infantry, some cavalry, some miscellane-
ous mountain guns, and some engineers.
Itsopefated at a prodigious distance from
its base. People; indeed, are apt to for
get how great are the distances in China
Not to speak of Tibet, the distance to the
capital Of Ksnsu province by the short
est route from the nearest railway sta
ton is twenty-eight marches. Kuldja is
10 marches from the nearest arsenal
Il is worthy OF note that OF all the
officers in the Chinese army less than g
per cent are Manchus. Among the high
commands IN Pekin there are very few
Manchus. There are so few available
that nearly all the senior officers in the
First division-the Manchu division-are
Chinese, the commander being Shan
tung man OF the old school. In the
Guards, which was founded primarily
as a Manchu division. but Is now open 10
all classes, most OF the officers are Chi
nese, not Manchu.