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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1910)
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH 20, 1910. MB mm BY WJNTHROP SARGENT. "O H, an army officer's job !s a cinch," a friend remarked the other day, "He has nothing to do; his house, his fuel, his light and his horses, are furnished him free by the Government, and he can buy things for next to nothing In the post. I tell you It Is a fine thing to be 'lord of all you survey, and have 100 men compelled to do your work for you. Why, I think It Is the greatest graft going." In this remark we find voiced the thoughts of thousands of the citizens of onr country. These worthy people know but very little about the service, and Its workings, but one and all have the Idea that an officer can dress up In his regimentals, buckle on his sword and go out to teas, balls, hops and all kinds of social functions, or appear for a few mlnntes on the parade ground as a picturesque figure. This Is not true In the least. It may seem a very radical statement to make to utter this, but I speak from 11 years' experience with the Army, both in the home garrison and on the foreign field of battle. Let us take the daily life of two officers, an artilleryman- and an infantryman, and see what they have to do. Not two unusual days, but just the common every-day, as it runs, year in and year out in the "piping times of peaoe." Let us follow the officer in spirit for 24 hours. Me gets up in the morning at 6:45, goes out and superintends the calls -thenio exercise of his company. At 6:30 he goes back to his quarters for his breakfast. At 7 he is over to his company's office, signing the different reports which must be at post head quarters by 8. These he must check up very carefully and make sure that they are correct before he sends them up. At 8:80 he goes out with his company for company drill. This maneuver lasts en hour and a half. Here he must know the drill regulations thoroughly, and he is constantly cautioning and correct ing his men, trying to bring them to the highest possible state of efficiency. Perhaps, and there nearly always is, one man who Is slower than the rest and cannot seem to understand instruc tions; if so, the officer has to explain repeatedly and have the movement per formed over and over. He Is constantly on the move during this hour and a half, and covers, about seven miles in this one period. Mistakes liesult In Reprimand. Recall from drill is sounded at 10:30, which means dismissal from the drill ground. He goes back to his company office where the official mail, reports. In vestigations, checking up of company property and the administering of disci pline are attended to. He cannot rush through this work, as It must be abso lutely correct. The slightest mistake in a paper brings a reprimand from the War Department at Washington, and goes against the officer's record. These pa pers, reports, etc., upon receipt at the Capitol, are very carefully gone over by an experienced set of Civil Service Clerks and I have known of one instance where a report was sent back for the reason that a comma had been misplaced. De spite all he can do, the officer's time is taken up on these matters until 12, when he hurries to headquarters to answer "officer's call," a trumpet call which .sig nals all officers to report at the com manding officer's quarters or office. Here he gets his details, orders, official mail, and such verbal Instructions as the commanding officer sees fit to give. At 12:30 P. M he goes to lunch. Per haps, while there, his First Sergeant calls him up over the telephone, and in forms him that one of the men has in jured himself, and is being hurried to the hospital or something else has dis turbed the company. Straightway all thoughts of luncheon are forgotten, and he rushes off to his company to straight em out matters. At 1:15 he has a non commissioned officers' class to teach, which lasts from an hour to an hour and a half. At 2:45 he Is called out for Bat talion or Regimental Drill and until he Is on the go. If the weather is in clement, he has Indoor instruction In rifle practice or on targets, Minor Sur gery, First Aid to the Injured, or some other drill. All of which he has to un derstand thoroughly In order to Instruct his men. At 5 he finds there is to be Regimental Parade. Off to his quarters he again rushes to change his uniform and got back in time. As he Is leaving the drill ground at 6:30 he is told that there will be a Council of Administration at once In his Major's house. Here he assists in auditing a set of fund books and the making of certain recommenda tions as to conducting a certain branch of the military government. If he is lucky. 7 P. M. finds him at home at his dinner, which is usually his only meal where he is not disturbed. At 8 he has a class in mathematics, where he teaches some men from his company who are preparing for bo mo examination. At 9:30 we find him alone, and think bis day's work Is over. (But. no He has to study for the Officer's School tomorrow. Kvening Quiet Is Broken. At 10:30 he is. perhaps, getting ready for bed, when suddenly "Fire Call" or the "Call to Arms" sounds. Tired as he is, off he goes on the dead run, putting on his blouse as he goes, to the barracks of his organization. It Is probably but a practice drill and so at 11:30 he returns, dead tired, but still has a report to make out or a lesson to finish. At last, about midnight, he gets to bed. Now, my friend, do you like the Job? But just wait. This is but one day. The next day after the morning drill he remembers he has beon detailed for a tour of guard duty as officer of the day. All his company's morning work as described has been done, so off to the parade ground for the guard uica. mow. ne is respon sible not only for his company, but for the entire post and everything in it. He must be constantly on the alert for suspicious characters, fires, bursting of hydrants and water pipes, disorderly men, escape of prisoners, and see that every bugle call Is sounded at its ap pointed time. Not such a small re sponsibility, is it? Round after round of tours of Inspection must he make to his sentinels, explaining to each or ders and duties. This is done when you and I are asleep or out' with a congenial party of friends. In the afternoon he attended officers' school, was on a general court-martial, re ceived the reports of every First Ser geant in the post, checked up the guardhouse property and the prisoners, tested all fire alarms, and made out his guard report, which alone embraced about 800 words. He had also inspected the messes of the men, the company's quarters, and had been called a dozen limes to as many places over the tele Phone or by orderly. To do all this competently requires study, common sense, exactness In detail and a clear conception of his duty. Do you still want his job? Now. just to mention the artillery officer spoken of above. He has all these things to do and in addition he has about 150 animals to look after. His men and himself go to their stables at 7:30 in the morning and at 3:30 in the afternoon. Here he personally sees that every animal is groomed and fed, that his cannon are in perfect condi tion, that all the horse equipment and saddles are ready for Instant service, and the thousand and one things incl- osrj. 1 UTL I I 1 I Hll' I 1 w ii ir : ,vtv r " "' m I f . ' ji-i s ' i $ ? t?sM -.J i n , Mm 1W I r A y t dental to this work. He has a battery instead of a company, and It is usually twice as large: this means that he has Just twice as much work to do as the infantry officer. Where is the "cinch," Present D; Wliy Kussia Puts 2,000,000 Men Into Eastern Asia, and Japan (The following article, from the Deutsche Ttevue, Ktves an accurate picture ot recent developments and the trend ot event in the Far Kast. The -writer a very well-known authority on military affairs and hi inters prettatlons of the moves being ma-de and of the relations of Japan. Hussla and China will be found of unusual Interest) BY CE.VEHAL VON DER BOECK. THE sudden death of Prince Ito, to horn Japan owes a considerable part of her present importance, has directed general attention once more to the Far East. Surprises from the Far East have not been lacking in recent years. The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war was a surprise not only to those who did not partici pate in it, but even to Russia itself, as the entirely insufficient (preparation for that war and the following results have shown. Almost more surprising than the outbreak of the war was the course of the war itself. Although several statesmen, particularly en dowed with the gift of prophesy, had foretold -at the outset the defeat of Russia, still the general opinion among the people and particularly in military spheres was that it could hardly be expected that the Russian Colossus would be defeated by the Japanese dwarf. This, as well as the fact that Rus sia's humiliation was at that time not unwelcome to England and America explains also tire reason why the great powers remained silent onlookers dur ing that bloody duel. In this instance, as well as In the event of the Chinese Japanese war in 1894, it should have been taken Into consideration that the defeat of a mighty nation belonging to the white race by little Japan must ex ert an incalculable Influence upon the nations of the yellow race. And this has really been the case a political and. military situation has thus been 'Who of War Jiaye Manjr Exacting Duties -In Times of Peace SBESsssBBeiani 44 2 the "graft," the "easy snap?" I can not see it at all. Everything in the Army goes by rank. Ofttlmes a whole post Is thrown into confusion by a senior officer who unex ay ne is in tne rar .cast created in the Far East which has already caused surprises and which has probably ripened further new sur prises. The termination of the Russo-Japanese war, as everybody knows, was hardly satisfactory to either of the combatants. Russia suffered great losses besides the considerable limita tion of its sphere of power in Eastern Asia, especially In a military sense; and Japan also failed to achieve through the Portsmouth peace treaty all that she believed she had a right to demand on the ground of her great victory. Strong Indignation was no ticed among the Japanese people be cause a war indemnity had not been secured from Russia, a war Indemnity which would have been very welcome to Japan in the poor financial condition in which she found herself at the close of the war. It was then almost generally expect ed that the peace concluded by both adversaries would not be of long dura tion, and such belief was strengthened by. the fact that after the conclusion of peace both sides began to fortify themselves energetically. Russia re tained a portion of its mobilized troops In Northern and Eastern Asia; they were reinforced so that now there is an actual army of 200,000 men theu, which could easily be Increased In the event of war to 300,000, and it would not take a long time to bring them together. The fortress garrisons, the substitutes, are not Included in this number. At the same time the fortress of Vladivostok, which remainel in the hands of the Russians, was built Into a first-class armory and a strong gar rison has been placed there. But the most important measure for the future safety of Russia's position In Eastern Asia Is the zealously hast Are Uncle Sam's Right J I at 11 ! Si ''5, J V:':.':;::; ;-:: :: x;.';::;:":;: "; Ix's" .': y pectedly arrives and demands a certain set of quarters. His rank entitles him to them! the Captain who has been living in the house must get out and get quarters elsewhere. He sees some house where a Increased Her Ahmj. ened construction of the Siberian Rail way and the recent decision to con struct the Amur Railroad. It should particularly be emphasized here that the third Duma, knowing the necessity of a stronger military protection of Russian interests in the Far East, has readily assigned a considerable sum of money required for that purpose. Rus sia's preparations have been least' no ticeable in its maritime forces, which Is quite natural when we consider that since the almost complete annihilation of the Russian naval forces in the Russo-Japanese war Russia will have to create a new fleet, and this requires a longer period of time. If Russia is thereby hindered for the present from taking an aggressive stand against Japan, there is hardly any doubt that Russia's military position in the Far East, as shown in the briefly reviewed measures taken, has been materially Improved. But Japan has also not rested merely on Its laurels since the peace of Ports mouth It has busied Itself zealously In strengthening its military forces, and also in constructing new ones, taking Into consideration the experiences it had gathered during the war with Russia, the army on lanu, which consisted in 1904, at the time of the outbreak of the war, of but J3 divisions, consists today of 19 divisions of about 250,000 men strong. The total number of troops In the event of war is 650,000 men and 120. 000 horses, the reserves and national militia Included. In addition to these there are about 20,000 troops at the vari ous baiting places. Ae there is no dearth of people In Japan, almost a million men' fit for mili tary purposes could be summoned in the event of war, of whom, to, be sure, per haps 800,000 are as yet untrained. The 5- i YD. -. ?r. : ir:::-.-':': ";::-:-."-':-;::'::r :: junior officer lives and he. in turn, makes him vacate, and so on down to the junior Second Lieutenant. Many of the officers prefer to live In the neighboring city or town than to run up against these Japanese fleet, too, which had recorded such great victories during the Russo Japanese war. has in the meantime been reinforced. Frst of all. the ships that had been captured in the war, and that could be turned to useful purposes, have been repaired and reconstructed. Besides this Japan has already a number of vessels nf the Dreadnought type upon the stocks. At the present moment the Japanese fleet occupies fifth position among the naval powers of the world; but it is very likely that before 1911 it will be advanced to the fourth position. Since Japan need hardly fear a Rus sian fleet for the present, one is justified in presuming that this important rein forcement of the Japanese navy is due to the foresight of Japan, which is an ticipating a possible clash with the fleets of other powers, above all with that of America. If peace between the two adversaries in the Far East has not yet been dis turbed despite their energetic prepara tions for war, there are sound reasons of various kinds for it. Russia, as we have seen already, can for the time being play only a defensive part in the Far East, since it has no strong fleet at its disposal, besides, the latest formation of political events in the Near East has caused Russia to take a more active part there, so that new developments in the Far East can hardly be desirable to Russia just now. And as for Japan, it Is known that her economic condition has for a long time been so unfavorable that It will be very difficult for her to raise the means necessary for carrying on a new war. Besides this, Japan, because of her policy of repression in Corea, ever since the Russo-Japanese war, has kept grow ing more and more unpopular among those nations that had thus far been favorably inclined toward her. Therefore there are just fears in many places in Japan lest a new war should break out ultimately and should once more find Japan alone against her ad versary. As a result of this we see Japan for some time conducting a veer Hand MeiSvin tTimes' 1 1 5 A ) 1 : . w.. disagreeable factors, but there are many who cannot afford to do this on their slender pay as an army officer and who have to live from hand to mouth, being subject to the intensely foolish social ing policy in her foreign affairs, seeking to evade serious conflicts and to secure allies. It is this exertion on' the part of Japan that explains the scarcely natural entente with England as well as the agreement with America. The lat ter was all the more surprising since it came about so suddenly at the moment when the presence of the mighty Ameri can fleet in the Pacific Ocean caused many people to anticipate a clash be tween Japan and Amerlca. Japan's watchword today, which Japan is also striving to make China's watch word, is "Asia for the Asiatics," but with the silent addition: "Under Japan's lead ership!" This may later be disputed if the yellow ally should grow too strong, particularly on sea. Nevertheless, some attention was directed recently also to the reorganization of China's naval forces, which have until now been confined to defending the coasts and supplying the means for improvement in a theoretical as well as practical sense. Thus we see in the above-mentioned development of the national defense of the Chinese Empire the rising of a new powerful factor in the Far East, which as the racial kin and ally of Japan, may grow to be of great importance in help ing to carry out the ambitious plans of the youngest of the great powers. The other great powers, particularly Russia, have, therefore, every reason for watch ing closely this development. When, on the occasion of the meeting between Prince Ito and the Russian Min ister of Finance the press spoke a great deal about the endeavors of Japan and Russia to come into closer relations, we should not have been deluded by it. That corresponded exactly- to the veering policy which Japan is forced to pursue just now, simply to remove all difficul ties that spring up in her way. But Japan does not give up under any cir cumstances its distant alms in the Far East she is simply waiting for a more opportune moment for the realization of these alms, Japan has justly and generally been characterized as a very powerful and dangerous empire, which 1. i? - laws wliich are extant in every Army post. There are eight different grades among commissioned officers, of which the Ma-Jor-General Is the highest and Second Lieutenant the lowest. The following may be of interest since it shows what the sal aries of the different officers ore: rer Annuri BrlKadler-General "JJ Clenel l.levitpnant-Uoionel Major i?'1" Captain r?" First Lleutnnnnt zft Second Lieutenant , I IIow to llstingtiisl Officers. These officers are all easily distin guished bv the Inslpnia on their shoulder straps. The Major-Oeneral wears two stars; the Brlgadier-Oeneral. one' sta.rj the Colonel, a spread easle;. the Lieutenant-Colonel, a silver leaf; the Major, a gold leaf: the Captain, two silver bars; the First Lieutenant, one silver . bar; while the Second Lieutenant's shouldea strap Is plain. The different branches ot the army are likewise told by the shoul der strap: The general officer by a field, of plain black: the Artillery, by a flekt of red; the Cavalry, by a field of yellow; the Infantry, by a field of blue; th Medical Department, by a field of ma roon; the Staff Departments, by a field of plain black: the Signal Corps, by a field of orange, and the Ordnance Department by a field of crimson. The Knglneer Corps' field Is red and white. The trous er stripes are of the same color as the field of the shoulder strap. Each officer has his own special duties to perform and he must prepare for the examinations to the next higher grade. He has certain studies and exercises t' learn, and each mistake Is a black mark on his record. So let us remember that these men, who are striving and working and push ing to bring our armed force up to th highest pinnacle of efficiency, am not the pampered pets of a doting political machine, but are representative men to whom the word patriot should be always applied. understands well how to make use. for Its own purposes, of the self-consciousness of the yellow race that has been strongly aroused through the surpris ing outcome of the liusso. Japanese war. This view has just been confirmed by a statement made In the press by a Deputy of the Russian Duma. Repre sentative Tschlrlkin of the Amur region. It is also understood that the Russian Minister of Finance. Kokovzov, despite the official reports, carried away a highly pessimistic impression of the situation in the Far East and embodied it in his report. His view is apparently shared also by Premier Stolypin and the Russian Minister of War, Sukhomllnov. The Reporter's Knvoy. puck. When earth' last paper is printed, and th forms and the metal are cold. When the newest scandal is ancient, ana the latest extra la sold. We shall loaf and, Jord. how we need it I with nothing at all to do Till the boss of the perfect raper shall call us to work anew. And then we shall work as we'd like to. each on his own machine And the truth shall be in our copy and nothing shall Intervene; Wo shall write real stories about them beggar and millionaire For an editor keen and fearless, & paper that's on the square. We shall work in a rush and hurry, for that im the goodly game. But we ahall not di In the gutter for stories of filth and Fhame; And the copy-readers above us shall leave our "features" alone. And the stories that fill the columns we shall recognize as our own! We shall have no fool assignments, no cruel missions of pain To torture the broken-hearted or blacken the sinner's stain; We shall scoop and be scooped a-plenty, we shall love the flurry and noise. We shall fight with the business office and fuss with the copy boys: But each of us shall be human and each of us shall be free To write the thing as he sees it for the Paper That Ought To B