Four Western Republican National Committeemen
I) W Ml'LVANi:, Kansas.
HflNF.ST U.
Klloy.
HAUT
li w i l'lm (i by
.1. M. (!lti:i:i:. Kotilh Hakota I linto b,
Ilai ton.
It. II. SCIINKIIIF.Ii. Nebraska I'lioni by
Tragor.
China's Eminent
Military Commanders
'I'. I lead'anil, I'r.if'es or of Men
.lolal I'hlliisiiphy, Culvtrslty "I
(lly Isaac
tal anil
IVkliu
'Hie Chliuso for many centuries have hail
a prev rh that "no good man will over bo
mo a soldier," anil tills proverb 1h in
harmony with the whole makeup of the
Chinese ivnpp. Just before the Chlneso
JapanoPo war there wore groat prcdlctl fle
as to what w ulil happen. It was staled
l.al the world would have to reorganize ItJ
forcis if the Chlniso army were to take the
Held, thai the Chinese were among the lust
soUlers in the world, that they were the
most astute leaders, and the lirave.it fol
loweis of any people in earth, besides a lot
more cf the same tenor. British war ox
pirts were quoted ns saying that If China
armed itself and drilled Its sol. 11 its pr p
erly It could swamp or trample down with
numbers any nation that would come
against It, simply because It could put
so many millions of soldiers on the Held.
To hack tip their statements they pointed
to the way Genghis and Kiihlai Khan and
ether Mongolians overran Kurnpe seven or
eight centuries ago.
Now, as a matter of fact, 3iven or olghl
centuries ago China was at Ut best an I
Hurnpo was at Its wrist. The method 4
of modern warfare had not yet been ev Iv d,
and the people who were the best horsemen,
could shoot best with the bow, thr. w the
spear with griater force and accuracy, and
at the same time besiege cities for the
longest periods, were most likely to win,
and, as all tluwc were right in line with tin
accomplishments of the M"ligollan, they
weie able to do what they ill 1 toward the
Mibjugatlrn or a large part cf Asia es
! dally the less civilized portion and nl
the same time frighten a largo pa ft of
Furopo.
The I'lillie-e Army.
In
the
are practically no
is little less than a
From the llrst we
( I. ma have had no
CI Inese army. There
"Rood men" in It. It
who have
confidence
lived
in
coinblua'lon of thieves, rascals, beggars and
hoodlums. They know nothing about
discipline; they know nothing about the
arts of war; they know nothing about inter
national courtesy, the taking care of the
s'ck and the woum'od; they know nothing
about either paying or dressing their
toldleiH In a way which is calculated to
develop either patriotism or self-respect.
And, us they are practically wl limit a na
t'oiuil emblem, they havo no "Old (llory"
which makes the chills run over ou and
lllls your throat as you see It carried by
the sons or daughters of old veterans who
"died for tho old Hag." Nobody ever heart
of a Chinese soldier who was ready to illo
for the Hag. He may light because he hates
the enemy, or became there li the hope,
of plunder, but he knows nothing ah nit tin:
"low your enemy" piinclple In time of
war. if, Indieil, he iIocb in Mine of p ace.
When I eay this nbsui the Chinese
soldlri. let It be understood that It Is with
the greatest pnsslblo respect and admira
tion for the Chinese character and people.
They are a literary and not a warlike
p ople. They are not drivers of the sword, but
of tlio quill or, more properly, the brush.
They nro the orglnators of everything that
has thus lar come from Hustern Asia which
has contributed to Oriental civilization.
War brutalizes, but tho Chinese prolusions
hnve cniitiibuttil to the development of the
arts of peace.
The Chinese are therefore a pea 'cable
people. Save In their great family squab
bles, which can scnicely bo termed civil
wars, they have never toi.queiTd anybody
They have been repeatedly conquered -lliot
bv the Mongols, then by the M.inelius but
while they were thus c nqiiered In battle,
they at once settled themselves to swallow,
abs rb, masticate, digest anything you
pleaso to call It their conquerors, and In
n hundred years there were not enough
Mongol;) left to "shake u stick at." They
have be n di Ing the same with the Man -chin,
until at present the Maiii-hu Is an
emasculated, opliiin-hesotteil nobody, who
Is ready to be vomited back to his own
mountains, woods and plain.-), where he cm
1 1 vis on bears, llsh and fowls. Among all
the great HntcFiucii of China you will look
in vain for a great Mancliu statesman.
There have been those who weie Influential,
but It was either because of their station
or t!u ir relationships, ami not because of
their statesmanship. When y. u study tin
111. 'lory o the empire you will 11 n I that Its
gieat statesmen, as well as Us leaders In
war are Chinese, though in Chinese gen
erals can be looked upon in great nave
when compared with others of his own na
tionality. lllMV UK' (illllt'NI' I'lulll.
'the following Incident will Indicate the
character of these "gieat generals," as they
appeared at the beginning of the Chinese
Japanese war: When a certain general
was about to gj over to drive the Japanese
out tf Corea he wna asked if he knew the
geography of Corea. "Geography of
Corea!" said he. "What do I euro about
the geography of Corea? 1 will Just go
over there and have two i,r three engage
menu with them and that will bo the end
of it. Thero Is no uso of my bothering
myself about the geography of the coun
try." As a matter of fact, ho "went over" and
ha.l the engagements, but the result was
not what he had predicted. One or Ills
soldiers who was lull up in hospital after
his return explained what happened. He
and the othei.s In most cr the hospitals
were shot in the back and when the d, c
tors asked how that happened the reply
was about as lollows:
"The Japanese," said tho soldier, ' came
at us as though wild. Wo shot down IIiojo
who were In front, but Just as noon as a
man fell In the front ranks some one
f loin the next lino would take his place.
Vou can't light people that way. When we
shot down those who took the others' place
fome one else would come and fill up the
tanks, and on thuy would come. You can t
do anything with people of that kind. Thuy
did not know when they were whipped.
Somebody had to run, and, as they would
not, wo dlil, and then they shot us in tho
back."
Dining tlilf war theio were two gen
erals who were prominent, one whoso
nanio Is spelled Yell, but which tho foreign
ers pronounce as though It were spelled
Yea. He was In charge of the army at Hist,
hut, llko a largo majority of Chinese olll
clals, thero wns u certain attraction about
his hands which did not allow silver to
p. .ss thr ugh tin in. Yeh t online rich, bat
th soldloii' did not get their pay, and si,
alter the great defeat at l'lng Yang, ho was
ten oved to I'ekln and placed In the hoard
of punishment's huge br'ck onelo.suro,
whom It was designed to remove his held
from the list of his anatomy; ami another
"gnat general." Nlch (the fo. I'ljsne. s pro
nounce Ills name as though It were spelled
Na), superseded him.
(leiieral Nlch is a large, corpulent, gotnl
natured looking man, with eiow-foot wrink
les going from the cornerf of his i yi s t..-
TYI'K OF HIGH CIIINKSi: OFFICIAL.
ward his earn. He Is a good laugher. When
silting ho iMiilnds one of goad St. Nicholas,
of whom it Is said that a certain portion
of Ma anatomy "shook when he laughed
like a bowlful or Jelly."
General Nlch called on me on one occasion
a I' e Milium rtsoil at I'd Tal l.o, about
iiCl) miles last of I'ekln. on the seashore,
bringing with him rue of the other gen
erals and a number of his t-oldlcrs. They
were cxiienely poire and the old general
proved to be the beht kind of company. I
hnvo mot him on other occasions when he
irit I uTi si i'il the same genial tllsposl tin. He
Is located at l.u Tal, about teventy or
eighty it, lies from Tien Tsllt, and ie ms lii
have complete control of bis soldiers, and
had he been allow id to go on with his
I i'i at mi tit of the HoM'is a few weeks ago it
would have saved the Chinese Koveinmeui
a large amount of anxiety ns well as a grim
dial of tumble and expense, (ieueial Nlch
has always manifested a Mini disposition
towanl limigncr.s ami, so far as I have ever
heard, theie has never been any trouble be
Iwnii his soldiers and the foreign residents
In Totig K ii or Tang Sluing, or, Indeed, in
any ollur part of the iiiiiiitry east of Tleu
Tslu ami I'ekln.
A disposition similar to that of (liiieral
Melt Is that of Yuan Sl.lh-kal. My Ills'
Hist mi cling wilh General Yuan was In
Coria dining the f hlucHf-Japniicsc wi.r.
(It m nil Yuan was the Chinese rtpreseut
ative at the ('mean capital at that time, and
I happened to be thole for a summer vaca
tion. When the war broke mil between the
governments the vestels weie all taken oil
the line between Tleu Twin and Chemulpo
and we weio strniideil in Corea. Hut an
olfer came from the captain of u llrlilih
eruii-er to carry all foreigners over to Che
Foo, mid Geuiral Yuan was Included among
this number. He is Hive General Nlch In
Ills good nature, ami like him In his gentr.il
umlt iMtaudlng of the powir of weslern gov
iriimiuts. When t x-Governor Yu llslen
was ic. ailed General Yuan was appointed
lo tal e I. Is place. He appointed Ills brother
to tale iharge ol his lumps, ami at once
he li gan to put down the lloxer ino ement,
but no sooner had this begun than the
brolhir was leealletl by Hie empress
tlowagtr. This, of course, was pioof positive
tlial the dowager was In sympathy with
the lloxers. Notwithstanding litis. General
Yuan steadily galnitl unit nil of (hliigs ami
is spohiit of vi ry highly by those who are
lu those distill In d regions. Some of the
lending missloiiaiii s write thai 'II Is
e bit lit Hint the mllllary olllcials aie doing
all they (an lo put the movement down,
but in Ibis they aie not vt ry heartily
si omleil by Hie civil authorities."
ll ll 1 1- I'll I -1 u Gi'iii'i'lll.
Thi most autl-forelgn general, and one
who presuits a direct contiast lo the two
Just (lesciibid, Is Tung Fuhwlung. ih s
general won his reputation in Kaiisu, the
northwestern province, a few yen in ago In
his bnltlm with the .Moliammcdau.s then In
lovolt. All his life ho has been shut off
from Intercoms!' with foreign governiuenis
and knows absolutely n ithlng ulnmt their
power, tho nature of their anus and tho
character of their lighting ability, llecauto
his army was able to put down the Mo
hammedan rebellion, which was practically
a war between two rabbles, lie suppiscH that
all this trouhlo with "foreign devi.s" Is
because of Chi l.-it lanlty, and so he is not
only anti-foreign, but especla lj nliti
ChrlBtlan. Ills rabble in ites far among
the natlvey, win1 titer Christian or non
Cl'rlFt an, wherever he gois Ot h a yoir
or two ago, when It was known that to
wns about to come down about the tegleii
of ToWHi then- wus a general quaking among
the ciinliy people, and tho most aw mi
sloile.s wero told about the cruelly of his
men and their disposition to loot, to r. b
and to oiltragi' the women of the section
tliioilgli which they passed. The dlHeron. e
lutwieii his nibble and the armies of Si n
and Yuan Is un Indication of the salutar
inllueiH'o their contact with foreign aildlei -ami
the representation foreign government .
has had upon them.
It was f, rnuiiy the en-loin In tluui '
war for the Chinese to put lo death au
gi in nil wlio was defeated In battli
oinv was he beheaded, hut all the
r.( his fainllv sulleied the wanu
N i
meliiln i
fate, mo that
SKYLIGHT FHATKKNITY, WAYNH, Neb.
history U full of Incidents in wnicn me g' "
i tal. when di'tealed, t. ok his ovn life rath',
than ft tut it ami subject all his friends lo
such a sad fate. 11 wan alho Hie custom
lu times of war to lo. I, rub and outrage
at the will of the soldlem, so that during
tho Clilneso-Jupaiiino war many of the bei
let- class of women had their poison all
reaily to take lit nine the Jnp.iiu'e came lino
the city, and ninny if them called upon no
wire to liuiuile as lo the customs of fortig i
sobliirs at such limes. In which ease we
were, able to assuie them that thero was no
riflHi.il to be ufrald of the Jiipnno!'. Hint
they had nothing to fear unlcs It was from
the rabble or from Chlm se soldiers.
There Is one other general win htm to
cently bee, mo prominent- TIiIk is I'Um e
iuaii, who has charge of the imperial
Mancliu troo at I'ekln. He Is the fat her
of the heir apparent and the sou of the
llflli prince, as ho Inn iiIwujh been called
Ho is said to be (.lie of the mud warlike
or all the Impel lal princes, ir not the nitr
warlike, bill the stand he ban talu u with
tho ei itveratlve party, which, or roiiiwc.
wan roiced upi n llliu by the fact Hull his
s n was cIkhcii by l lie- Kinpriss Howager
iu tho sticcf sor ot Kuang ll'iii, has placed
Mm lu u very iininvorahlt' light bcfoie the
world. It Is said that Iho largo majority
of hla lroiri Joined the lloxers in the m ign
Imrhmid ir I'ekln, and It win this fact that
mad.' the II xer movement so sluing and
s succc-sful In that iielghbnihooil. Then'
U in doubt that he win, like the Kiiiiiih
liowngir, lu sympathy wilh them, and It win
probably through his Inllueiice that General
Nlch wi.H ribiikid when his si.ldlers killed
tillt) or the lloxers between Tien Tslu and
I'ekln. His i.rmy sits the Manrhu s idlei-H
In a very bad light before- the world.
There are two other men who rank higher
among China's mllllary leaders limit any
or all tho otheis put together. Anil yol they
aie not generals. They are LI Hung Chang,
whom overjbody knows, and Chang Cltih
Tung, who Is alinohl unknown In this coun
try. 1 simply mention tholr names, as I
him- not space lo even Indicate what they
have dnne. It Is somewhat singular thai
lln two men should havo the names they
have. They ate the Smith and llrown or
the llrown and Jones of China, na Indlcited
by Iho following Chinese proverb. In the ("hi
nt e primes for girls we- have this couplet
II ve you ever learned the reiison whv
inir ears should niiliiillted bo'.'
its that vii may never listen to the talk
nf i b.inu and 1.1.
'ow. as a mailer of fad, If Iho Chinese
lad listened to the ndvlco of Chang Chlh
ling and LI Hung Cluing, China weuhl he
l.u on the road to progrofa at the present
ii u LI Hung Chang, as Is well known,
Is Iho viceroy of tho two Kilting", ami
( hung Chili Tung "s the viceroy of Unpen
uml Hunan It Is the latter who is tele
giuphlng to urge the powers not to s.n-l
r ops to China.
Barbarous - Unbarbarous
Det o t Journal' Sen tho Cultlwited Briton'
Is tho Cultivated Ilrltoll going to bed wiili
1 1 boots on?
The Cultivated Utiton Is going to l,o,l wilh
ItU boots on!
For the Cultivated llrltot: has lieon ix
tremely busy all day celebrating tho vic
tory of his rellued civilization over tho Un
couth lloer, who actually. It Is tald, ret In f
at night without undresHliig!