ves that underlie the
significant access of activity in military matters in Yuen-nan differ in
no way from those which have led to the feverish increase in armaments
in other parts of the world, such ideas that have yet been formed on
actual preparations for possible war are most crude. On paper the
appointments in the army and the accuracy of the figures of the
complement of rank and file admit of no question, but the practical
utility of their labors is quite another matter, and a matter which does
not appear to produce among the army officials any great mental
disturbance in their delusion that they are progressing. Yuen-nan is in
need of military reform, reform which will embrace a start from the very
beginning, and one of the first steps that should be taken is that those
who are to be in the position of administering training should find out
something about western military affairs, and so be in a position of
knowing what they are doing."

The above was my conscientious opinion in the middle of last year.
Now--in June of 1910--I have to write of enormous improvements and
revolutions in the drilling, in the armaments, in the equipment, in the
general organization of the troops and the conduct of them. Yuen-nan is
still peculiarly in her transition stage, which, while it has many
elements of strength and many menacing possibilities, contains, more or
less, many of the old weaknesses. All matters, such as her financial
question, her tariff question, her railway question, her mining
question, are still "in the air"--the unknown _x_ in the equation, as it
were--but her army question is settled. There is a definite line to be
followed here, and it is being followed most rigidly. Come what will,
her army must be safe and sound. China is determined to work out the
destiny of Yuen-nan herself, and she is working hard--the West has no
conception how hard--so as to be able to be in a position of
safeguarding--vigorously, if necessary--her own borders.

One question arises in my mind, however. Should there be a rebellion,
would the soldiers remain true? This is vital to Yuen-nan. Skirmishings
on the French border more or less recently have shown us that soldiers
are wobblers in that area. The rank and file are chosen from the common
people, and one would not be surprised to find, should trouble take
place fairly soon, while they are still raw to their business, the
soldiers turn to those who could give them most. It has been