Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1904 — The War in the Orient [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The War in the Orient

IJT of the maze of rumors and of contradictory reports which steadily pour from the seat of war in the far east it is a matter of extreme difficulty to pick the false from the true, the probable from the improbable. Authoritative information about the battle at Chemulpo shows that the Russians put-up a stubborn and thorouglilhy i gamy fight. The Japanese fleet comprised five armored vessels, seven torpedo boats and seven second-class cruisers, so that the Russians had far less chance than Admiral Cervera, when the latter issued from Santiago. Nevertheless the Variag, which was n splendid cruiser of 0,500 tons, bulit in Philadelphia, and the Korietz, only a third rate

cruiser, advanced to the unequal contest and were loudly cheered by the crews of the foreign ships stationed in Chemulpo harbor. The Variag bore the brunt of the Japanese attack and pluckily kept up the fight until her boilers were disabled and she was on fire astern. Before this, however, the Korietz had been forced out of action and was then blown up by the Russians, to avoid falling into the enemy’s hands. The Variag, too, met with the same fate, the Russians blowing her up so as to render her useless to the Japanese. The wounded and disabled Russians were picked up by foreign vessels and cared for. - The second self-injected disaster overtook the Russian navy at Tort Arthur in the destruction of the second-class cruiser Boyarin, which was blown up by accidentally coming into contact with a mine. She had on board 197 officers and men and according to the report all of them perished. The first disaster of the kind happened to the torpedo transport Yenesel, which also came into contact with a mine and was blown up. There is an aftermath of contradictory reports relative to the Japanese bombardment of Port Arthur. It is known that in the two attacks eleven

Russsian vessels were damaged, for the Russians admit this; but the earlier reports Indicated that the Japanese escaped uninjured. Later Admiral Togo admitted that some of the Japanese vessels sustained “slight damage” and that four men were killed and lifty-four injured. That the Japanese sustained much heavier damage is persistently advanced in numerous reports from the seat of war. These vary as to details. There is another conflict of reports relative to the Russian Vladivostock

fleet. One report had it that the four cruisers (three of them heavily armored! which comprised the main strength of the squadron had been blown up in the straits of Tsugara. This is undoubtedly false, ns tlie same squadron subsequent to the time of itsallegeddestruction, blew up a Japanese merchant vessel, the Zensbo, off tlie island of Hakknido. The Japanese government acknowledges the destruction of the Zensho and Is particularly Incensed at Russia, declaring that the attack on the merchantman'was a wanton crime and utterly unjustifiable, even if the Zensho disregarded Russian signals to surrender Healing with the movements .on land as well as on sen there Is ail abundance of reports and a paucity of reliable information. One of these rumors, which has been several times repeated, is to tlie effect that the Japanese attempted to land at Pigeon Hay, twelve miles from Port Arthur, and were driven back, with heavy losses, to their boats. That the Japanese will «>ndeavor to throw a strong land force upon the Lhut-Qung peninsula and then attack Post Arthur In the rear. Isolating It from the Russian stronghold at Mukden njul Mnrbiu r need not be questioned. Meantime, it la certnln that Japan Is utilizing her present advantage of superiority upon the sen In lauding troops In Corea and rushing them toward the Yalu River, the lioiindary line between Corea and Manchuria, to meet the Rossinii advance southward. It lakes a considerable time to transport an army of 100,000 men, with their horses, guns, baggage, pontoons, transport vehicles, ammunition, food, foruge and hospital supplies, front Japan to Corea. In the transportation of troops the Japanese have to take Into ncoouut more than the vessels needed for the purpose. Hhe must protect the transports against the dangers of Russian ntta/Jc iy torpedo boat and cruiser*.

JAPAN’S NAVAL ADVANCEMENT IN FORTY-FOUR YEARS. (The vessel in the foreground is the war galley of the Prince of Wasima in 1860, shown in comparison with a modern cruiser.)