Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 127, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1904 — WAR DURING A WEEK [ARTICLE]

WAR DURING A WEEK

INTEREBT WAS IN THE WAR SCARE RATHER THAN IN WAR Threatened Hostilities Between England and Russia Startled the WorldLion and the Bear Growled Viciously at Each Other. . -..1 The chief interest of the week centered not in the war, but in the war scare. The scare was a real one. England and Russia did not so nearly fight simply because of the fishing trawler Incident. The lion and the bear hated each other long before that happened, and will continue to hate each other long after it is forgotten. Since the Crimean war they have been perpetually growling at each other; continually showing their faugs; occasionally raising their paws to strike. Neither has ever dared to turn his eyes away from the other. The Dogger bank affair merely evoked a display of the hostile feeling which constantly exists. As for the happening itself, Russia was entirely in the wrong, and displayed an unparalleled Ignorance of sea manners, sea custom and sea efficiency. It is said that the Russian boats are commanded by cavalry officers and manned by farmers. This seems to be true practically, if not literally. The firing on tlie English—Trawlers began at 1 o’clock Sunday morning. Two or three hundred shots were fired In about twenty minutes' time. Two fishermen were killed and eighteen wounded. One fishing boat was sunk. No attempt was made by the attacking fleet to rescue the wounded fishermen, although a Russian boat staid on the scene until 0 o’clock in the morning. The last shot was fired at the trawler Kent at 7a. m. The British government immediately demanded from Russia: (1) An apology. (2) An indemnity for the families of the killed and wounded fishermen. (3) The punishment of the Russian officers responsible for the offense. (4) An adequate guarantee that there shall be no repetition of the act Russia consented to requirements one, two and four, but held out against three. It would not agree to punish the responsible officers. It skid its sense of sovereignty would not permit it to comply with such a request. Great Britain answered that the request must be complied with, otherwise the British fleet would not permit the passage of the Russians through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. At this point the tension was very great. France acted as a cruse of oil for the troubled waters and contributed to the eventual peaceful settlement. Rojestvenslcy's explanation, the Chicago Tribune declared, consisted of an extraordinary lie, but the lie undoubtedly averted a disagreeable alternative for the government—war or Muscovite humiliation. The admiral stolidly maintained that lje had actually been attacked by two torpedo boats. One of his officers —Prince Keretelli—went further, and said that there were eight hostile torpedo boats. Rojestvensky would have attained a greater degree of plausibility by making all stories tally. Rojestvensky’s report raised a question of fact between Great Britain and Russia. The facts must first be Investigated to see how they lie. A mixed tribunal of admirals will decide whether or not the Russian squadron was attacked by torpedo boats. A huge mass of evidence will be sifted. A large number of depositions will be taken. Finally the tribunal will' decide that there was no evidence that torpedo boats had attacked the Russians. By the time this decision Is reached the incident will have lost its burniug public interest. Russia will quietly npologize, pay an indemnity, guarantee immunity from like occurrences in the future, and punish (perhaps) the offending officers. Everything will go on as before, except for the unfortunate fishermen and their families. While the Baltic squadron has as yet

inflicted fatalities only on the English, it has practiced target shooting at several other nationalities. It fired on the Swedish Steamer Aldebaran, likewise on the German steamer Sonntag, on the Norwegian steamer Skaatol, and on a Danish torpedo boat These extraordinary performances may be explained by Rojestvensky’s original proclamation that he would fire on any ship whifih approached him. His officers evidently interpreted his words to mean that tb4y-must fire on every ship which they approached. The British trawlers, for instance, had their nets down and ware barely moving along. The Russian squadron came upon them and promptly fired. The War in Manchuria, After ten days of comparative quiet along the Shakhe river there are signs that the two armies are again coming together. The Russians claim to be the aggressors in certain places, but dispatches from correspondents at General Kuroki’s headquarters’ state that the Russians have now been driven out of their last position south of the Shakhe river. In the opinion of the Chicago Record-Herald, it would appear that the Russians are no longer strong enough to take the offensive on a large scale, while the Japanese have as yet shown no desire to push their way further to the north. There is sure to be a great deal of scattered fighting before winter sets in, but whether there will be another pitched battle is uncertain. The battle of the Shakhe river will be memorable in history for the economy of lives with which the Japanese fought it. In the battle of Liaoyang, although the Japanese had to charge again and again upon Russian intrenchments, the losses of the Russians were the heavier—the proportion being about four Japanese killed and wounded to five Russians. In the battle of the Shakhe the figures thus far available would indicate that the Russian losses were at least three, and possibly five or six, times as great as the Japanese. Concerning the losses, we have two facts upon- which we can absolutely rely, because both come from Japanese official sources, and Japanese official statements have not once during the war been open to the slightest suspicion as to their literal truth. The first is that the total Japanese casualties — killed and wounded—numbered 15,879 officers and men. The second is that the total number of Russian dead buried by the Japanese on the field was 13,333. Now in the Japanese army, for which we have detailed figures, the ratio of killed to wounded was as one to six, and If that same ratio should apply to the Russians their total casualties on the basis of the dead buried on the field would number about 90,000. The Russian official statement places the total number of killed, wounded and missing at 800 officers and 45,000 men. This sets the lowest limit of the losses, but unfortunately we cannot feel confident that it is the whole truth. An earlier figure purporting to come from an official report of General Kuropatkin’s, but not verified, puts the wounded alone .at 55,808. We have also the estimate of a correspondent at Mukden, who places the dead at 8,000 and the wounded at 40,000. If he was as much too low on the wounded as on the dead (using the Japanese figure of burials as the test), the total Russian casualties by this reckoning would be nearly 75,000. Reports from Fort Arthur indicate renewed attack on the Rlblung and Keekwan forts just north of the city. The end of the siege may very possibly be approaching. There are indications that the resistance of the fortress Is fast weakening and cannot be sustained much longer. The Japanese are creeping In on all sides, taking an advance post here, another ok there, a minor fort here, and a few machine guns yonder. They are always closing In, never receding. They are strengthening their artillery every day, while the Russian guns cannot be added to nor replaced when worn out Nogi fills up the gaps In the ranks as fast as they are made, while Stoessel’s gaps constantly grow bigger and cannot be filled up. Weight must shortly tell.