The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 28, 1900, Page 13

FFEFFF 44444242444 +449% Pages 1310 22 - PS + < -+ - + D e 2 2 B R R SR + +* + - + * + The Tall L d +* + + + + + + '*”’Q?’Q””Q"’”OV’Q: Pages 1310 22 LA S S R R R R R R A S R * +* - + * d VOLUME 7LXXXVII —NO. 59. SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1900—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. PRICE FIVE CENTS. At S S o o b b g b o SR S S o 44444444141 Following Reports Concerning| the Predicament and Heavy Losses Sustained by Buller’s Forces, a Meeting of the De- fense Committee Is Held. Ministers Said to Have De- cided to Order W hite to Sur- render Ladysmith. R e e o SYOS SRS LONDON, Jan. 27.—The Defense Committee of the War Office met this afternoon, Lord Salisbury pre- siding. There are reiterated rumors that the grav-| est kind of news from Natal is being concealed by the War Office. It is even said that General Buller’s | forces are in full retreat. | BERLIN, Jan. 27.—Some of the papers here claim | to have a telegram from Pretoria saying that Gen- | eral Warren was enticed into Spion Kop, where thei Boers feil upon him; that seventeen of his cannon| were captured, and that Buller’s hasty retreat over? the Tugela River alone can save him. The alleged | Pretoria telegram adds that the British losses were[ 800 men killed and 1500 wounded. The dispatch comes through Brussels and does not receive much credit in this city. it is said that the German Foreign Ofiice has con- firmation of the report that General Warren’s di- vision has been crushed. was there and not the Boers, 28 —An ) Colonel Plumer troops, Eiains ere patrolling in the neighbor- od of Mafeking. Gaberones is 1 h Tt Colonel Plumer Rhodesian regiment to d the distance in six about one ndred miles m Mafeki yossible for refore it is have cov days. Sefore the receipt of this news from Lourenzo Marquez a report to the same effect had gained currency in this city. One thing is certain, the War Office has not received such rs reach here from I ()f One news. nobody is inclined to put too much credence upon it, n'hhmnzh as it has been known that the Boers have lately been trekking east and south to the aid of more important operations in these di- rections it is thought quite pos- ts an attempt sible that the siege has been | with a force of | raised. to force a P ALLEGED ORDER TO SURRENDER LADYSMITH | YORK, Jan yion Kup rot The firing on Gen- ’s position on Monday ° | NEW from I This has been | kest land has experie 1, in this gloomy period. The ¢ ray it has been the report by way on good Transvaal ing was relieved last | ~A World special tr g been so lodge the im- is reckoned as elief of Lad fected by means apparent Tuesday Of course the profoundest secrecy was ved concerning the deliberations of | ommittee of National Defense of the | which held a most important | eting at the War Office this afternoon. | t persist and seemingly well ground- | c the mi ubs this even- that Gene White, in Lady- | eliographed that his plight nd these reiterated reports Committee of National to order White to surren- | e committee was driven | fon, it is declared, both ler ons and as an act surrender might pre- eral Buller's | n Bu of the continued action of strong 1 ating from the Cape ( It is clear that Lord Methuen’s iyemith 1 n is straining in the leas ls French and Gatacre In all like- g into touch. ral Kelly-Kerny and e, but it that the ten- that even this hu- ler would relieve it, and 1 be that it might allow a | rganiza of the campaign | and put an end to Buller's futile squan. | dering of blo n | ho;‘et of blood and treasure in a forlorn tically will soon con- Spmns ucker e their divisions at De Aar mwpoort respectively. ought in military circles General Gatacre is rein- | brigade and General ision and a com- | movement made from| from Orange | hope w lical —_—— WHITE WILL AcT, BUT NQT OFFICIALLY WASHINGTON, Jan. 27. to-day that the state; River, —It developed 3 ment . % and on Springfon-| tague White relative 1o di',’,'?.',’:,,f‘(’lc“’r‘i';.‘ of ('0101)(’!‘;: and | ™ k“n(:'l((nn"ff the Transvaal was based | e . 1 upon a dispatch he had recefved from Pont, the situation | Dr- Leyds, the Boer agent in Continental Europe. When Mr. . #4%3 % : White arrived here would be cleared at once. This| he found the impression vruulil‘l:nl: ?n;‘v‘ would, in fact, be 2 reVersion to| Goveron o "eon recelved by only one Government of Europe. Though corts that the other nations had reestyen Lal he determined, before making an offictal statement, to obtain confirmation of bis beliet from Dr. Leyds, and accordingly cabled him With the result that he way informed that Germany, France, Holland and Belglum had accepted him as the diplomatic representative of the Trans. vaal. Mr. White is satisfied that the re. | eeption of Dr. Leyds by European Gov. ernments disposes of the theory that tiis Government could not receive him be. the original plan of campaign. news, if it can be on, comes from a Boer Lourenzo Mar-| 1e effect that Mafeking | If an, of course, be due Plumer. i relied source througt 1ez, to th vas relieved last Tuesday. t lonel Tt will | cause of suzerainty over the Transvaal . i « 3 - conferred upon Gre Britain by the | e remembered that a fortnight | treaty between the two States, There 1s | Y o SRR | no expectation in official circles that M ag ME Account was {YVen as| wiite will try to be received, in view of to Colone Plumer’s pmgress.j his assertion to the President and Secre- : = > | tary Hay that he did not desire an official On the 17th news reached this| reception and had no credentials. His an- AT 4 . | nouncement leaves him free to take action country from Gaberones that|iy any way he destres as & private indj. | appreciati @ Rear Admiral Reg. N. Custance, Director of Naval Intelligence. ® . PS . - - k2 - ¢ * * & * : - 4 b ® ¥ Major General Sir J. C. Ardagh, Vice Admiral Walter T. Kerr, The Hon. G. Wynah, B 3 » Director of Military Intelligence. Senior Naval Lord. ‘Under Secretary, of State for War. * Fei? = = . . @ Hicks-Beach and the Hon. Joe Cha mberlain meeting with them. * MAKES EXCUSES FOR THE BLUNDERS An English VGenerql Tries to Explain the South dAfrican Campaign. ONDON, Jen. 27.—An eminent Brit- | ness of his mouth, but he sald, ‘Take it igh general, reviewing the situation | to my pal first. He's worse hit than me.’ " to a representative of the Associat-| After reading this one can understand ed Press, thus summed it up: that General Buller did not slop over “Fi of all, we underestimated | when he wired, “The men are splendid.” the enemy. Secondly, we knew nothing | Professor Goldwin Smith writes to the of the power of modern weapons when op- | Speaker one of the most misleading let- posed to each other in the hands of tol- | ters which could possibly be put before erably equal forces. Thirdly, we deserted | the British public. It commences by say- strategy to satisfy sentiment. By that | ing: I mean Ladysmith and Kimberley ap-| “I suppose the donors of the Maine pealed to us and we answered as quickly | thought they were paying a compliment and unthinkingly as does an electric re- | to America by calling it by that name, cefver to a transmitter. We have learned | but really they were pricking the Ameri- many things, but chiefly we have learned | that long range guns and rifies minimize | tremendously the advantage which for- merly accrued to the aggressor. Yet I thoroughly believe, and 1 am not speaking without experience, that had any conti- nental nation undertaken the same task with the same force it would by this time | have been wiped out. There are a lot of more certaln than that the Maine was blown up by the fgnition of the coal in her bunkers. The same accident has one of them commanded by the same cap- tain of the Maine, though in these cases the vessels were saved. Nothing is more certain than that the Maine was not things which might have been learned | blown up by the Spaniards.” had we watched vour land fighting at| There is more in the same strain, in- atiago. But we did not. As a result we ! cluding as proof of his contention the | did not have nippers to cut wire and we | remark, “No more now is heard of the about Mausers. But the | our shortcomings only | makes us the more determined. It may be six months and it may be a year, but | fiance of the majority of the English cor- we shall achieve our object.” | spondents in America by declaring that From the field of party strife and mill- | “the general feeling in America is by no tary criticism it is a relief to turn to an | méans with us in this matter (the war), extract from a letter of an officer at the | Whatever its better informed units may front, who writ | think.” “An orderly was bringing some water to a wounded man lying on the ground near me, shot through the abdomen. He could hardly speak, owing to the dry- monument which was to be erected to the crew of the Maine.” v The Saturday Review strikes a bold de- knew nothin; of root that swell dinner parties are now flowers placed in imitation of cavalry boots. vidual to influence Congressional action on Boer measures, if he sees proper to do 80. It 1s not expected that Mr. White will favor the passage of any measure of sym- pathy for the Boers, appreciating that the President might deem it advisable to veto such an act and the result instead of being beneficial to the Transvaal cause, would then be prejudicial to it. Mr. White will be able to keep the administration unofficially Informed of the views of the Boer Government in many diplomatic matters, and in his way will do his Gov- ernment as great a service as if he were acting officially. Mr. Hay, United States Consul at Pre- toria, is expected to arrive to-day or to- morrow at Lourenzo Marquez and he will roceed at once to Pretoria. The admin- stration is satisfled with the authority | committee having In charge the raising of given by the Transvaal Government to the | a force of mounted sharpshooters for ser- American Consul to act unofficially in the | vice with the Yeomanry in South Africa, interest of British prisoners, and Mr. Hay | has appealed to the public for subscrip- will not ralse the question of recetving of- | tions in aid of that organization. He says ficial recognition as neutral agent of | he already has 400 applicants whose shoot- Great Britain. ing records are high, and many of whom have had experience in the bush. The LORD ROBERTS REPORTS mozl:&eed::mh“fggofit which £2000 SITUATION UNCHANGED|™™ "= 5 LONDON, Jan. 28, 4:30 & .m.—The only news issued by the War Office during the night is a dispatch from Lord Roberts, dated yesterday (Saturday), stating that the situation is unchanged and that Gen- eral French reports a reconnoissance of the enemy’s position on Thursday, when he found the Boers strongly posted at Plctfontein. such place in the region of General French's operations, and it is probable that Reitfontein, ten miles north of Coles- berg is the place alluded to. A speclal dispatch from Colenso, dated Wednesday, January 24, says that Com- mandant Lucas Meyer's commando sur- prised and surrounded a strong body of General Methuen's infantry, killing and wounding twenty-three and capturing fif- teen. Lord Dunraven, who is chalrman of the TROOPS FROM CANADA. HALIFAX, N. 8., Jan. 2I.—The second can consecience, as there are few things | happened to three American vessels since, | So deep has the military craze taken | using khaki tablecloths, with bright red | The maps do not show any | Rear Ad. Ed F. Jeftreys, Naval Secretary. Director of Naval Ordnance. , M. P. [+ 4+ 4444444444444+ |+ BIG LOSSES It SUSTAINED BY BULLER LONDON, Jan. 27.—Since the flanking movement began on Janu- ary 10, General Buller has reported 60 killed, 589 wounded and 60 miss- ing. It is remembered how his cas- ualty list grew from day to day after the defeat last month and it 1s feared the losses in the past few days have been frightful. Buller's losses in killed and wounded In the Tugela River disaster amounted to nearly 1000, so that he had lost about 1700 men before the retreat from Splon Kop. General Buller is criticized for the form of his mes- sage, which reads as though he were trying to saddle the blame for defeat upon General Warren. R R L R R e e e e e R R R R R S 2 S gk s {¢¢¢4¢¢¢¢¢¢‘o¢»‘¢¢ ‘dht:lchm@n( of the second Canadian con- | tingent to South Africa embarked on the | | Pomeray to-day, marching through the | eity to tlLe transport. - After inspection they were addressed by Lieutenant G | ernor Daly and Mayor Yamilton, who | wished them godspeed. 'SAYS BRITAIN MUST RETURN TERRITORY | BERLIN, Jan. 27.—Dr. Leyds, the dip- | lomatic agent of the Transvaal, who has arrived here for the celebration of the Emperor's _birthday, was recelved Ly | Count von Bulow, the Minister of Forelzn Affairs, to-day. The Lokal Anzelger publishes a report | of an interview with Dr. Leyds, in which |he is quoted as saylng his presence in but is due merely to the invitation to the | from the Imperial Chancellor. He pro- political designs. Regarding mediation, Dr. Leyds sa!d the Boers had no occasion to appeal to any one. Everything was going splendidly. As to the conclusion of peace, his per- | sonal opinion was that Great Britain | would have to return a large portion of | the territory she had seized from the Boers, and the federal republics would, | of course, obtain every guarantee that not |a hair of the heads of their kinsmen would suffer. No words, he continued, need be wasted on the absolute independ- | ence of the two republics. Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley, | Dr. Leyds added, were simply prisons, | with the sole difference that the Britisn had to consume their own provisions. it e R e ENGLAND CAN GET PLENTY OF MONEY NEW YORK, Jan. 27.—A Journal special from London says: One of the partners of Brown, Shipley & Co., the American | bankers, talking on the financial effect of the war, said: “England can easily get as much money as she requires for war purposes without disturbing to any appreciable extent the world's money markets. Naturally when a reverse is recorded flnanciers are in- clined to hold and markets become stiff, but a reaction sets In whenever a victory 18 announced. “Stiff markets mean high rates, and if ‘\Ll Berlin has_ nothing to do with politics, | diplomatic dinner which he had received | posed to remain some days, but had no| @ Military. General Sir Henry Brackenbury, General Sir Richard Harrison, Secretary. Director Gen. of Ordnance. ‘Unless have | because he was unable to hold it. B b S e e e R ab ok & B SR S S o o e S g ci d o e e S S S e o o o o e e e e e e e e LENTY OF ALARMING RUMORS BUT NO NEWS FROM SOLTH AFRICA. tHt+t4 4444 | Vice Admiral Sir Compto: Admiral Superintendent of Naval Resern MITTEE OF NATIONAL, DEFENSE. This committee, which is composed of military and naval officers holding certain positions, met in extraordinary session yesterday afternoon, Lord Salisbury, Sir Michael Therefore | @-+6—+2+50003 4066400000000 000006000000t +6 0000000040 00sdedttieiedededesisdedsdeisdedededeieisde KE A REVERSE AT DECISIVE POINT Buller’'s drmy Successful It Will Be in a Perilous Position. ONDON, Jan. 2.—Spencer Wilkinson, whose articles on the war situation attracted much attention here and view of the situation for the Assoclated Press at midnight after the War Office had given out a telegram from Lord Having taken it Tuesday night, he abandoned it The published words of General Inspector Gen. of Fortifications. R R R e e e S o s o Domvile, Qriev st edteiritiriosedstriotoce Is Now abroad, wrote the following re- Roberts dated at Cape Town Saturday, saying there was no change in the situation “The affair of Spion Kop appears very like a reverse at the decisive point of the decisive battle. According to General Buller's telegram, Gen. Warren was determined to take the hill because it commanded the enemy's ns presumably uller's tele- ishap can be ednesday night Whether the gram have the tone in which a reverse Is announced | made good it is Impossible to say. A general attacking has to some extent the power of making his own decisive point. General Warren may vet beat the but unles probability of Ladys “General Buller's retreat would be a df on the railway the advantage of speed of his purpose to relieve h being rmy, fficult operation. or th hope of success. T ing assault difficult, produced battlgs Ia tion of battles was to be expected telegrams as 3 the unfinished fight lieved is credible, for Colonel to cover the Intervening distance. | money is absolutely required England has | more to pay. not greatly affected by the fluctuations, although they feel them to a certain de- gree. Presuming that England requires thirty millions sterling, she can secure it without any upheaval or serious effect on America.” CHICAGO PEOPLE WILL AID THE BOERS CHICAGO, Jan. 21.—A mass-meeting of nearly 2000 people In Central Music Hall to-night inveighed against wars and ex- pressed sympathy for the Boers in their struggle against Great Britain. The meet- of the Holland Soclety, who are raising | funds for the Red Cross work in the Boer | army. D. J. Schuyler, who is president of the Holland Soclety, was the first speaker. While he was speaking the Boer colors were carried down the hall and were cheered on their way to the platform. Then John hymn of the Afrikanders, refd.” “Het Volks- the horrors of war. He sald that Eng- | land’s position was the outgrowth of a rude and naked spirit of greed. A double quartet of women sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the audi- ence rising to join in the chorus. Mrs. Henry Avery of the Red Cross So- clety made a few remarks, and other ad- dresses were made by Miss Jane Adams and Mrs. Vandalia Varnum Thomas. The | Dr. Emil G. Hirsch made an address on | enemy by success at some other point or he may retake Spion Kop and keep one way or another the battle ncw going on can be won there is no i relteved unless successful The main Boer force is as near to any point s is General Warren's wing of Buller's army; 3 reason, eneral White, his very utmost before giving up the attempt American Civil War showed range and rate of fir> bave been greatly !ncreas: But et afford it 1s not vet possible clearly to interpre The report ‘rom Boer soure Plumer has been p | rection, and there has been time since he was last heard Moreover, the Boers have wi trating their forces at more decisive points, but it requires con New York and Berlin are | will be in a critical position, for its Boers have mportance and the as well as because of the we may expect General B and In this necessity I without ‘a - fuller knowle that Mafeking h dstently working | f near Gaberon rmation. Jones, who presented resolutions which were adopted unanimously, declarin the South African republics are for the same eternal p moved our forefathers in thelr struggles against England a century ago and tMat the hearts of the American people are with them in their brave and righteous effort to preserve their country and their | homes from an invading foreign foe. | ing was under the auspices of the women | | | deense committee. Brower sang the national | | Several thousand dollars was raised through the sale of seats and collection and it will be devoted to fitting out & hos- pital corps for the Boers. THERE HAS BEEN NO MUDDLE, SAYS COLLINGS LONDON, Jan. 27.—Joseph Chamberlain, who expected to attend the b the Birmingham jewelers and silv. this evening, was unable to be present owing to the holding of a meeting of the His place was taken by the Hon. Jesse Collings, Under Secre- tary of State for the Home Office, and J. Austen Chamberlain, Civil Lord of the Admiraity. The former, replying to a toast to “Her Majesty’s Ministers,” deplored the atti- | tude of the press in regard to the war In | muddle | | South Africa. He said there had been no in its conduct, and the facts when known would show there had been no war in which more foresight, skill and care had been displayed by the Gov- ernment than the present one. The re- verses, he declared, only increased the determination to prosecute the work to the end. The war involved the question closing speech was made by Jenkin Llloyd whether Great Britain would mfl‘!l.ln