The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 10, 1904, Page 5

BY ONE SEN CZAR'S FLEET NOT PREPARED FOR COMBAT; Japanese Torpedo Boats Effect Complete Surprise. Night Attack Followed by Terrific Day Engagement. St ol Continued ¥rom Page 1, Column 5. ] ed out impres- . it W cold and S southerly breeze ttled down osions Under W ater. oing to bed at going ckw | heard e dis but muffled -one after an- Instantly r 2-pounders ind began. Searc s were placed, with out ItV Ul much method. 1ed the operations, they were only | midnight, firing had almost ed, entirely ceasing at the morning. At about 1 o’clock two eships, the Retvizan ( esarevitch, and e large cruiser passed us, ning toward the harbor nce. The battleships av across the nar-| at the entrance, are now and helpless. | very close to-| 1d are not block- e entrance, except| ips of heavy draught. e Retvizan had been tor- edoed forward, the Ce-/| evitch aft. e cruiser listed to port | iground outside of the the harbor. ¢ also was torpedoed. | rance oil Excitement of Russians.{ 2:40 some Russian | officers came to the mbia in a state of great excitement, saying| e Viceroy had ordered | us not to attempt to leave, | heir object apparently be- | ng to prevent us giving! niormation to the Japan- ese concerning the extent f the damage. Co Up to this time we thought the operations | were only maneuvers or a scare, but now we began| 10 suspect something ser- | ous, especially day we saw the strange, | pathetic appearance of the | 1wo torpedoed battleships. | \We suspected a collision, these battie- cruisers were certainly rpedoc It seems strange, )t lashlights were whirl- g wildly and the lighthouse 1 was now ex ct, no firing o’clock. took place aiter 3 when at|t (ships, five effective cruisers, one THE--SA { FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1904 J oo ATIONAL GO Victors Escape Unharmed The sun arose wvery losing the presence ¢ zon of three two- tinguished sun of | n lor vithin nce both rem a ho s after daybreak. A strange apathy possess the Russians. white-faced, ed the forward decks of aged vessel cook the other vesse ing the anchor cl range Crews © glass, red, dis- 1 the hori- mnel cruisers 1asts we afterward dis- e flag of the rising They came boldly anc ed watching for two seemed to gaping men crowd- e dam- the calmly s carefully wash 1 while weigh- anchor. For a long time aiter the anchor was weighed no ves- sels showed a disposition to chase the Japanese or to shot Ei clock. > the by At 9:15 o'clock the fire a Russian single he Japanese leit. This They were fleet, 1 proceeded toward Dalny. Russians returned to their anchorage, no firing apparently having occur- red I'hen again came {everything h ess noise ti eview. SECOND silence aving passed off with 1an an ordinary naval BATTLE BEGINS. The Russians had now outside he harbor five effective battle- volunteer cruiser, one gun vessel, one training ship and seventeen entrance of the harbor. It was almost 11 o'clock this | - | torpedo-boats and destroyers. but f The latter were grouped near the morning when a section of Jap-|fort and numbers on the face of anese ships, including five battle- | ¢liffs and along the beach. All ships, appeared along the horia The |zon. They were in fine order, 3 0 e -.'< - % VIEW OF THE ENTRANCE TO' THE FORTIFIED HARBOR OF PORT ARTHUR. O S Py 5 At 11:135, sav, came a flash|all shells burst on contact with This | 12-inch shell near t from a Japanese vessel. landed a e torpedo-boats and disabled a bat- | tleship. The aim was splendid. Owing to the confusion of quarantine officials or perhaps be | cause the Russians thought the Japanese would dislike to fire | near the British flag, the Colum- | bia had been lying close to the Russian fleet and in the line o fire, so that the Japanese she aimed at the battleships fell thick- Several, bursting ly around her. near her stern, strewed her deck with splinters and water. CARRIES OFF HIS (i['A\Rl).\',i Captain Anderson then got un- | throwing out slops and men in| ! der way, although ordered by the Russians not to leave, and despite ‘ the the of Russian i guards aboard, who were event-| On/ Is were | | protests ually conveyed to Chefu. one occasion, when shel bursting around us, the captamn called: “Boy, get me some cigarettes.” | Officers Wright and Xichol;‘(nfi and Engineer Smith were cool-| ness personified. The vessel brought out of her exc dangerous position by running| | : Pt {near shore and then making full speed for Chefu. The Russian guards were praying fervently and the Chinese crew was fright ened, but worked well. We feared | | the Russian batteries would sink | us for disobeying orders or sem” |a torpedo-boat in pursuit. The| | captain had repeatedly signaled for permission to proceed, but his | signals were not answered. | The bombardment of the forts |lasted till about 12, the Japanese i shooting with good aim. Two| | shells burst on the summit of one iuf them were heavy shells. | Owing to the length of range water or land. Some threw out a vellow smoke,butgenerallyit was a dense black smoke, temporaril concealing the ships. The rate of fire on both sides was slow and sian shells fell short. many Rus The Sevastopol was hit by a heavy shell near the base of her forward funnel. Another three- funneled battleship was struck amidship on her armor plating. A third, also a battleship, was struck abaft her armored section, near the stern. We could'not aseéftain the ex- act done. The were about three miles apart. Ap- damage parently no ship on either side was disabled. The Russian Novik fought pluckily, keeping by far the closest to the Japanese. All of the heavier fire was concen- trated on her and compelled her to retire on the battleships. The other Russian cruisers fought at first outside the line of battle- cruiser ships. The Russians seemed to fight | with little formation, probably | owing to the cramped space, be- | |ing never more than a mile and | | a half from-shore. They remained lall the time under the guns of i the forts, which fired over them, but not frequently. The heaviest shore batteries fired over us and the air vibrated strong and there was a great crackling around us. Before the action’ we saw the Russian battléships throwing beds and other lumber through the gunports, and Chinese sam- pans were busily engaged in pick- ing up these articles, iricluding ping pong tables, until the shelis began to iall. JAPANESE GOOD SEAME The Russian battleships con- stantly wheeled around in the same position, while the Japan- fleets ! UP JAPAN OBTAING THE MAGTERY IN WATER BRITISH EXULT OVE LONDON, Feb. 10.—The dispatch from Major General Flug, issued at St. Petersburg, on the engagement of Port | Arthur has not yet reached the Eng- lish newspapers, and the various ac- counts of the Port Arthur fight pub- lished this morning leave much to be desired on the point of exactitude. It | is the general opinion of ,the British | press, however, that Viceroy Alexieff’s | { dispatches conceal the extent of the | damage that the Japanese onslaught | | inflicted upon the Russian fleet and | that when the actual facts become | | known it will be seen that Japan, by | her pluck and energy, has practically | secured command of the sea. | In an editorfal article the Daily Tele- graph says that, unless all signs are astray, “the Far Eastern fleet which Russia built up with extraordinary ex- ertions during the last five years is in| its death agony. The Times says the moral effect of the blow which Japan suddenly de- livered can 'hardly be exaggerated, | and that the immediate strategic con- | sequences are scarcely second in im-| portance to the moral effect. All of | the dai papers express the greatest| | satisfaction at such a catastrophe to| Russia and unexpected initial success | on the part of the Japanese. ! COMMENT ON HAY'S NOTE. | Secretary Hay's note to the powers on the integrity of China created great | interest at the Japanese legation here, | | where it was characterized as “a seri- | ous blow to Russia.” Beyond this statement, however, the \ R JAPANESE VICTORY AND RUSSIAN DISASTER% Believe the Mikado Has Already Obtained Com-| mand of the Sea by His Bold Stroke. legation officials refused to be quoted The daily papers publish the note with great prominence, but while admitting its extreme importance, and urging the careful consideration of the proposal, they comment upon it in a tone of con- siderable caution. The Times says it hopes it will meet with general support, as it would limit the danger of the dis- turbance of the world's peace. The Morning Post points out that the difficulty is to define what it meant by | “China.” but says it thinks that Great 3ritain would readily assent to Secre- tary Hay's proposal. The Daily Chronicle and the Stand- ard are equally in favor of the idea if it can be put into execution, but these papers think the proposal requires close scrutiny, owing to the difficulty of\car- rying it into effect. JAPANESE RELEASE PRIZES. In a dispatch from Shanghai, dated February 9, a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph says that the Japanese stopped and subsequently released three Russian steamships, the Mukden, the Amur and the Schulka. One Russian warship, an obsolete sloop named the Mandjur, the cor- | respondent continues, is there, and Captain Crown, who-commands her, evidently retained as an intelligence of- | ficer. He is assisting the Ru tary agent, General Dessino. { In a dispatch from Tokio the corres- pondent of the Times says the Jap- anese Government has removed the restrictions upon foreign insurance companies. ese kept a splendid formation, re-| tiring slowly in line to the south- ward at 11:43, after half an hour's | action. The Columbia escaped with a small hole in her deck, caused by | a splinter from a shell, and some | marks on her afterdeck-house. | | The Columbia’s captain is Eng- lish, the mate Irish and the en-| | gineer Scotch. | Two large and two small Brit- | lish steamers engaged in coasting | | trade, also an American flour| { ship, the Pleiades, are blocked| insitle Port Arthur harbor by the position of the disabled battie- i ships. | The Russians are endeavoring, by pumps and collision mats, to stop the holes in the battleships | in order to be able to take them | inside the harbor at high water. When fifteen miles south of! ! | { i Port Arthur I heard heavy firing | toward the north. This was at| 1:30 o'clock in the afternoon. It | did not continue long. [ saw no! signs of the Japanese fleet on my | way to Chefu. | | = 3 D e Norway and Syeden Neutral. - STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb, 9.—The | RUSSIA | are | by the actual outbreak of war. - — Government of Sweden and Norway de- cided to-day to observe strict neutral- ity during the war between Russja and Japan. e AR Lk SERIOUSLY CRIPPLED. German Naval Comment on the Re- verse at Port Arthur. BERLIN, Feb. 9.—Japan's initial suc- cess in the first attack with torpedo- boats on the Russian fleet Arthur produced a deep both upon the people and upon mi) tary and naval critics here. Groups gathered around the distributers of the gxtras in the streets and read the news almost with exclamations of gladness, The comment at the Marine Depart- ment was that even the temporary dis ablement of threée warships placed the Russians at a great disadvantage in the future overations. that the torpedoing of the enemy's ve sels lying under powerful land batter. | ies must have been carried out dar- ingly and skillfully. As Viceroy Alex- feff did not mention any Japanese lossc : in his first dispatch. the common talk of the naval icers was that the Japanese had shown that they could handle their ships batter than the Rus- sians. . Russia’s Women Patriotic. MOSCOW, Feb. 9.—The Muscovites animated by the patriotic senti- ments which have been strengthened The lo- cal Red Cross Society is besieged by women who are offering their services to nurse the wounded. Prices on the Moscow Stock Fxchange are falling. -—— Troops Sail From Odessa. ORESSA. Feb. 9.—The Russian vol unteer cruiser Tampov sailed to-day with a full cargo for the Far East. The Russian steamships Kieff and Viadimir will start for the Far East this week. sian mili; | off Port | impression, | It was adderll FHR AT 'FRENCH PRESS DENOUNCES ACT OF JAPANESE {Declares Law of Nations | Was Violated by | Attack. ————— | Russia Expects to Be ' Defeated in Sea | Batiles. NSNS i | PARIS, Feb. 9 a great wave of pcpular sympathy for | Russia was brought out by the news {of the engagement ff Port Arth | | The newspapers without exception se- ign Japan The attack befor her nd « internatio pan's action was cont te es of | international law, gi promise tha Japan propeses to co t the war without regard to modern usages of warfare The Patrie gi promi- | nenee to its mitted an act | compares the attack fleet of Port Arthu up of the Maine ope will hold 1s treason. he authe that Japan com ternational law Notwithstanding this bitterne with the and asserts that Japan respe ities expressed ever. universal reccgnition was Japan's audacity and it w dent that Japan's naval prestige had | been materially increase he press was informed by a high Russian authority that, now that Ja- pan has begun ernment, followi issued in the various states tions of neutrality In Russian diplomatic circles the sue- cess of Japan's attack last night nat- urally aroused the greatest regret. It was frankly-admitted that Russia ex- pected to be defeated upo a, but it was added that she rtainly ccnquer on land PARIS ar, the Russian Gove £ the manifesto to be pects that 1e prociama- Wou d e Feb. 10.—The newspapers this morning unanimously den a Japan’s action in attacking the Rus- ur before a fc war as a sian ships at Port Artk mal declaration of worthy of savages and contrary to the laws of nations -Russian sympa- thies are universally expressed, but an equally conspicuous note is the - | isfaction with the probability that hostilities will be localized to the pres- ent belligere Sackgn iy, ATTITCDE OF FRAN Will Give Russia No A Far East. PARIS, Feb. 9.—The news of the first | Japanese attack with torpedo-boats on | the Russian fleet off Port Arthur cre- ated consternation here. The officials | of the Foreign Office were among the | first to receive the information and the | advices were similar to those of the St. Petersburg Official Gazette, showing | that two Russian battleships and one | cruiser were damageg and also show- | ing that four torpedo-boats made the | attack. An official of the Foreign Of- fice said: “It is profoundly to be regretted that | such a decisive step has been taken, as | it terminates the efforts the powers | might have made to avert actual war- | fare.” | Information has been received here | showing that the British Government | will jssue a declaration of neutrality | within a few days. perhaps Immediate- | Iy, and that France will take the same course within a day or two. At a conference of Ministers held at the Eiysee Palace to-day under the | presidency of M. Loubet, Foreign Min- ister Delcasse ¢ municated the news | of the first Japamese attack With t | pedo-boats on the Russian fleet off P Arthur, and announced that the French Minister in Tokio had been instructed to assure the protection of Russian sub- | Jects and their interest sistance in the | The attitude of the ment in view of the war i - nitely determined upon. France will maintain neutrality under any and ail circumstances, the Franco-Russian liance being construed as not | France to intervene in behalf of Russia, even should Great Britain or any third power intervene in behalf of Japan. The naval engagement off Port thur is understood to have mainly occu. pied the attentipn of the Couneil of Ministers. The impres: prevailed that the three Russian ships torpedoed were so disabled o be unserviceable for the remainder of the war, thus lpla(-ing the Russian fleet in a state of | manifest inferiority. It is said that members of the Council of Mini rs expressed astonishment at the alleged negligence of the commanders of the | Russian ships in permitting the Japan- ese to surprise them. The Japanese legation announces that Japan has requested China to de- | clare coal contraband of ‘war. The ef- fect of this would be to cut off the main coal supply of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur. The legation officials add that China’s continuance of supplying the Russians with coal would be a broach of neutrality. | e v CHINA TO REMAIN NEUTRAL Ar- n Mungolian Government Will Not Be Drawn Into the War. | PARIS. Feb. 9.—China, it is under- stood. has given official assurances | that she will immediately issue | declaration of neutrality. This is considered highly important. in view of the possibility of China. impressed by the Japanese success at Port Ar- thur, joining the Japanese. It is renorted on the same auther- ity that the cable from Vladivostok had been cut. AR SR Viadivostok Squadron. ., Feb. 10.—The Russian war vessels at Vladivestok are the armored cruiser Rurik, Rossiay and Gromeboi and the Boga Tyr. a screw corvette built in 1860. Russia bhas 1000 tons of coal at Port Arthur, put the coal mus: be taken out to the battleships in light- ers until the batticshins disabled hy the Japanese are floated. ———— Cures Colds in Russia. LANATIVE BROMO QUININE. To get the genuine, “call tor the full name. 25 cemtlh —