The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 3, 1904, Page 1

~Ne ! ' \ Forecast made A""‘i’ i cisto for thirty + midnight, March 3T A | Cionay, THE WEATHER. San Francisco and vieinity— threatening Thursday; cooler; brisk mortheast winds. A. G. MCADIE, District Forecaster. at Seu Fran- hours wnding XCV-—-NO. 94 stead.” Grand—“Hills To-Day. Tivoli—"“The Gypsy Baron.” + Alcazar—“Miss Hobbs.” Californin—*“Sag Harbor.” Central—“A Break for Liberty.” Columbia — “The Chutes—Vaudeville. Fischer's—“Roly-Poly.” Orpheum—Vaudevill Old Home- of California.” 5. Matinee SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDA] , MARCH 3, 1904. L Japanese fleet apparently has withdrawn temporarily. for the invasion of Mane ONDON, March 3.—News from the Far East, published this morning. huria. OGO WITHDRAWS FROM PORT ARTHUR indicates the correctness of the information received in Washington as to a change in the war plans of the Japanese, involving a postponement of the attempt to capture Port Arthur. Official reports from Port Arthur show that not only was there no fighting there on Sunday, Mgnday or Tuesday, but that the Japan is centering all her efforts at present upon the attempt to wrest Northern Korea from the Russians and send an army aeross the Yalu The erisis is nearing in that region, and any hour may bring news of a battle that will decide the mastery of the frontier. army in Korea are still cloaked with the utmost secrecy, It is probable that the Mikado has at the present moment forces ageregating 120,000 nearing the vicinity of Pingyang. While the movements of the Japanese W AR ACTIVITY CENTERS IN NORTH KO — . 1GANDS KIDNAP | : Escape Into Mexico and There Wait for Ransom. —_—— ] 1 A more remo where tied. HARRISON FACTION WINS CONTROL. BY The Friends of the Chicago Mayor Take Advantage of a Legal Technicality SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 2. gens of strategy to-d e of the political auxiliary organization own as the Cook « t obtained by t rter H. Har- was achieved by a ldeg 1se h 2 demand for in- s the Cook County Powers and other peared to-day tate Rose and charter held. by the v of the epponents of the May had become nvalid for non-compliance with the ing corporations to make 1 report to the retary of license was thereupon issued who thus regained control, from he had recently been . ousted a court decision upholding the anti-Harrison faction. The deci- | sio d enjoined officers of the Har- rison. faction from ring at the meetings of the Cock County Dem- ocracy app STRATEGY | \Japanese Fleet Disappears From the Vicinity of Russia’s Liaotung 1 Stron Special Cablegram to The Call and New York Herald. Copyright, 1904, by the New York Herald ST. PETERSBURG, March 2:—In a ch to the Alexieff Czar Viceroy Stark, telegraphing from (March 2), enemy did not appear off Port Ar either , February i day ebruary Reconnalssances made and torpedo-boats over from Port Arthur a lius of sixty miles failed to discover the enemy’s ves- Major General Pflug, Viceroy Alex- chief of staff, sends the following ram, dated March 2: According to additional information has reached me, our patrol, hav- » night twelve versts from which vang, approached that town on morning of Febru 29. They Iy pressed a Japanese patrol with seven officers, forcing it to retreat at a gallop toward the gates of the tovn “The of our patrols near Pingyang caused great alarm and soon shooters manned the presence the enemy’ walls and towers, expecting an attack ever, were checked by the enemy, and is supposed the Japanese have more han 1000 men in Pingyang. MAY ABANDON STRONGHOLD. Ominous rumors ran through the city to-day in business circies that Port Arthur was to be abandoned to the enemy after sinking the Russian ships, as was done in the Crimean war. This is probably exaggerated, but the story is fortified by the telegram from Port | Arthur published in the Gazette to the effect that the commander has called upon ‘the people to shed the last drop of their blood in case the enemy takes the town. To-day a list of twenty-nine killed aboard the Variag and also a few, of the casualties aboard the Askold, the Novik and the Pallada was published. Every railway in Russia is carrying soldiers to junction points that con- I'nect with the trans-Siberian line. The troop trains are followed by proces- sions of cars laden with ammunition, two-wheeled carts, provisions, and hospital th guns, army kitchen utensils supplies. The soldiers are generally between |21 and 27 years of age, beardless and | full of vigor. They wear bulky fur | capes and heavy felt boots. Their | uniforms are plain almost to the point | Aot meanness. Each man has two sets of underclothing, a lgng thick over- coat and a short sheepskin jacket. When the troops reach the military | storehouses east of Lake Baikal they | will be provided with long sheepskin | overcoats and double jackets of goat- skin. : | SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. ( Each company, under the direction of its captain, supervises its own According to the report, our patrols | approached within 700 paces of the town, which they found to be sur- rounded by new ramparts. They, how- ghold. Publishing Company. | kitchen and nominates its cook and | | provision Al | taining company | with great ¢ he master. matters per- to the are managt of ¢, as a majority ustomed are ers peasants, acc to hig communal developed ex- s a serious scarcity of provisions ) ‘1 and the troops en route to | the | ! | Far East are living principally on | thick, sour soup, with cabbage. Meat | | rations are sparingly distributed, in | | v of the delays on the way. Tea | is not provided by the autherities, but | nearly every company supplies itself, | though the receive only 7 bles ($3 60) a year. The captains say that tea keeps the rank and file in humor to bear hardships and face men ru- danger. KUROPATKIN IS PLEASED. | General Kuropatkin is daily specting the contingents bound for the front and declares that will | tonish the world by their in- | they as- | willingness | and capacity to meet the exigencies of the campaign. Dinners are being given the regi- | ments in their native towns and cities before they leave for the front. These functions are attended and | | military officials in uniform. The din- | by civil are served by women. In these be- In scenes of animation the soldiers | have with quiet dignity that impres hostile critics with a sense | their fitness for trying work. of | The | | majority of them are fresh from lives | of extreme frugality and even priva- even tion. Their eyes are bright, their { flesh firm and their frames well tan- ned and muscular. The voluateer fleet steamship Kazan has been transferred to the Red Cross | Society. The Kazan was reported at Port Arthur on February 17, when she was said to have been slightly | damaged during a Japanese attack. The volunteer fleet steamship Ekate- rinoslay, which was captured by the Japanese, is lying in the harbor of Sasebo, Japan. Dispatches received here say that her officers and crew are well, and deny that the Japanese | are using her for transport purposes. The volunteer fleet steamship Voronej has reached Colombo, on her way to Odessa, where the Nijni Novgorod of | the same fleet arrived to-day. | REPATRIATION OF SAILORS. | Negotiations have been compIELed‘ with France, Great Britain and Italy for the repatriation of the Russian | sailors who were taken on board ves- sels of those countries after the Chemulpo fight. These men will be brought to Odessa, under Russia’s pledge not to allow them to fight again during the continuance of the war. Numerous offers have been received from women in Germany, France, and especially England, to go to the front as nurses. Dr. Nutzer, a woman phy- sician of Berlau, has already been en- rolled for this work. Lieutenant Newton A. McCully, I | sion to-day and discussed war taxation | successful. T o s PANORAMIC VIEW OF PORT ARTHUR! "RUSSIAS FAR EASTERN STRONGHOLD. zar's War Chief| Pleased With His Men. | . S. N., who has obtained permission | to observe the Russian fleet opera- | may go to Port Arthur from Suez, owing to the delay prevails on the Trans- ] C tions, London, via which Siberian Railroad. Siberian gold miners have petition- ed the to permit the transportation of their equipment over | the Trans-Siberian Railroad and to let | now Government off the railroad employes who have | beén taken into the army, declaring | that otherwise the gold-mining in- | dustry will be ruined. MIKADO SUMMONS THE JAPANESE DIET 0O SPECTAL SESSION The Emperor late to-day issued a rescript, countersigned by the Minister of State, summoning the Diet to meet in special session on March 13. It is not believed that the session will last more than ten days. The parliamentary elections are pro- ceeding quietly. The final returns are | expected to reach Tokio by Saturday. Few political meetings preceded the elections, domestic politics practically being forgotten. The Cabinet met in extraordinary ses- measures for submission to the Diet. It is now planned to increase by 70,- | 000,000 yen the amount to be raised by taxation. The income tax on land prob- ably will be douhled, the taxes on spir- its and tobacco increased and some new taxes created. . SUNKEN STEAMSHIPS PARTLY B..OCKADE HARBOR'S ENTRANCE NAGASAKI, March 2.—The Japanese hospital steamshin Kobe Maru, which arrived at Sasebo on Monday with sev- enty-one invalids, including six naval engineers, who were employed on board the vessels which were sunk at Port Arthur, brings confirmation of the re- port that the attempt to obstruct the entrance to that harbor was partially It is reported that the hulks of the Hokoku Maru and Bushiu Maru now block part of the channel. The explosions on board these steamers were caused by electric wires operated from the torpedo-boat destroyers, | which afterward saved the crews. AL SRR A Horses Haul Troop Cars. ST. PETERSBURG, March 2.—The cars on the ice railroad over Lake Balkal are now drawn by horses, a locomotive which performed this ser- vice having broken through the ice. | report | but, Japanese Expect the Foe to Make the Yalu River His Main Line of Defense. TOKIO, March 2.—It has been learned movement is made to facilitate the re- here to-day that the Russians have | inforcing of the stations in China later occupied the telegraph offices at Anju | Should necessity arise. and Yongampho, They north of Pingyang. have imprisoned the District 1 | Governor and have confiscated official papers. The Russian force near Anju numbers about forty men. The main Russian force is concentrated at Liao- yang. The Russians Antung aggregate 2000. No itnportant engage- south of the Yalu near ment is expected sians will make their main line of de- fense. LONDON, March 3.—Hardly a word of news from the seat of war, with the exception of the Russian official dis- patches, is published here this morn- ing, and it now seems clear that the story in the Morning Telegraph, two days ago, of a bombardment of Port Arthur by the Japanese on February "_‘.’4 was nothing more than re-echo of previous attacks. ARMING CHINESE BANDITS. From Yinkow comes an unconfirmed that 500 bandits, armed with modern rifles, have attacked a Rus- sian post to the west of thirty-two miles east by north of New- chwang; that there was severe fight- ing, and that both sides lost heavily. This report is discredited at Yinkow; if it is true, it indicates that a serious danger is confronting Russia in these well-armed brigands. According to the Daily Mail's account o1 ums affair, six Japanese found among | This would | the bandits were Killed. tend to show that the Japanese are or- ganizing the bands. Reports received here from Tokio declare that Japan has granted per- mission for fifty-three foreign news- paper correspondents to accompany the Japanese forces. The date of their de- parture has not been fixed. A mile and a quarter of the Siberian Rallroad, according to the Tokio re- ports, has been destroyed in the Nin- guta district, between Viadivostok and Harbin. The Standard cables that the Russians are fortifying strong points south of Muk- den. Thousands of coolies who are working day and night on the ramparts and entranchments of Haicheng are compelled to labor without pay. SUFFERING OF REFUGEES. Heartrending stories are appearing in the English newspapers of the suf- ferings of refugees from Port Arthur on the train journey to European Rus- sia. It is bitterly cold and there is a scarcity of food and water. Several children have been suffocated under the rugs and shawls with which they were covered in attempts to keep them warm. Owing to exposure and exhaus- tion an epldemic of influenza has bro- ken out amohg the refugees. Orders were issued to-day to dispatch 2000 troops to reinforce the British gar- rison at Malta. It is believed that this Tientsin correspondent of the | | | | | River, which, it is believed, the Rus- | Saicheng, | Four hundred troops also were ordered to China to raise’ the local stations there to war strength. CHINESE WANT TO FIGHT. PARIS, March 3.—In a dispatch from Harbin, Manchuria, a correspondent of the Matin says it is rumored that the Chinese generals Ma and Thiang have ked permission to themselves with the Japanese. ally continues, “that at the beginning of hostilities the Japanese wanted to land | troops at a point near Shanhaikwan, and that the Chinese prevented them. “Liaoyang, between Mukden and Newchwang, is becoming the nucleus of an important Russian army.” RUSSIAN CRUISER GRANTED FIVE DAYS’ TIME FOR REPATRS SUEZ, March he Russian ar- mored cruiser Dmitri Donskoi, which applied for permission to remain here for repairs, has been allowed five days {in which to complete the necessary work. PORT SAID, March -The Rus- sian cruiser Aurora, recently in the | Red Sea, left to-day for Candia, isl- and of Crete. Four of the five Russian torpedo- boat destroyers which left here yester- day for Algiers have returned on ac- count of rough weather. BOTH GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA PLEDGE . TIBET'S I.\'I)EPEXI)E.\TE PARIS, March 2—The Liberte to- day publishes a dispatch from St. Pe- tersburg saying that the British Em- bassador, Sir Charles Scott, had trans- mitted to Foreign Minister Lamsdorff | the answer of Great Britain to the Rus- sian protest against Colonel Younghus- band’s expedition to Tibet, with the | further announcement that Great Brit- ain had bound herself not to menace the independence of Tibet, and that Russia had given a like assurance. JAPANESE TROOPS ARE CONCENTRATING "IN NORTHERN KOREA PARIS, l;hrm;ormauon reach- ing here from official sources shows that the Japanese concentration of [gmups is going on extensively in the neighborhood ot Pingyang, norea. Large forces are debarking from trans- ports at nearby ports, from which it is assumed that an extensive land en- gagement is imminent in Northern Ko- rea. AR S e Benckendorff Returns to London. LONDON, March 2.—Count Ben- Continued on Page 4, Column 4. t is now certain,” the correspondent’ REVOLUTION CIVOMEXICO IS INMINENT Reyes Is Expected to - Lead People to h to -The Call. Special , Dispat | TACOMA, Wash, March 2.—Mexico is on the eve of rev rding to Colonel H. H. Thompson, who has just returned from that country. .He bases his belief on the opinions of men who tlon ac are en the de of Mexican politics and who stand high with the Govern- ! ment. Thompsen lived in Mexico, near | the Texas border, for many vears. He says the prospective tion is de- pendent upon President Diaz's rele: of the reins of government to Li tour, his present Secretary of W whom he proposes to make his V Presiden sympathizer of the of President Diaz vid Thomp- ed that the the President to regard the church e ent Diaz, “Limantour | church and the is a very devout woman and it is bel has caused more lenientl it is generally intends to leave soon or tour of the world. The President has ntly | created and h( is generally believed that Diaz, who | been | holds dictatorial power, will appoint | Limantour to the office and turn over | the Government to him. Diaz has built himself a palace in Parfs and it ig be- lieved that his tour of the world means’ that he will never return to Mexico, but will go to Paris to live. “The ef prevails that Limantour will return to. the church the lands which have been confiscated, and this will be the signal for a revolution. Bernardino Reyes, formerly ~com- | mander of the army, is. the man who | will head it. Reyes believed that he would be Diaz’s successor until he was | removed by the President. Limantour | is not a Mexican nor a Spaniard. He is |a Frenchman and Reyes would be | much preferred to him by Amierican in- terests and the better class of Mexi~ cans. That Reyes will be successful { there is little -doubt. Limantour will have only the police of the City of Mex- ico and about 2000 rurales, or country police.” e — | BLIZZARD AT LAST { STRIKES WYOMING be n Heavy Storm Sweeps Over the State and a Continuance is Pre- dicted. CHEYENNE. Wyo., March 2.—After a winter which has broken all records for warmth and absence of storms, { Southeastern Wyoming to-day is in the grasp of a severe blizzard, which start- | ed after a sudden drop in the tempera- ture of 30 degrees. It is almost impos- | sible to see buildings across the street and the Weather Bureau predicts a continuance of the storm and a severe colg, wave.