The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 17, 1904, Page 12

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. CZAR’'S “WILD WEST” | IN THE FAR EAST BY IVAN VANNEKOFF | »sequent made in 18%8. In n, Russia's Far war with Japan, of a w of its Man- aged In pressing s, and distilling flourishing, here are the soldie; been clal divis- tative boom in every who, up thought on town men, ities, the town f the iiarbin the survey of the . branch The he work started a from the trans-B; provinces, working east- ward in straight a line as possible toward \ k. This determina- tion to run a bee line to the Pacific brought them time to the western banks of the ipal river of Man- churia — the Sungari. Opposite them lay the scattered mudhouse settlement of Harbir enty miles farther down the river was the city of Khulinchen An American surveying party would heve made a detour to tap so flourish- ing a com center, but not so the Russians. I n was in front of them it was on a direct line with Viadi- vostok, the road would cross the river at Harbin, and twenty miles would be saved After that history was made at a rapld rate in Harbin. River steamer after river steamer dumped its cargo of ralls, bridge work and .other mate- riale along the river banks; bridge bullders, engineers, blacksmiths, lock- emiths, carpenters, linemen, rallway doctors and surgeons, clerks and ac- countants, & d in great numbers from Russia; and hundreds of coolies —Chinese, Manchus, Koreans, Solons, Golds, Buriats d whatnots—attracted by the prospect of remunerative work, invaded the little town. Harbin leaped over night from a fishing village of a few hundred souls to & humming rafl- road center of several thousand. Then, while the railroad was being pushed with feverish haste across the plaine ir irection, and the foun- dations for the great bridge across the Sungari were rapidly being laid. .word reached Harbin that the Czar had Jeased the Liaotung peninsula for a pe- riod of twenty-five years from the Chi- nese Imperial Government, and a road was to be run tc Arthur, on the peninsula’s tip point on the Port from = East Chinese Rallway, and the junc- tien was to be at Harbin. Burveyors were immediately sent out from Har- bin, and, as & result, in a few months material was coming in greater quan- tity than ever by steamer, more arti- sans were arriving from Russia and flocking from the towns of Central Manchuria, and more coolies by the thopsand were being employed, for two raflways were now being built out of Harbin instead of one. In the meantime the railway admin- strator, who had practical authority over -Harbin, though Manchuria offi- cials were in nominal control, had solved the problem of supplying the ever-growing town and the railroad's bullders with food stuffs. Harbin is ctive part of Manch plain stretck and a much } ests t thing is raised on them in at —wh rye, corn, oats, barley, rica, grasses getables and frult each by navigable rivers, the Sungari, the northern by the Nonmni, which empties into the Sungari at Bodune, fif- ty miles above Harbin. All this the Russlans found out as they went frem Harbin to build the raflway and soon down the s came supplies in am- ple brought by Chinese farmers, who had been told of the promising new market for their pro- ducts, ar steamers sent into the p ry to buy food- stuffs at the villages along the river bani Consequently, when in 1900, 6000 Boxers besieged the town for six months, until the approach of three Russian relief expeditions, more than enough supplies had been accu- mulated to carry the besleged safely through on liberal rations. At the time of the siege 150 foreign- ers, mostly Russians, were left in the town; the rest were scattered along the of the bullding rallways. They directed the defense, and in this they were aided by Sheng, the Chi- nese commander-in-chief of Tonewau- gho. lines Sheng, on the outbreak of the Boxer movement, received orders from Peking to kil the foreigners in his district. Sheng liked the Russians; he sent back word that he had neither guns nor bullets with which te obey the order, and if he had he wouldn’t commit mur. der. Then Sheng got a reply ordering himself to execute himself. Sheng de- cided that it was no use to parley fur- ther with the Peking au horities, and promptly went over to the Russians, bag and baggage, and his advice did a lot toward keeping the besieging Box- ers at a respectable distance. The ease with which several hundred men stood off several thousand for half a year at once attracted the attention of the Russian strategists tc Harbin. They reported it easy of defense, com- mai.ding, as it does, the river and the plains in all directions, and a splendid base in case of war, by reason of the fertile and wooded country round th:u(, accessible both by water and rail Russia had not then made the first of the series of her promises to get out of Manchuria, and immediately fol- lowing the report of the Russian strat. egists to St. Petersburg, Harbin ex- perienced a boom of such proportions as to make her first one seem insignif- icant. Where one Russian ~rtisan had come from his native land before firty now came, and they and the Chinese workmen, who literally flooded to Har- bin in droves, not only erected great rallroad ehops and terminals, but rushed up scores of administrative buildings, solid blocks of business houses and row after row of residences. Not only that. Industries, backed b: both Russian and et Chinese capitai, sprang into full blast every bit as mar. velously—especially those capable of furnishing an army with the neces- sary commissary supplies. In six years ten flour mills have been established, with an aggregate daily output of 1, 000,000 pounds of flour; a half million dollars are invested In meat packer- fes, cattle and hogs being extensively raised on the plaing around Harbin; and the city has been bullt from the brick manufactured there and the lum- ber cut and sawed in the great neigh- boring forests to the north and north. west. In the last four years the offi - clal reports show' that the Russian Government has spent nearly $16,000,- 000 in Harbin, and that Chinese and private capital invested there aggre- gates $25,000,000—a grand iotal of $41,- 000,000. y Up to the very dav of the outbreak of hostilities, the boom was still on, apparently undiminishe. in vigor, the city resounding with the constant din of tools all day long and far Into the night. when electric lights guided the regiments of workers. Naturally, Harbin's rapid growth has attracted to it many bad elemerts, as is the case when new towns in the “Wild West” of the United States. In- deed. Harbin is a “Wild West” town of, the Orient 2 o A4 BISHET 2 WONDEARFUL BASKETS dy o ST LOUN AR T negotiations now pending are as successful as they promise to be California will have one of the most unique and interesting as well as one of the most characteristic and val- uable exhibits at the St. Louls Expo- sition. It will be & mute but eloquent testimony, not only of the develop- ment. but of the romance of the West, and it is safe to say that no exhibit from any part of the world will at- tract more widespread attention. This exhibit is now gathered in a big apartment in the beautiful Hotel Riviera at Long Beach, California, which has become famous as a studio or art room, and for the reason that there is possibly nothing similar to it in existence, being reserved as a store- house of numerous and rare specimens of antique and modern basketry to the number of 419, representing the product of fourteen tribes of Indians, chiefly of Arizona and California. In this collection are all shapes and color, in plaques, ollas, bowls, bas- kets, jardinieres, tamale plaques, etc., the somber hues predominating. # Mrs. W. 8. Low, who owns this val- vable and unique collection, is an ar- tist of considerable ability, as attested by the beautiful specimens of pyrog- razhy and paintings to be seen in con- Junction with this exhibit, and her ar- ‘ tistic tastes have led her into the ac- quisition of a speclalty in art in the basket® work to the ex- clusion of all dther subjects, with a very few exceptions, until she may well claim the distinction of owning the most extensive and valu- able grouping of these much admired specimens of Indian handicraft, which are not produced at the present time in the same artistic and comscientious manner as in times past, hence the value of this exhibit will increase with time. But it is not alone that Mrs. Low has the largest private collection of Indian baskets in the world that this pros- pective exhibit, if the negotiations for the purchase are successful, will prove 80 interesting to visitors at the great exposition, but because there are many historical specimens in the collection. Mrs. Low has almed ' not merely to gather the greatest number of baskets obtainable, but has tried more partic- ularly to obtain rare specimens of fa- mous old weaves of perfect design and historical usage. Thus there are baskéts in this im- mense studlo from all branches of every tribe In the great Southwest, which have been handed down and treasured from generation to generation until they finally passed into Mrs. Low’s per- severing hands. And to obtain just the baskets she desires, true specimens of the genuine Indian art and craft, Mrs, Low has gone among the tribes them- selves and studied their history as well as the development of their basketry in order not only to gather her valua- ble collection at first hand, but to write a book, upon which she is now engaged and which will soon be pub- lished, giving in minute and fascinat- ing detail the history of her collection in particular and basketry in gen- eral. ———p HOW ADMIRAL TOGO BY TOYOHIHO TURUSHIMA | l PREPARED FOR WAR | JHAT Japan was fully prepared to fight is made plain by the follow- ing letter from Sasebo, Japan, which was printed in a copy of a legding Japanese paper that has recently reached America. The date of the letter—January 15—shows that Japan was waiting Russia’s reply only for formality’s sake. It is not hard to see why the Japanese could be so quick in action. When her Min- ister was recalled from St. Petersburg her ships were walting for a chance at Port Arthur. The translation is by Yone Noguchi, 2 native of Japan, who has lived in this country for years. January 15, Sasebo.—All the sail- ors of Vice Admiral Togo’'s ship were disappointed in their hope of welcom- ing a “Happy New Year day” In Japan. Some of them bade their fare- well to Japan some months ago. God be with them—those sailors with their eyves upon the glory of their country! They really expected to see the ris- ing sun of the first day in the Yellow Sea—yes, looking upon the ruin of the Russian fleet wrought by themselves. Their faces beamed when they were summoned by Admiral Togo to the deck to hear his words. His words? Were they not the very notice of de- parture—of the break of war? They gathered on the deck solemnly. The admiral bade one to bring out the things he had prepared. The eyes of all the sailors were fixed. Alas, it was a sanho of white wood. Sanho? Lit- tle table on which was placed a small sword for committing harakiri—an honorable suicide of ancient days. The sailors understood perfectly what he meant by it. They understood that the time was near for going to commit an honorable suicide. They were glad. On the sanho were some little sheets of paper, which the vice admiral dis- tributed among the sailors. They were his advice upon how to leave their af- fectionate words with their mothers and ers. The crisls .was near at hand. They smiled, There was a report that the New Year's party would be held on board the flagship Mikasa. Seventy officers were taking part. The admiral for- bade, however, to act or speak anything warlike on the streets or anywhere else, We understood the time was approach- ing when we were to break fire in si- lence. Should we await Russia’s an- swer? There was no other place so bysy as Sasebo, where. all the workingmen were kept at work day and night. They were hurrying to make the ships ready for fight. The numerous torpedo-boats were going out and in. Everything seemed to say that the war clouds were gath- ering. ‘We welcomed the news that our new- 1y bouglit vessels from Argentina were named Nisshin and Kasuga. Let me tell you, as a bit of history, why our country named them so. Some forty years ago, when our country was in the tumult of revolution, the province of Saga pifesented a steamer named Nisshin to the Emperor, and the pro- vince of Kagoshima the steamer Ka- suga. They did their service splendidly. But they were broken to pieces when years passed. Now the names remain’ only in memory. But old sallors and officers who took part In olden times cannot forget them. They are cherish- ing their dear names in their bosoms. It may sound sentimental to say that they will prove to be able ships, but all the sailors firmly believe it. And on the 10th there came mighty news. Our three Princes were to be appointed officers, by the august com- mand of his Majesty. Princes' appoint- ment? Certainly it was great news. Prince Kacho was to be appointed a division master of the Mikasa. Prince Yosihito was coming to the ships of the Admiral Togo. And the Prince Yamashina would be aboard the Yaku- mo. All the sailors and officers ex- claimed: “We will be sent to hell If we show even a moment’s hesitation in dying. Think of the Princes!™ cried from joy. Everything is ready. Yet they are rot departing. They begin to condemn the Government’'s slowness in actlon. They begin to call the Cabinet me: bers cowards, “What use to walt for Russia’s reply?” they exclaim. “Is Russia playing a bluf®? The ha Russians shall see what the Nippon 8pirit 18.” They are only lool g at the face of Admiral Togo for his final com- mand. It was on the afterncon of the 13th that I got an Interview with the Ad- miral Togo. He was in his cabin, busily engaged in writing. The papera &nd some other stuff almost covered his table. His face appeared especially gloomy. Undoubtedly hic brain was occupled by something important. Of fpourse, everything would be serions in those days. He stopped his pen, and looked upon me. And he sald that he hoped the war could be averted. But I thought I knew he was treating me like anybody else. His sparkling eyes sald “We shall fight.” He gracefully apologized for the Government's - vere censorship. “Japan is acting befors the whole world—not only for Russia. We must try to keep our secrets and tactics be- hind the curtain as much as passible. Usually our Japanese make too much noise about nothing. We must show to the world our reserve of strength and patience. I have found the public satisfactory so far. But I hope they will continue to act quietly even when we shall have rulned all the Russian ships. Our saflors’ business is only to fight. Leave everything to usl® They ¥ ‘ TeachingGunnery HE new syztem of giving young British sallors a six weeks’ pre- Hminary gun drill to see if they are capable of further tunition works fairly well and is a great improvement on the old system, when a man was fully trained In gunnery, whether he was fitted for it or not, at the expense of the country, says the London Express. - The only drawback to the schems ia that gunnery is so complicated nowa- days that a man does not have time to grasp the detalls thoroughly. The Admiraity tries t- make him a fight- ing machine before he is an individual A sailbr has three weeks’ fleld drill, in which he learns to fight as a lines- man, then one week with light guns up to the six-inch, and one week with the heavy ordnance. During his last week of the drill he has to go through the others again, and frequently gets considerably confused. The sailors are taken each morning to drill on one of the ships in the har- bor, and a man may become efficient in his duties on a cruiser, but he is lost when he is sent to 7ea on a battle- ship. Many gunnery lleutenants will not take the time to exple'n to the men the reason why certaln mfethods have to be employed in gunnery. The men are taught how to use the instruments to sight the guns, but why these are ne- cessary is not explained. The sailor is heavily handicapped by not being allowed to think for himself, and therefore does not “evelop any power of initiative. His Majesty takes a great interest In gunnery, and has spent considerable sums privately in having the prize firing returns of the ships on foreign stations cabled to hfm. Only seventy- two medals were granted for shooting last year in the entire navy. On the battleships which made a shooting rec- ord the firing was done by not more than twenty-five officers and men out of a crew of 900. The most serious trouble in the Rc Navy is the defective gunsights have been supplied to some of the la battleships. - The Prince of Wales ar- rived at thead recently from her gunnery trial eported that her sights were tails were given. It is said that the defect is caused through one firm baving to supply the sights for guns from various makers, The sight is so fine that the slizhtest deviation would throw it out of line but no de- <