The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 7, 1904, Page 1

Fair Saturday; winde. TEE WEATEER. ' Torecast made at San Fran- cisco for thirty hours ‘ending midnight, May 7: Saz Prancisce and vicinity— A. G. McADIE, District Porecaster. fresh westerly — Gift.’ Central—"Dr. ” Hyde. Chutes—Vaudeville. Oolmih—"'m Brothers in Grand—"La Tosca. Orpheum—vVaudeville. Tivoli—“When Johmny Comes Marching Home.” Matinees at All Theaters To-Day. » XCV—NO. 159. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, MAY (A 1904, PRICE FIVE CENTS. JAPANESE ARMY ADVANCING TO LAY SIEGE TO PORT A ENPEROR JAY 07 CHANCELLOR P West Africa Trouble| Excites German Cabinet. iscontent and Intrigue Disturb the Peace in Berlin. Overrules His Chief Official and Rivals of Von Bulow Are in the Ascendency. New York Her e New < y tavor s alleged the overruled West Africa. s General opposed Leutwein, status a blow ng time to (RE ANNOYING Acre Dispute Threatens to Involve Two South Ameri- s S ¢ 6.—The Acre have been ad- again and a ations—Bra- the owner- r tract of rub- three elimin- sed that Peru's met. It appears, 1 troops remain ed by Brazil and pson cabled the m Rio as fol- beer ry inhabited ng negotiations zil wiil i to expel th mediate- proceed to rep; es apprehension is felt of the sharp clash Peru growifig out the territories lying Alto jura and Alto ation has made the { right made by Br: This right is and was, besides, f in the treaty 1 the boundary between the two countries. = i pow as valid as it was on of that treaty. Now, as the principle adapted by as well as by the othér South Peru American republics for the settlement of their boundaries with Brazil, name- ly. the principle of the uti possidetis, a principle which in the case in guestion is the exact application of the rule es- tablished by Pinckney and Monroe in the note of- April 20, 1805, and conse- crated by Phillimore and Hall.” I vof "Trotha as’ | | rily a con- satisfactory to | wed, if necessary, | laimed by Peru | — | | I | | RTHUR [ VIEW OF THE LIAOTUNG PENINSULA, SHOWING GROUND OVER WHICH ARMIES ARE FIGHTING. | | } -3 l — Russian Stronghold Is Now Cut Off From All Communication by Land; ACTS OF PERU | Rumored Capture of Fengwangcheng After Fierce Battle. SEOUL, May 6., 2:30 p. m.--A dispatch from Antung says that it is rumored there that the Japanese captured Fengwangcheng May 4, after fierce fighting, and that the losses on both - kepuvlies in War 81468 were very heavy. ST. PETERSBURG, May 6 (10:05 p. m.)—A dispatch received to-night says that Port Arthur is cut off from all communication by land, the Japanese having debarked in its rear, occupied the railroad and cut the telegraph. Vice Admiral Skrydloff, who is-en route to Port Arthur to take command of the naval | under cover of artillery fire. forces in the Far East, will be unable to reach his destination. The Ministry of War has received the following telegram from Major General Pflug, chief of the military staff: | “According to the information I have received seven of the enemy’s transports—and afterward about forty—appeared opposite, Pitzewo on the evening of May 4. On the morning of May 5 the Japanese began to land at Pitzewo and on the coast near Cape Terminal (about fifteen miles southwest of Pitzewo) At this moment about sixty transports were observed bearing down upon the whole front, and our posts retired from the shore. All Viceroy Alexieff has arrived safely at Mukden. . o . . 9,5 . papers in the postoffice at Pitzewo were removed, and the Russian inhabitants abandoned the town. * “According to Chinese reports, by evening of May 5 about 10,000 of the enemy’s troops had landed and taken up quarters in the Chinese villages near the points of debarkation. The enemy sent two columns of about one regiment each, one in a westerly direction and the other to the southward. “A passenger train from Port Arthur was fired on a mile and a quarter outgide Polandien (about forty miles north of Port Arthur) by a hun- o withdraw troops | flags. | ST. PETERSBURG, May 7, 2:28 a. m. Japanese troops swarming across the narrow neck of the Liaotung Peninsula, the railroad and telegraphic communi- cations cut and Port Arthur isolated and left to its own resources are condi- tions which the Russians seem to ac- | cept with great stoicism. | These events have been anticipated | since the outbreak of the war, and the | authorities in a sense appear to be re- |lieved now that the blow has fallen. | They assert that the fortress is im- | pregnable and amply provisioned to | stand a siege for a year, and that it can hold out until the time comes to re- lieve it. | According to official information the landing of troops from sixty transports began simultaneously at Pitsewo and. Cape Terminal on the morning of May 5. It is also reported that troops are landing at Kinchow, but this.is not credited, as the -Russians are known to have fortifications there and-it is not dred Japanese infantry occupying the heights east of the railway. Two of the sick were wounded. The train succeeded in reaching Polandien. ing to land immediately under the in- trenched position, from which the Rus- sians could inflict severe injury on them. Complete details of the landing are lacking owing to the interruption of communication. = No resistance was made, the few Cossacks who observed the movement retiring when the war- ghips shelled the shore preparatory to debarkation. » TEN THOUSAND LANDED. Ten thousand men were put ashore Thursday, and the debarkation was proceeding yesterday at the time that communication ceased. It is believed that there are more than 20,000 men now on land preparing for a forward movement. Two Japanese regiments were hur- ried westward yesterday morning to cut the railroad and telegraph commu- nication. One of these, it is said, fired on a train conveying wounded from Port Arthur. ‘While the landing was proceeding on believed that the Japanese had the dar- Thursday the Japanese battleships Mikasa, Hatsuse, Shikishima, Yashima and Fuji and the cruisers Iwate, Idsumo, Adsuma and Asamao made a demonstration off- Port Arthur to pre- vent the possible egress of Russian torpedo-boats. A number of Japanese torpedo-boats were also observed off Pigeon Bay. It was because he was convinced that Port Arthur was about to be cut off that Viceroy Alexieff, accompanied by his staff and Grand Duke Boris, left hastily. On Thursday several train- loads of sick and wounded and other in- effectives were dispatched northward. It is reported that the Japanese ships bombarded Port Arthur early on the morning of May 6 and succeeded, at last, in closing up the entrance, but no official confirmation of the blocking report can be obtained. The exact hour at which communication with the Russian stronghold ceased has not been established. FORCE AT PORT ARTHUR. The strength-of the garrison at Port Arthur is not revealed by.the authori-| ties, who will only say that it is ade- quale for defensive purposes. It is not believed that the force there exceds 10,000 soldiers. A large force is not re- garded as necessary, as was shown from the recent withdrawal of some of the troops, who were simply a drain on the resources of the garrison. The fleet must now take a secondary position, and the sailors will be used to man the shore guns if necessary. Vice Admiral Skrydloff and Vice Ad- miral Bezobrazoff cannot now reach Port Arthur and will probably go to Vladivostok - to ‘join the cruiser squad- ron there. Rear Admiral Wittsoeft, who was left in charge of the fleet by Viceroy Alexieff, will direct operations at Port Arthur. Wittscaft is a good officer and it'is believed he will render excellent service, ¥ Despite the greater number of Japan- ese, the general staff believes that their formidable fortifications still leave the defensive superiority with the Rus- sians, whose staying qualities, it is confident, will insure their holding out ‘as long as necessary. 2 The train carried many passengers, 200 sick occupying the ambulance carriages flying Red Cross Trangquillity prevails in the maritime province and in Yin Kow.” ‘While the outer line of fortifications extends to Kinchow, unquestionably no determined effort will be made to hold them, nor is it expected that a des- perate attempt to retain Dalny will be made. The main defense will be of Port Arthur, where, since the harbor has been occupied by the Russians, steady work has progressed to com- plete the system of defense, which is Just as effective on the land as on the sea side. EVERY DEFENDER MAY DIE. Lieutenant General Stoessel will have supreme command at Port Arthur. He is described as a high-class command- er. His recent proclamations show that he is imbued with a determina- tion to hold Port Arthur until the last man is killed. Officers of the general staff say that the landing of the Japanese army on the peninsula and the investment of Port Arthur clarify the military situa- tion and the problem which General Kurdpatkin must solve. Had Kuropat- Continued on Page 2, Column 6. AMERICANS ILL SERVE IN CHIY —— Reform Army Agents Busy in This Country. Officers’ Commissions Are Said to Have Been f Distributed. i | Profitable Positions Declared to Be at | the Disposal .of Emissaries of the Empress. | e | | Special Dispatch to The Call. | | LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 6.—It is re- liably reported that agents from China | have been in this country for the last two months quietly securing enlist- ments from soldiers of the United States for three years' service with | the Chinese reform army, and within | a few days, it is understood, several | of them wil arrive in Louisville with the commissions of fourteen or fifteen lv\ell-known citizens who have signed for service. | During the recent Boxer troubles in | China, the Dowager Empress came to | the conclusion that her army was not |up to the standard of otheér civilized | nations, and of all the countries in the | world she decided that the United | | States had ‘the most efficient troops. A general reform of the Chinese army | was decided upon, and agents were sent | to America to enlist enough soldiers to | officer the entire Chinese army. Headquarters of the Chinese imperial | reform army were established in Yank- | ton, S. D., several months ago, and | Edmund F. English, an army captain, is said to have been given a commis- sion as brigadier general in the Chinese | army and placed in charge of the re- | cruiting office. | A secret agency for securing enlist- | ments, it is understood, was long ago established in Louisville, and up to | the present time the following men have been slated for good offices in the imperial army of China: Captain Clar- ence E. Grinstead, a captain of the legion, will be a colonel; Captain George D. Lee will be made a major; Captain J. R. Clements of C company, artillery, will be made a captain; Cap- tain Wallace Morris of Company F will be a captain; Clarence B. Jeffries, sec- ond lieutenant of artillery; Charles C. McMahon, first lieutenant of the quar- termaster’s department; Wolsey M. Caye, second lieutenant of infantry; R. W. Richardson, second lieutenant of in- fantry; James H. way, captain of | infantry; Edmund T. Meriwether, see= ond lieutenant of light infantry; H. M. Lawson, captain of artillery; Thomas W. Beard and David /M. Baird will both be made second lieutenants. In Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, In- dianapolis, and, in fact, all the citles of any size in the central West, agents are working assiduously. —_——————— HIGHBINDERS THREATEN TO KILL CHINESE MERCHANT Fire Five Shots Into House When He Refuses to Submit to Being Blackmailed. FRESNO, May 6.—Three days ago five highbinders from Bakersfield came to this city and one of them called upon Wong Wo Chong. one of the oldest merchants in Chinatown, and demanded $1000. The demand was refused and - the highbinder threatened to kill Wong Wo Chong, who became frightened and ecalled thirty of his friends to his house and armed them to the teeth. This morn- ing at 4 o'clock the highbinders fired five shots into the back of the mer- chant’s house to show that they meant business. A meeting of all the mer- chants in Chinatown was held tp-day and it was decided to turn the case over to the police. Officers are now searching for the highbinders. —————— FINDS STRANGE ANIMAL IN THE MISSISSIPPT Creature That Resembles Dog, Wals rus and Fish Is Discovered by a Clam Fisher. LA CROSSE, Wis.,, May 6.—Osear ! Millard, a clam fisher, to-day captured a strange amimal in the Mississippi | River near here. The creature is the 'llle of, and much resembles, a small | dog. It has a long silk-like ear, head and face like a walrus, six webbed feet and a fish-like tail. It makes noise much like the bark of a dog. It has been examined by local scientists, but no one is able to identify-its species,