The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 4, 1904, Page 2

2 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1904. BRAVE OLD STOESSEL STILL HOLDS THE FORT DESPITE NOGIS HEAVY GAl Fighting as Diewed From the jJap- ' anese Lines. LONG SERIES OF BATTLES| Quarter Neither Asked Nor Given by Slav and Nipponese. | ! PSR WITH JAPANESE | tzgnches and they stubbornly held the ! ARMY 2T ARTHUR, corner wall and a small section of the s e * sored | Russian trenches.until 5 o’clock, when e N ety of tne WO companies of another regiment | incidents 1€ | worked through the trenches and a s beginning with! tacked the West Banjusan fort, the g and Keek- magazine of which had been blown up by a shell a short time beforé. Tak- ing advantage of a diversion of the Russian fire, the Japanese attacking the first fort forced the Russians back, captured the fort at the point of the | vonet and pursued the Russians | along the connecting trenches to the ' Chinese wall. The West Benjusan fort: was cap- tured 7 o'clock, after a slight re sista The Japanese were :upable | to occupy it, as. the magazine K was blown up, but they Held the- trench round the crest. awn of the 23d developed | culiar pesition. - The -Japanese had | pierced the Russian fortified ridg t of Port Arthur, in the form of a wedge, while the entire line east and west was still strongly held. At d ht the Russians comcen- ted their shrapnel fire on the cap- tured forts and the Japanese south of eekwan were ejected from their po- t . The Benjusan forts wece sub- jected to an awful fire, but the Japsz in possession of them cont:nuel making bomb-proof trenches on the| hills. : RUSSIAN SHIPS PARTICIPATE. In the afternoon -a battleshiny ap- parently the Retvizan, steamed out of the harbor and a half dozen torpedo- | boats chased the Japanese torpedo- boats on duty off Port Arthur, the lat- ter rapidly rejoining their large war | vessels in the offing. There was tremendous acti , the rear lines sending forward -ammuni- tion. The news came in whispers that a general assault along the whole line would take place between® midnight d 3 o'clock in the morning. For hours after the ominous darkness and silence ‘was broken by an occasional a.pe- | ed gen- first at the open AST DETAILED HISTORY OF A MODERN SIEGE | general assault, with the capture of the | | fortified ridge east of Port Arthur. was | | to the 24th were 14,000. The center di- | followilng day tteries of the center d their fire on the v but de- Jap- East by a m the the in old ogi Seneral of the left with During in the , sev- of the emerged from their t of the East Ban- ns and twen to the broken around the crest 1 practice from s in the valley. The wall and in the hail of rifle bullets and quick-firing the intrepid 1e latter were forced d with B made e reached the > fire of the tarted their re- INTO VICTORY. se officer, regard- stood up, called out his regimental flag the wall and was immediately rid- dled by Russian bu The effect on the Japar of sacrifice was fpstantaneous. The retreating infan- trymen stopped in their tracks, hesi- tated and then charged back, fought like demons, jumped.over the wall, ¢harged the Russians with the bayonet and forced mapy of them up the - glavis, over the ramparts and into the fort. The fact that they had reached the corner wall on the dead ground: en- abled the Japanese to held on, though the entire Russian fire was concen- trated on that polnt for'six hours. Fhe Javanese awere- reinforced ~from time to time by rushes made by their mrades u death way from.the e b E x ¢:i-8 8 I v e High-Grade -Clothiers No Branch Stores. No Agents. YOU TAEE -NO CHANCES GETTING CLOTHES HERE. ALL THE GOODNESS THAT EMANATES FROM SKILLFUL DESIGNERS AND MASTER TAILORS WE PUT INTO GARMENTS. Y 3Z e Kearny Street Thurliow Biock d under cover of | shell from the Japanese batteries, while the Russians burst many stag- lights over Bhuishi village, where thdy feint to sortie immediately af- furious fusillade in the rear of captured forts. Here the Rus- , anticipating an assault, made a rong coumter attack. ance lines were driven from the | ts and were furiously attacked by ge bodies of Russians, who alsa| worked down gn either side of:the | captured Banjusan forts to the val-| ley in an attempt to cut off the re- treat of the Japanese from the two forts. The Russian move was cleverly planned and the artillery command- were well informed, g for of the Japanese supports across lley, using starlight and search- light with good effect in the counter attack on the Japanese forces. The general assault then began, and for twenty minutes the whole- Jap- a line was engaged. The left di- on from the trenches in front _of Keekwan forts charged the forti- hills. - Part of the advance hagd gained the crests and shouted “Ban- zai,” when their triumph was. . cut short. Suddenly two powerful searchlights of the east forts lighted up the Jap- anese lines, and Russian rifles and ma-. chine guns poured a deadly hail into clearly visible ranks of the -at- ing troops. Despite the awfal of unequal -aunihilation, -~ the panese stubbernly held the position gained, and their machine guns quick- iy located ‘and “quieted -“the - Russiam quick firers. Finally the Japanese were: slowly forced down the slopes to - the trenches below. R DAZZLED BY SEARCHLIGHTS. The fight was the fiercest in the cen- ter of the Shuishi Valley. The Jap- anese captured the Banjusan forts, | cutfianking the Russian forces and slowly forcing their lines back to the “foot of the fortified hills. The Jap- | anese, well supported, rushed forward ‘furlowsly and engaged the Russians, {"who had gained the valley, in an at- | teyapt to outflank the forts. Though | the Japanese plan of attack was de- stroyed by the Rugsian counter at- | tack, the Japanese fought with splen- | did_ determination. -Slowly the Rus- | sians were driven:bdck up the slopes, | fighting desperately” ‘with rifles. The |‘Rnssian machine guns-were used with | great effect, and the successful work- |ing of the Russian starlights and | searchlights. Was “utterly unexpected | and bewildering. They never failed to | locats “the :Japanese lines, which of- | tered splendid- marks for the Russian riles and machine.guns and rendered the . Japanese. inachine guns of little | use, ag they were“locdted and silenced | by quick firers-before they could. .do any execution. The Russians along the wholé Jine fought in the blackest dark- ness and the Japanese with the most dazzling light in their faces. “The fight lasted continuously for six hours, till dawn, when the outflankers were forced back over the captured for- | tified hills, followed by the Japanese, who despite the fire of the forts cap- «tured the forts and joined their force from the valley. CENTER AGAIN ATTACKS. Before dawn on the 22d the center division made a third attempt to cap-. ture Hiull, tured, the Japanese pursuing the Rus- sians who had defended them. Two hundred Ja, of the center division, which reached a neck between the double peaks of Wan- tal. The Japanese captured a fort, where { they intrenched themselves. With day- light the Japanese artillery started a terrific bombardment. More than 400 guns roared in rapid succession, until the . entire ridge was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. For a time every Rus- sian fort was silenced. ‘When the smoke cleared away it was seen that the left division had ad- vanced through the captured forts. One regiment attacked the East Keekwan fort, but was repulsed. Another regi- ment advanced up the northeast of Wantai Hill in an effort.to.effect a with the Junctio which: held the nec) ,bevtvwee‘:l tl!;:"two hills. . :l‘:‘e ture, an! eant o %fin‘g‘d the eastern foi?lflgflfis::e SA m’ was supporting reslmz_nt ‘unable The Japanese | 4 higher fortified ridge of Ash |Tumber of fish torpedoes were found in the ie; new Banjusan fort on the! higher. ridge and the rear forts. The! Banjusan forts were stormed and cup-i ‘shu‘lm Valley from parallels fifty yards dis- ant. Japanese officers and men were | killed. They all belonged to a regiment | lw HE CALL to-day presents the first detailed Account of the siege of Port Arthur, as viewed from the Japanesc lines, from the time'of the first general assault to that of the third, which is now in progress. modern methods employed in the reduction of a grcat strong- hold is of absorbing interest, and the record of the fanatical Its description of the dash and daring of the Japanese, opposed by the stubborn courage of the Russian garrison and the brilliant tactics of gallant Stoessel, is one to thrill the reader. . to scale the heights and was forced to intrench at the foot. During the night of the 24tn tue ranks of the Japanese were so decimated by | the furious.shrapnel fire of the .Rus- sians that they were forced to retire to | the valley below the captured forts, | and what might have been a successful | converted by Russian tactics into a re- pulse, redeemed in part by the won-| derful fighting. qualities of the Japan- | ese infantry and their refusal to accept what seemed to be the inevitable. COST OF THE ASSAULT. The Japanese casualties from the 19th vision alone lost 6000, and a single res- iment lost 2500. Only six officers and 200 men of this regiment were left after | the fight. The retention ‘of the Russian forts. giving the Japanese a foothold on thel fortified ridge, was the sole result of six days of general assault. The abil- ity of General Stoessel and the deter- mined spirit of the Russians had been | underestimated, and the experiment was never repeated. | As with the Russians at Plevna. with sgirits dashed by repulses and heavy losses, the Japanese army settled down to sapping and making parallels. Kor two weeks the Russians were unceas- ing in their efforts to recapfure the | Banjusan forts. They bombarded and | assaulted by day the bombproofs and trenches which the Japanese repaired by night. Though the Japanese resorted to unoccupled decoy trenches and bombproofs, the daily loss was 100 in each fort until September 8. when the Russians ceased their continuous ef- forts to recapture the forts. FEROCITY OF THE FIGHTING. While the defenders of the Banjusans were converting the forts and trenches into bomb proofs the army was constructing a system of sieze parallels, the left division toward the east, the center division toward the re- doubt at the foot of the Urh forts and the right division toward the Lunettes south of Shuishi village. The Russians sortied and at- tacked working parties almost every night, while guns bombarded by day. As the Japanese trench line mneared the entanglements on the fort hills the sorties be- | came more frequent and determimed. Quarter was neither asked nor given: the fiercest an- tagonism was displayed, and even stretcher | bearers were killed. The cause of this was that the Russians alleged that their forts were hile a messanger under a white ring the Emperor's message oa 3 he feeling was augmented, and ags were unrecognized. ploneers suffered heavy casualties in After the failure of e regulation device for removing wires, the | meers were sent to attach ropes to posts to | which entanglements were atached, and troops | in_the ~trenches . pulled the ropes, drageing | posts and heavy wires away. This worked sat- $factorily until the. enemy began -the use of bracing wires. The ploneers then advanced and fell as though killed close to the entan- lem s and remained motionless until, un- served, they could work along on theilr acks under the wires, which they cut with long shears. As a resuit of this expedient the Russians, made certain that all were dead who fell near the entanglements, The latest expedient was a steel shield cov- ering the face and body, suspended from the shoulders of the pioneers, from behind which the cutters were used. Dynamite bombs are used by the Russians against the Japanese trenches and advance works. For assaulting forts. where it was impossible to use bombs, wooden mortars were made, bound with bam- boo, .These are carried by the re, and with them bombs were thrown 50 to 150 yards. These were the most effective of the many de- vices tried by thé Japanese. In order to recover the wounded men, Vol- unteers_erawled from the trenches at night and worked along on their stomachs, pulling the wounded slowiy to cover by the heels. Many of -the wounded were not recovered. here are. plenty of volunteers for the des- perate service of cutting entanglements and recovering the wounded. Acts of bravery were innumerable. The Russians apparently had an inexhaust- ible supply of heavy ammunition. Hundreds of ten and twelve inch shells were hurled at Japanese batteries when they were located, with serious effect. The heaviest Japanese guns were 4.2 and -6 Inch naval guns. At the end ©ot. August some heavier howitzers arrived and were mounted on concrete. They were found to be wonderfully effective. It was wonderful 0 _ses how seventeen-ton Kuyns were. moved miles over bad roads. : The cutting entanglements. SECOND GENERAL ASSAULT. | While the siege operations were in progress reinforcements, mostly from the Second Re- serves, were added ‘to the existing units, to bring the army up to its full strength, and it was announced from headquarters that the slege operations would be finished with asgen- eral assault on September 19 upon the Nahao- kayama ridge, the 203-meger hill, that of the Moon forts of the Shuishi Valley and the re- doubt at the foot of Rihlung Mountain. The bombardment was started at dawn. The Russians falled to reply till the afternoon, which delayed the attacks until 5 o'clock in the_evening Three battalions of the center division ad- vanced from the parallels and attacked a re% doubt at the foot of Rihlung Mountain, which the Japanese twice before had tried to cap- ture, The works were etrongly built and sur- rounded by a ditch, pe: walls and breastworks. There wai eep distance to the top of the para and the bottom was a ditch twenty-five “feet deep. The in- terior of the redoubt was faced With heavy timbers, the trenches around were bombproof and there were heavily constructed block- houses, loopholed for infantry and machine guns. From the rear of the redoubt three lines of trenches extended to Rihlung fort. The main attack was made against the northeast corner and simultaneously a Jap- anese battalion attacked the east line of trenches. The Japanese were met by a tremen. dous fusillade from rifles and machine guns and were forced to retire to their trenches, but at 4 o'clock in the morning the main attack was made and the Japanese succeeded In capturing the redoubt .entering it through a breach made by the artillery. A flerce hand-to-hand encounter inside the redoubt followed, during which nitrate and hand grenades were used to destroy the block- houses, whose defenders stood their ground until the last man was bayoneted. The Rus- slan trenchee were captured ang occupled by the Japanese, but the redoubt was destroyed with explosives. The defending forcé consisted of only four companies. The Japanese casualties were more than 1000. The Russians left only a few dead In their positions. A torpedo tube and oubt. = On the cvening of the 14th a regiment of right division attacked halfmoon forts in ;:: These forts were strong, connected ad- vance works, constructed in the form ofg hol- low square, open in the rear and ding across the apex of the valley from the foot of | Riblung Mountain to the foot "of the "Ants 5. each corner of the squire was fmoon fort, with bom " trenches on- es. On the southern front the halfmoon forts and trenches were protected by a moat similar to the one in front of the Rihlung Motntain redoubt. The first assault of the Japanese was made before dark. A bat- talion and &-half advanced against the strons- | est west halfmoon fort and ‘two companies | moved agalnst the east fort. Both were_repulsed. Twice. the Japanese made these forts, ~ ~ - TAKEN WITH THE BAYONET. Early on the morning of the 20th the whole | force was concentrated in a furfous assault on the west halfmoon fort. The moat was | crossed with scaling ladders and dynamite and hand grenades were used to destroy the Rus- glun entrenchments and bombproof walls. The fighting, which lasted twepty minutes, was car- wried on ai the point of the bay .- Finally ’n- Ri m driven mmnw&lq connect- ng. a e other halfmoon w all captured after slight resistance. g:‘llm 400. The Russians “but Yew dead tions. The four halfmoon attacks unsuccessful assaults upon again during the night |- —_— s trenches were held by a thousand Russlans. The west fort mounted two quick-firing guns, one fleld gun and three machine guns. The fort in the rear of the west fort had one quick- firng gun and one machine gun; the east fort had no.guns; the fort in the rear of the east fort was armed with a fleld gun and two mor- tars. All the Russians' guns were captured, but had been destroyed or their breech blocks removed. A torpedo tube and a number of fish torpedoss were. found.in ‘the halfmocn forta There were: also three unexploded mines in front of the west and east halfmoon forts. The attack upoa the 203-meter hill and the ridge immediately north of it, walled Nahaoka- yama, was started at 5 o'clock in the evening of+the 16th by two regiments of the Right di- Vision and one regiment of the Second division. The First Regiment advanced against Nahaoka- yama from trenches close to the Russian lines. A Japanese company, In parties of ten and twenty, reached the dead ground on the north- east extremity of the ridge. A Japanese offi- cer who was leading his men across the fire zone dropped and remained motionless, while the ground about him was plowed up by bul- lets fifteen minutes after he fell. Ir. spite of the furious bombardment with which the Japanese arttilery supported the as- sault the Japanese Infantry could not ad- vance any farther and was compelied to spend the night in dead ground, close to the first Russian trenca line. In the meantime a second Japanese regiment advanced from the west slopes of a 203-meter hill and a third regiment moved against the southwest slopes. The second regiment was unable to make much progress, but the third reximent reached the foot of the southwest slope. AN INFERNO OF SHELLS. During the night a party of sappers cleared away the Russian wire entangiements. The Jaupanese bombardment began at dawn on the 20th and all the morning the slopes of the hill were tramsformed into an inferno by shells. By 11 o'clock & small party of the second regiment charged forward (o gain fhe foot of the west slope. The Russian batteries were evidently walting for the Japanese, as a Won- derful shrapnel fire was opened on them, Every man geemed to fall. Although at rifie range the firing of shrapnel continued for twenty minutes, until all the Japanese were mowed down. The artiller, duel continued until 5: o'clock in the evéning, when the first Japanese resiment, carrying its flags, advanced up the slope of Haokayama to the dead ground which the single company had gained the previous night. The Russians retired to their first line of trenches during the night and several lines of Japapese were extended along the slope under cover of the ridge. They carried the ridge line on the crest of the hill The rush of the Japanese was a splendid spectacle, ending with a bayonet encounter with the Russians on the full sky line. Stones, bayonets, swords and hand grenades were used by both sides. The utmost ferocity was dis- played. When the Japanese had carried the east half of the ridge the Russians retired o the west. Before darkness the Japunese were in poesession of the. whole ridge, which they re- tained despite an awful shrapnel fire from the Chair Hill, Tiger's Tail and Liaoti forts. At 10 o'clock in the evening the third regiment advanced on the southwest slope of the advamee fort on Nahaokayama Hill. A small party gained the fort on the crest, but was driven out the next day. FOUR ASSAULTS REPULSED. Four assaults were made by the Japanese during the next two days, but they were all repulsed. The third regiment was finally compelled t¢ retire from the trenches at the foot of the hill by a concentrated shrapnel fire from the valley below. The unsucceesful at- tempt to capture the advance fort resulted in 2000 Japanese casualties. A hundred and eighty Russlan dead were found at Nahao- kayama, which was covereq by a metwork.of trenches and bombproofs protected by a steel plate covered with earth walls and surrounded by loopholes and sandbags. The corners of the forts were strengthened by steel plates and there were triple rows of wire entanglements on the hill siopes. The Russian defending force was estimated to number 1000 men. The fort mounted three fleld guns, two larger guns and three ma- chine guns. Nahaokayama was protected by a double row of entanglements and two lines of trenches, the upper line being partly bomb- roof. Pihe Japanese were disappointed at their failure to capture the advanmce fort, which was the key to the western fortified ridge. Benamitnde vo s HONOR MIKADO'S BIRTHDAY. Five Thousand Subjects of Emperor of Japan Enjoy Fine Programme, The celebration of the fifty-second anniversary of the birthday of the Em- peror of Japan was held last evening at the Mechanics’ Pavilion under the auspices of the Jdpanese residents of San Francisco. It was estimated that fully 5000 subjects of the Emperor took part in the exercises. Among the significant incidents of the evening was'the respectful ap- plause accorded the picture of the Czar when stereoptically thrown on the screen. The picture of President Roosevelt was greeted with a tremend- ous outburst of cheering. The Japan- ese national anthem, “Kimigayo,” was sung with enthusiasm and the read- ing of the imperial edict by K. Ku- kawa elicited prolonged applause and cheers. . The speakers were: K. Abiko, K. Kukawa, K. Koda, C. T. Evans, K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, and T. Naka- mura. e Gathering of Japanese. OAKLAND, Nov. 3.—Dietz Opera- house was crowded this evening with hundreds of subjects of the Mikado, who gathered to celebrate the birth- day of their Emperor. The friendship of the American people to the Japan- .ese was made manifest by the many Americans present. Addresses were made in Japanese by prominent men in the Oriental colony and one in Eng- lich by T. Tahara. At the conclusion of the entertainment cheers were given for the Japanese army. During the evening refreshments were served and exhibitions of sword “exercises given. vt o i ARMY OF RUSSIAN BERLIN, Nov. 3.—The Local Anzeig- er's Mukden correspondent claims the most trustworthy authority for the statement that 34,000 sick or wounded Russian soldiers were sent away after the last engagement. Colonel Gaedke, the Tageblatt's cor- respondent with the Russian army, tel- egraphs that the Russian positions on the Shakhe River are daily becoming ‘WOUNDED. stronger, in spite of the proximity of; the opposing armies. a Japanese attack, he says, The possibility of is con- stantly difiinishing, and many experts do not expect there will be a decisive engagement before spring. N Russian War Vessels Detained. ALGIERS, Nov. 3.—The Russian torpedo-boat destroyers, which were to remain here forty-eight hours only, have been instructed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remain until fur- ther orders. - e S ' of Baltic Fleet. TANGIER, Nov. 3—The Russian bat- tleships Sissol Voliki, Oslayba, Admiral Nakhimoff and salled for Suda Bay PORT ARTHUR LONHANDANT S WOUNDED {Enormous Losses of the Besiegers in Attack. ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 4, 1:25 a. m. There is a scarcely veiled feeling of re- lief throughout the city that the day has passed without bringing news of the fall of Port Arthur. There had been deep fear that the .Japanese might push home the final attack to-day. It is now felt that there may come an- other period of respite. The authori- ties state that they are without direct news from Port Arthur and every one is depending upon foreign sources for tidings of the devoted garrison. LONDON, Nov. 4—The Daily Tele- graph’s Chefu correspondent, tele- graphing on Thursday, says that the Japanese losses during the last assault | upon Port Arthur were heavier than on any of the previous attacks. The bombardment was so fierce, he says, that the streets of Dalny trembled as though an earthquake shock had oc- curred. The same paper’s correspondent with General Oku, under date of November | 2, says that the indications are that a terrific engagement is about to com- mence. A dispatch to a news agency from St. Petersburg says Lieutenant General Stoessel, commander of the Russian troops at Port Arthur, is reported to be wounded in the leg. CHEFU, Nov. 38.—The Japanese now occupy, positions which place the east side of Port Arthur at their mercy. The last assault has gained for them positions which insure their ability to enter the main east forts whenever they are ready. % It is calculated by the Japanese that the Russians, if they do not surrender, will be capable of prolonging their final stand at Liaoti Mountain and on the Tiger's Tail for a month longer, but long before the second Pacific squadron shall arrive the Japanese flag will wave over the wrecked citadel. The Japanese have not occupied the main forts and highest points of the east hills, but they occupy in over- whelming numbers positions which will enable them to drive the Russians back whenever they desire. When the Jap- nese occupy the eastern ridge of forts they will completely dominate the other Russian forts with their artillery. i cra sy RESENTS AN IMPERTINENCE. American Admiral Refuses to Fire Salute on Mikado’s Birthday. CHEFU, Nov. 3.—The Japanese Con- sul here, on the Mikado’s birthday, re- quested Rear Admiral Folger, com- _manding the cruiser division of the American Asiatic fleet, and the captain of a Chinese cruiser to -fire a salute. Rear Admiral Folger declined, on the ground that he was not in Japanese waters. The Chinese captain, however, complied. The incident has aroused | much comment. Skirmishes on the Shakhe. MUKDEN, Nov. 3.—There have been a number of skirmishes along the whole front during the last two days, but none of importance since the Japanese forced the crossing of the Shakhe River on the extreme Russian left. At day- light to-day there was heavy cannonad- ing, lasting an hour, during a recon- naissance. —————— France'’s literary outpu#® Ilast year was 9674 works. ! Kuropatkin under date of to-day re- f o e JAPAN'S NAVY LOSES IR BATILESHP Sinking of the Ya- shima Is at Last Admidel PARIS, Nov. 3.—The Assoclated Press is enabled to state positively | that its dispatches from Chefu, Port ! Arthur and Tokio last June, to the ef- | fect that the Jabanese battleship Ya- | shima had been sunk by a mine oft | Dalny. which dispatches were denied ' by the Japanese authorities at the | time, have finally been officially con- | firmed. The Japanese Government | has notified foreign governments of | the loss of the ship. The number of | men who went down with the vessel | is not known, but it is belleved to! have been small. The official details show that the Yashima struck a Rus- | sian mine and later attempted to | make Dalny harbor, but this proved | impossible and she sank in deep wa- | ter. The loss of the Yashima has been | concealed by the Japanese, though | the Russian authorities have believed i for some time that the reports that the battleship had been destroyed | were correct. It is important, since | it 4s now disclosed that Japan has only four modern battleships remain- | ing. These are the Asashi, Fuji, Mik- | asa and Shikishima. Another vessel | classed as a battleship is the Chinyen, | taken from China in 1894, but she is| old and not of much fighting value. | Naval experts say the small battle- | ship force possessed by Admiral Togo | was responsible for the tactics he ob- served at the naval battle of August 10, when Admiral Withoeft attempted | to escape from Port Arthur, the Jap-| anese battleships refusing to come to| close quarters with the enemy, but pounding them from a distance and | sending in the torpedo-boat destroy- ers to make night attacks. The Yashima was one of the finest battleships of the Japanese navy. Her | displacement was 12,300 tons, about| the size of the American battleship | Maine, and she had a speed of aine-| teen knots. She carried a heavy bat- tery of four twelve-inch, ten six-inch and twenty-four other guns of smaller caliber. The Russian squadron at Port Ar-| thur includes five modern battleships, more-or less damaged, and Rear Ad miral Rojestvensky’s command, which is now en route from the Baltic to the Far East, has seven battleships.’ In view of the inferiority of the | Japanese in battleships their armored cruiser strength 'is important, they | being greatly superior to the Russians in that respect. —e—— Naq Serious Engagements. ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 3.—General ports that skirmishing occurred during the night of November 1, when the Russian sharpshooters destroyed some of the Japanese intrenchments. Recon- naissances were made on the night of November 2, but there were no indica- tions of serious engagements anywhere. Some movements of Japanese troops from the east westward were observed | to-day. ¥ pL <3 e Will Study Japanese War Craft. LONDON, Nov. 3.—An order issued to-day says that four’officers not above the rank of captain will annually be se- NPPIN PAY "THIUTE 10 THE WIKADD Celebrates the Anni- versary of Its Em- perglj’_@_irth. TOKIO, Nov. 3.—Japan enjoyed & holiday to-day in honor of the Emper- or's birthday. The celebration was ob- served throughout the empire. At Tokio the Emperor reviewed the fleet and the imperial guards division, and gave a luncheon at the palace for the higher officials and foreign diplo~ mats. The military review was held at Oyama fleld. The Emperor drove through the city in a handsome red state coach. P At the luncheon to-day the Hmperor briefly addressed his guests, extending welcome to the foreign . diplomatie corps and Ministers of, State. During the course of his remarks he said: “We regret that the-time has not come to see peace restored in the Far East, in realization of our desire: He then proposed the health of the sovereigns and rulers represented at his court and expressed the wish that the bonds of friendship existing be- tween their respective countries and Japan might be drawn closer. Baron d'Anethan, the Belgian Min- ister, doyen of the diplomatic corps; in responding congratulated the Emperor on'the day and expressed regret on the continuance of the war. Continuing, he said: b “We again express our wishes for peace, and do so with more fervor when we contemplate with profound emotion the ravages already caused in suffering families, and the thousands of noble victims on either side in the armies in the fleld, = struggling and shedding their blood with a bravery that rises to the height of a sublime and indomitable heroism.” 7 Ll A GLOOM IN CZAR’S LAND. Auniversary of the Accession of Nicho= las Not a Great Holiday. ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 3.—Thers was little attempt to-day to celebrate, except in a perfunctory way, the tenth | anniversary of the accession of Em- peror Nicholas. The imperial family attended a te deum at the cathedral and there were services in all the churches. Later the troops were par- aced, the theaters gave free exhibis I'tions to the school children and there | were musical and other holiday djs- plays in the parkfls, but on account of the war and the anxiety regarding the situation at Port Arthur every= thing was on a small scale, Father Yorke Is Taken to Task. The News Letter of this week calls Father Yorke to time for his attack on an innocent newspaper man. It tells of the doping of dogs at the coursing parks and this will undoubtedly make interest- ing reading for the followers of the “Irish po- nies.” The action of the Plumbers’ Union in ruling members of (he militia out of their employ- ment and the result of this unpatriotic method is told at length e Merchan Association and the Mayor, in controversy regarding the speeches at the banquet, receives the attention of etter writer in a way that will maks the guilty squirm. There is a story regarding ducks shot by a prominent insurance man of San Francisco and presented to a young lady acquaintance, with funny conditions thrown In, that will cause many fo recognize the culprit and send a | brcad smile adown the whole length of the “street.’” . ——— lected for a two years’ course of study, with residence in Japan. The summer has been extraordin- arily favorable to the vine in Fran ADVERTISEMENTS. Suits you certain cl suits are broa similar to our years, made styles; price g Copright A Word to Young Men About Clothes - You have outgrown boyish fashions in clothes, but are not quite: ready for men’s garments. uirk and curl of men’s fashions, the®cut of the lapels, close fitting neck and concave shoulders. The garments are quite that the patterns are brighter with a little more color here an Young men’s suits, ages 14 to 19 fancy cheviots,-in a fine assortment of fall colorings; also navy blue unfin- ished worsted cheviots; garments can be had in single or double breasted We made the garments ourselves, otherwise the price would be $10.00. Good pocket knives free with all suits and overcoats in our boys” and- 1904 youths’ department. : For $7.50 We have made for othes embodying every et suit is youthful. The d chested with narrow men’s clothes, except: there. of Scotch tweeds and 7.50.