The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-12-31
x.,se statements Corrected Relative
10 the Jcannette's Msss.


TO the Jcannette's Mss.
.n,rpn STORIES by TELEGRAPH PROM Lon
nox- Berlin. AND ELSEWHERE now TiR
cspv NH BE.yREATED BY THE r. ssiANs.
rhe Washington correspondent OF the
~ YORK Herald sends the following let
~ 20 that journal from George KEENAN,, Of
~, Associated Press, who spent several
yeSnotice in all the New York papers OF
r'enn,her 9th the following telegram from
London: "a ...s,,
,-,oIliocncc from -. Petersburg, great in.
,s,.,,ofiou prevails there Mt the reprchensi-
s ,,e sonduet OF the President OF the Ad-
p's,i.,rat;on OF Eastern Siberia, who re-
nj IN telegraph IN announcement OF the
It'll ~ the survivors OF the Jcannettc
a.,.u.e they were without funds. The
g., uevs OF their escape was consequently
Selayed ten weeks"
n the people Of America were at all ac-
.,";nted with the people OF Russia, or
',",b The character OF Russian officers in ST.
- n would moi be necessary to point out
w. innrobabiity, not to say the absurdity,
~ This story. Since, however, 1t has al
" had wide circulation, and may obtain
o,,.,ain amount OF crcdence, | beg leave
10 subject IL to
A BRIEP CRITICISM.
In The first place. there Is no such execu-
-. o,,icer in Siberia aS the " president OF
~ administration" Eastern Siberia is
dcr the direction and administrative
.,,,rof ~ a ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, who is re-
Ou",sib,e directly and solely 90 the Empe
~ lie. or the Vice-Goyernor-General, in
49, o,sepee. would receive the news and
d;sno,ehes from the Governor OF Iakontsk,
VI no alone would have the right TO de
1iSe ,vhcther they should be telegraphed or
~, Tbe idea that he held these dispatches
- ,,ecLs because Lieutenant De Long had
mo, sent money 10 cover the expense OF
~, ~. ,ronsmission 10 II. Petersburg is pre-
''.,orons for M least half dozen reasons.
The telcgraph-lne from lrkoutsk to st.
Pctersburg l. an Imperial llne-0ullt, ope-
ra,cd and owned by the Russian Govern
mont The officers OF that Government IN
SIBERIAN PROVINCES DO NOT PAY
,oI,s ON their tclegrams any more than the
postmaster.G General OF the United States
80 ,,ostaoe on his official letters. But,
oven n they did. is ii for moment con-
oo;yalJe thst an officer occupying the posi-
80, ~ Goyernor-General OF Eastern Sibe-
81, an officer in receipt OF an income OF
ncrhans ~. 900 rOubleS year, w0Uld refuse
70 evpend the five roubles which 1t would
cost 10 telegraph to It. Petersburg the news
Of the loss Of the Jeanette! III the RUSSIAN
officers i'm Siberia were so parshnohlouS,
how did the dispatches from Lieutenant he
LONGS party get so far as irkoutSk! Inc
Journey OF the courier from the mouth oil
The Lena cost 1t least 800 roubleS. Is II
likely that. after spending 300 roubles 10 get
the news half way across the country the
Russian, would begrudge five roubies more
to scnd II the other hall. and thus make it
Of some use! The question Is TOO absurd
for serious discussion. But, apart from
considerations OF probability, the story
carrie, with it its own refutation. Ac-
cording to the telegram from Engineer
Melville.
TIE FIRsT BOAT FROM THE JEANETTE
reached the mouth OF the Lena on the 18th
Of September. The second boat did not
report itself until October 10Th, so that,
unless this last boat Is IN error, the messen-
ger can hardly have started before NoVem-
Der 1T. The interval between the starting
OF the messenger from the mouth OF the
Lena and the receipt OF the news III New
York was thus fiity-One days, ana YET we
are told by the correspondent at vienna
that the news was detained seventy days at
the first telegraph-station (irkoutsk) Tor
want Of funds. In other words, the dis
patches began TO be detained at lrkoutsk
nearly three weeks before Engineer Mel
willie wrote them at the mouth Of the Lena.
Even il. however. the second date mem
toned by Engineer Melville is an error-n
II should be September 18th instead OF De-
tober 29th. and if the messenger left on the
LIST OF October instead OF the LIST OF N0yem-
berthe interval between his departure and
the
ARRIVAL. OF TUE NEWS IN NEW YORK
is only eighty-two days. Deduct ten weeks
for the ALLEGED detention OF the dispatches
in Irkoutsk, and there remains only twelve
DAYS for the Journey OF the messenger to
that point from the mouth OF the Lena
Journey Of fully 300 miles through "a al
most uninhabitcd Ar,tic desert, in the
worst months OF the Winicr and at season
when the sun m That latitude is above the
horizon only about two hours out OF the
tyentv-iour. 70 make time the mes
ecnger would have had ID travel up the
Lena rs Ear as Yakoutsk without changes
Of docs or horses ~ Y rate Of nearly two
hundred miles a Il. which is more than
five times the speed ordinarily attained on
such JOURNEYS. As far a. the disposition
Of the GOveTnOT-General of Eastern Siberia
% assist Americans is concerned, l can
onl say, i'm conclusion, that when the
. so-Amcrcan telegraph line was aban-
ned, and we, its officers,
WERE LEFT IN SIBERIA
almos; without money, Acting Governor
General Shclashnikoff, OF lrkoutsk, who
still holds the position he then occupied,
learning accidentally OF our situation, vol
unfairly came 10 Us and offered TO lend us
1000 roubes TO defray our expenses TO 81.
Petersburg. We took 800 rOubles, giving
y him therefor simple receipt. And TINS
is the man who, according 10 the wen IA
correspondent, held the dispatches OF u
party Of shipwTecked and destitute Amerl-
can, ten weeks rather than run the FISK OF
losing five rOubles.
As long as the interests OF other Euro
pean Powers are opposed TO the interests OF
Russia in the East we may expect from
Berlin. London, and Vienna preludiced
statement, and misleading kilograms WIN
regard 10 Russian affairs. But the TACT lilti
Russia il misreprcsentcd by her enemies Is
not sufficient reason for allowing her,
without a protest. 10 be wounded III the
house OF her friends.
An ONO GIRL MARRIEs Two MEN WITHIN
HALF HoCR.-The little town OF Illln,
q an EXTRAORDINARY