Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-24
where she doubtless has arrived by this

where she doubtless has arrived by this
time.
cablegrams in stating the date Of the cap
ture, Admiral Carpenter placing II on No
vember 21 and Minister DENLY on the fol-
lowing day. The admiral was much nearer
the scene Of strife. and histsources Of In
formation were better.
1t cannot be said that the faal of Port
Arthur was unexpected at the State De-
partment, although the officials. had sup
posed from their know1edsA of the tre-
mendous natural strength of thes place, re-
fnforced as 1t was by every device that sci
entiflc military engineering could add, that
II would certainly have withstood pro-
tracted siege, particularly in view of the
fact that the Japanese, SO far rs known
had no heavy siege guns. but were obliged
to rely on Light field artillery.
Under such conditions the victory Of the
Japanese becomes remarkable and the re-
duction of the fortress doubtless will stand
as shining example of the magnificent
military strategy of the Japanese COM
manders. 1t Is the opinion of military ex-
perts that the Japanese attack on Port
Arthur was q most peril00s venture on
their part. They could not afford to sus-
tain any considerable defeat. for the re-
suit would have BEEN I'm the first place, to
determine the Chinese to pursue the war,
and, Tn the second place, to retard the
Japanese government In Its effort to float
& new war loan. By the<tictory at Port
Arthur the success Of the latter is now
assured.
Importance Of the Capture.
The fall Of Port Arthur, being military
maneuver, will be officially confirmed by
Lieut.. Miyoaka, naval attache Of the Jap
anese legation at Washington, rather than
by Minister Kurino. whose offices are of a
diplomatic character. Lieut.. Miyoaka has
not yet heard from the officials, but the
confirmation Is 50 abundant from other
sources that he expects the official govern
nent announcement at any time.
1T is an achievement of greater relative
importance than the battles of Ping Yang
or Yalu," said he to an Associated Press
reporter, "and 1t will rank historically with
the siege of Metz. Sebastopol or Paris. For
six years China has been making Port Ar
thur impregnable. under the direction of
Gen. Hannekin. and naval authorities be-
heved they succeeded. Its loss to China Is
really secondary to its gain by Japan.
1t will now serve as base of opera
tions for the japanese army and navy. The
water basin will afford the Japanese navy
a perfect harbor. protected by the great
guns OF the arsenal. The dry dock has
been large enough to accommodate the
largest Chinese warship. and is, therefore
capable OF docking the largest Japanese
cruiser.
THE town has extensive barracks and
quarters In which the Japanese land forces
can be comfortably housed for the winter
Thus intrenched inside Chinese terri
tory, the Japanese navy can maneuycr
from HOrt Arthur, which commands q
sweep Of the Gulf of Pechili. and Is within
easy striking distance of all other upper
Chinese ports. The reports show tho in
genious plan Of attack. The Japanese
torpedo boats kept up noisy demonstra-
ton on the water side. thus keeping the
sea batteries of the arsenal busy. While
this distracted the land side of the arsenal
was left exposed to a simultaneous at
tack on all sides. The comparative brief
ness of the attack-from Tuesday noon to
Wednesday nights a remarkable feature
OF the capture"