The morning call., 1894-11-26
THE FALL OF PORT ARTHUR,

There seems to be no doubt that Port
Arthur was taken by the Japanese last
Wednesday. The accounts come from too
many separate sources to be distrusted.
They are con firmed by dispatches from our
Mi lister in China TO the State Department
and from Admiral Carpenter to the Navy
Department.
The event is not the least surprising of
the many surprising incidents of this
astonishing war. Port Arthur was a
modern fortress, constructed under the
direction of European engineers. 1t was
armed with the latest Improved guns and
It was amply garrisoned. According to
the laws laid down by military authorities
such fort could not be taken except by
system OF regular approaches, followed by
an assault, the whole involving several
weeks work. Yet the Japs seem to have
attacked it at day break on Wednesday, to
have taken outwork after outwork WITH
out delay. and to have entered he main
fort at in the afternoon. There is a
flavor of opera bouffe in such an operation.
Every event in this war has COMPOUNDED
expectation. Those who were best in
formed and reasoned most closely have
made the greatest mistakes in their fore
cast. The Japs invaded Korea and
marched from end to end of the peninsula,
through hostile population, wi hout en-
counlerlng serious resistance. They do
not seem at any one time 10 have had
100000 men under arms IN the field, yet at
every contact they were victorious.
China. on the other hand, with an army of
100000 men ION paper, lever seems to have
Deem able TO concentrate enough of them
at the point of contact to reDei the Jap
anese advance. Every battle was defeat
for the Chinese. Even on sea, with iron
cladS far larger than any vessel in the jap
anese navy. they only engaged in battle to
be worsted. And now they have been I'M
able 20 hold fortress which any Ameri-
can officer could have defended against all
the armies of Japan for months, and which
no prudent general would care to be
ordered TO besisge.
With such a uniform record OF ill-suc-
cess and imbecility il seems rash to pre-
diet that the Chinese will be able to defend
their capital. An American soldier, hav-
ing the vast resources Of China at his
back, would laugh TO scorn q threatened
invasion of the popuous province Of
Chih-li by an army not larger than Sher-
man led through Georgia. But it seems
hat at TENTS n successful resistance TO
the Invader is despaired of. and it is open
ly pred cted that the enemy will meet with
no graVer obstacles than the Anglo French
allies encountered thirty-four years ago.
Everybody has come to the conclusion that
China is helpless and that she has nothing
to hope except through foreign interven-
ton. 1t is a most extraordinary and IN
precedented state of affairs.
Suppose the japanese take Picking, and
the Emperor and his court take flight, as
they before, to hiding place in Mon
golia. What will happen then? A dis
patch, apparently inspired, says that China
will offer money, millions of taels, but will
not submit TO the dismem berment of the
empire. This reminds the reader of Jules
FaVre's famous declaration in 1870, 'Not
an inch Of French territory or a stone of
one of our fOrtresses." This was just before
the cession of Alsace and Lorra ne. China
will have to submit to the decree of fate.
The conquered must accept the terms
which the conque-or awards. If Japan
should require the cession of the north
eastern corner of China, so as to make the
Peiho the boundary line between the two
pa co kbO dG 6hlIR
complain of the harshness of the terms,
but 1t would have TO accept them. Nor is
t easy to discern a line of argument on
which the Christian powers could protest
against such conditions of peace. Chris
iendom has no interest in the partition of
Asiatie soil, and civilization would prob
ably be adVantaged by the extension of
Japanese and the diminution of Chinese