New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-11
THE WAR IN THE EAST.
ITS HISTORY FROM THE JAPANESE POINT
OF VIEW.

THE JAPAN-CHlNA MAS. SUrn YRukichi inouye
WITH With Numerous Coiotype Plates by X ogawa.
Fp. ~ y. 81. 81. Imported by Charles Serb
THE cHINA-JAPAN. VAR Compiled from 9 vi 5sR
anese Chinese and Foreign Sources Mission
m Go Lssely Gs iss pp * CHARLES Serb
ner's Sons.
II the author Of the second book mere citeo 10
not a Japanese dpomatist and soldier ne Ga"
certainly write as II he were. He, as well as MI
Inouye. displays a large measure OF tnat so'e"
tinc temper which was marked feature IN
the conduct Of the war on the Japanese sioe'
Both profoundly conscious OF the rae, 'na.
th,. war which they describe was no ordinary
war II was the most modern OF international
conflicts In every sense Of the words yet " was
between two Asiatic nations. ana IN us mos' niou
ern aspects was )t touched by a western manu..
II was a conflict between new and ola IN part "a
~. uor,a whore the new was hardly suspected
., having q solid foothold, and yet the old was
defeated The youngest pupil OF European ''''
ization had the fortune to be nrst 10 test oii d
grand scale "in corpore WILL as Vladimir says
the new methods of war by iano anu sed ~
far as Japan was concerned. the "ho'e an"'i
was conducted with professional accuracy 'hat
r,sk.. the history Of 1t read like narrative OF
autumn manoeuvres II at any time the i'o'e-
nents of a Japanese division are marred by rash-
of troops China had. to see that even this rash-
ness was all premeditated In the offices OF the
1ananese staff before the war began To Vladi-
mir II was not merely great war. but Inc
Great war Of the century" One Of its noteworthy
eeects for him was that the outer world sooh
ceased to deride Japan "as country OF rioicuiouS
little beings who aped everything thoueh WIZ"
such inconsistent levity that no permanent
su,ts could be expected from their childilKe i'ii
tations.'
Ru, Mr. Inouye indicates that 1t was not
merely outsiders who were surprised Inc
1ananese themselves astonished. parucu-
larly by their navy. AS late as lssV IL was al
most impossible to get vote OF suppnes io' TIC
navy from the national Parliament ihere was
r,desnreao distrust of service which had been
practically absorbed by single one OF the
ancient feudal organisms. the Satsuma Can
m. ,a,or NJ the members Of this clan was
. undoubted but they were suspected OF peihs
racL,ess and II was feared that they would
neglect the weightier matters of science ana
techntral skill AS II turned out, the naVal
hattie Of Haiyang was the most instructive IN
cideat to the world In general OF the whoie
war; and next tc this came the action oi INC
torpedo-boats In the waters or Wei-nai"''
On the sea the Japanese officers had no prece-
dents to guide them in handling meet OF IRON
clad steamships. The Crimean ana American
wars belonged to a past age In smpouiiuihs
and naval tactics. the bombardment OF AieXah-
dria was an experiment with ordnance. no" 10
deploy his feet and bow to move IT 10 the pest
advantage were problems left wholly TO the IN
telligence of Admiral Ito. Vladimir demands
tho admiration Of his readers for the skill Of a
man who won a battle BY series OF evolutohs
that kept the hardest fighting for the strongest
;nci- at
were formed ION the spur Of the moment as the
hattie came on Unexpectedly, and that he had
IN about an hour to conceive evolutions Tor
which he had no historical precedents as no
considerable naval battle had yet been fought
with ronclads and none with quick-nrlng guns.
In general 1t was the promptness and good
management Of the navy that gave the initia-
tive on lanl to the japanese forces vladimir
compares Japan's experience in the recent war
TO that which she had on invading Corea IN
1892 Three hundred years ago the japanese
feet was defeated, and the land forces "hch
were prepared to enter China. having no CO.
operation from the sea, were Obliged 10 retreat.
The Chinese resistance was so trlfing that such
O failure would have been impossible in the
last war. But it could not have begun on
Japan's part without the aid Of shipping. and 1t
IL the scholastic perfection with which all the
warlike elements In Japan converged TO the
common purpose that challenges admiration.
At the outset the Japanese war vessels In great
numbers threatened the Chinese coast. For
weeks people wondered what this desutory per-
Torrance meant and by the time their astonish-
nnent was over the First Army with all It's sup
plies was safely landed In Corea. Everything
went like clockwork But no one knows better
than the Japanese themselves that the ideal har-
mony and certainty OF the military movements
would have been sadly interrupted II Western
nation had occupied the invaded territory. Regi-
ments. brigades. divisions and even armies sep
arated and met again with precision that has
never been equaled since Napoleon's model cam
paign in Italy. But both the authors In hand
show that the Chinese offered no real obstacles
to plans that were outlined in Japan before
blow was struck. Yet the Chinese could fight and
could stand to be slaughtered when they retained
any confidence in their commanders. But what
was to be done for a nation that In the midst OF
CONFLICT like that Of 1894 listened seriously TO
report by one Of its generals on the skill OF his
troops with bow and arrow? Asia Is a continent
Of enormous contradictions. but she outdid her
self when she brought archery and Quick-hrng
artillery into juxtaposition.
Most wars are 80 absorbing on the active side
that they leave the combatants no time to think
about what happens till all is over. But the
Japanese fought their battles and photographed
them at the same moment The trading-shp,
eaikyo turned into a cruiser, when too much
crippled to fight any longer in the battle Of Hal
yang. stopped to take pictures. This perform
snce was OF piece with all the rest. The Japa-
nese were not merely eager for the fray. but were
on the alert every instant to see how they did
their own fighting. and what the impression
that they made the world without. Their
sensitiveness to accusations Of cruelty which
Axured largely in early letters from the seat Of
war was noteworthy. 1t was civilized war they
vaTed, and the charge that they yielded to bar
bsrous Asiatic customs even in the resentment
Of victory was repealed with energy. Neither Of