The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-30

than sixty-foIr foreign war vessels on
the coasts of China and Japan. OF
these twenty-eight were British, seven
teen Russian, seven French, five United
States, Ave German. enc Austrian and
one Portuguese. Many of the British
and Russian ships are, however, of
very little use for fighting purposes,
and the armered fleet Of Russia in Chi
nese waters consists Of only four ar
mered cruisers, namely, Rurik, 1923
tons, e-inch belt, carrying four s-ineh,
sixteen 6-inch and six 4.7-inch guns;
Admiral Nackimof. 77s1 tons, 10<tnoh
belt, and carrying eight a-inch and ten
e-ineh guns; Dimftri Donsky, 5ss5 tons,
with e-ineh belt, and a battery Of two
s-inch, four 6-fnch and ten 4.7-inCh
guns; the fourth being the Pamjat
AzoVa of 5000 tons e-inch belt, and ar
mament Of two s-inch and thirteen g.
inch guns. There are also two armored
gunboats, the Greruiastchy and OF
vazny, OF 1900 tons, protected by 6-inch
arInor and each carrying one 9-inch
and one 6-inch gun OF the remaining
eleven vessels only one cruiser, the Ad-
Hfrsl Kornieloff, of 5000 tons and two
S-inch and fourteen 6-inch guns, IS
worthy Of note, the other craft being
either OF antfQuated design or too small
vice. The armOr-pierctng power Of the
Russian feet in Asiattc waters amounts
TO only i've S-tnch and twenty S-inch
guns incapable Of penetrating armor
over ten inches thick at 1000 yards, and
Of the vessels none have over 10-inch
arnor belt. Although the Russian navy
rs numerically strong, many of the
ships are from fifteen to thirty years
old, while of It's sixteen battleships
built, nine of the best are locked up in
the Black sea- Thus only seven battle
ships are available at once for the voy-
age from st. Petersburg to Vladivos-
tok, a distance of about 5000 miles,
and none Of them are In point of size
and efficiency anywhere near the EQUALS
Of JRpan's latest battleshfps. Russia
Is very deficient in cruisers and the
volunteer fleet constitutes with the ar
rnored vessels the naval strength of
Russia, barring a few gIrnboats and
torpedo gunboats of modern construc-
ton.
The feet of Japan, on the other hand,
is small but highly efficient. Its two
battieships, FuH and Yashirna. are the
most formidable ships-o f-war Rfoat
except the Majestic and Royal Sover-
eign class in the British navy. The
Chin Yuen Go and the Chiypda, OF 7400
tons and A00 tons, constitute, with the
two first named ships, the arrnored feet
u 0dPCus WHICH,, SIQdu IN mum Der
makes up in efficiency. It is In the
cruisers, however. that Japan far ex-
GELS Russia, Of which Il has eighteen
ranging from 1400 to AGO tons. swift
and powerfully armed vessels. In the
event OF trouble Japan would have the
advantage derived from fighting near
at home, its armored vessels, invulner-
able to the shot Of any Russian gun.
and with a fleet Of fast cruisers and
half hundred torpedo boats capable
OF bloclIading Vladivostok or any
other port which Russia may choose as
a naval station. To bring it's vessels.
war material, including coal, distance
OF upwards of $1,000 miles would be ex-
| ceedfngly costly, tine-killing and haz-
ardous work, and to make matters
worse the ships, which, after so ex-
tended a voyage, would be in want of
considerable repairs, might find them
serves Shut out from making port. IT
would appear from this exposition of
facts that in a naval war between Rms
s1a and Japan the latter would have q
decided advantage and that Russia
would be forced to come to an under
standing with other European naval
powers in order to offset the undisn1,f-
able advantages Of Japan. A combine
ton with Germany would likely be r,e+
by one between Great Britain ard
Japan, but that, as Kfpfing wouId sav
Is another story to be told"