The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-19

of a speed of 10 knots. Four armored
cruisers, aggregate displacement. Is. 100
tons, three OF ~ Knots ana one c oil '
aggregate displacement. 2.45O tons: I'D
knots. Japanese total. ten vessels. with
an aggregate displacement of III ,z4O tons
and a maximum concerted speed Of lib
knots.
Omittfng the third class armored cruis-
err, which is not really fit companion
for the other heavy ships, Japan has nine
TONS susceptible of concerted action at
speed of 10 knots. while If Russia
cut out any of her second-claSS armored
cruisers, even those of 1872 knots and 1875
knots speed, she would still be held
down to 16 knots as maximum fleet
speed by three of her battleships.
In gun fire. the foregoing aggregations
of heavy fighting ships bear the follow
ing relations during a five minutes &C
ton emitting everything below 47-inch
quick-firing rifles:
Total muzzle
energy. Projectiles.
Country Foot-tons Tons.
Russia 1855, l6O LIZ
powerful Pinch wire wound guns of the
most powerful pattern, while Russia has
but twelve of the same calihr = the Japan
csc pieces having a muzzle energy each
of 5000 foot-tons and throwing 4S4-pound
shot, as against muzzle energy of but
20, 900 foot-tons and projectile OF 723
pounds of the Russian rifles.
1t requires no technicist to see that the
Japanese fleet could pick it's own range,
keep it, outmaneuver the Russians by
virtue of superior speed, and hammer
reach. All of the Japanese vessels have
the very latest order of underwater tor
pedo, discharges, and all of the ships of
the line are of very recent construction,
while four of the Russian ships range in
age from nine to eighteen years.
The. three heaviest of the Russian ar
niored cruisers are practically without
protection for their main batteries, while
( the japanese ships of the same class have
turrets and heavy shields and casemate
amor to guard their 6-inch and S-inch
! guns.
| In the feature of the protected cruisers
the Waryag. building in this country. and
her sister ships, building in Europe, are
quite the matches for the Takasago, Ka-
sagi and Chitose; but Japan has num-
Der of other pretty heavily protected
that proved themselves pretty formidable
vessels during her war with China.
In point of personnel there are some
advantages on the side OF the Japanese.
Maritime conscrptiOn is common to both
services, but in the case of the Japanese
a seafaring life is familiar to the great
mass of the people In Russia the bul
of the recruits are gathered from the
/ Germanic races of the Baltic-people
strongly averse to the Russian as a Rus
sian, and especially against service in the
thy together with the autocratic spirit
of the Russian officer-only officers sons
and the nobility being eligible as naval
cadets-renderS the tone of the seamen
/ sullen, while their habits are dirty
In physique the Russian seaman is SUI
perior, but the notifications of bread and
meat, now introduced where the native
diet used to prevail has effected a man
ifest change in the getup of the Japanese
jackie, and with it has come more en-
during qualities without hampering the
characteristic quickness of the man. In
habits the Japanese sailorman is clean,
orderly, obedient and cheerful while the
willing way in which he. with his fellow
countrymen at large, has subscribed by
taxes to the upbuilding of his new navy
is but one phase of the way in which he
| views another war.
Since his struggle with the Chinese six
years ago he has worked hard and per-
sistently, and the man behind the Mika-
do,s guns today is a man who has stud
view--Korea. and the Russian between
The Naval Stations.
OF naval stations Japan has eleven
among her principal islands, and three
of them are extensively fitted for the
purposes of repairs, while of private IA
cilties she boasts a number of fine
sh n1 3hain plants, Of which the finest
and amply sheltered behind strong de-
lenses. natural and military.
Russia, on the other hand has only
Port Arthur and Talien- Wan NOW Dai.
nyl, and the distant port of Vladiyostok
and the docking facilities of only one OF
them is considerable In the matter OF
making repairs Russia is thus handicap
ped.
In military equipment the Japanese ar
| my today numbers quite 10000, with field
batteries of fine 12-pounders, numberins
In the neighborhood of $50 pieces. In re,
serve she holds no fewer than 140 900 who
nave seen service. The sea coast de-
lenses and the natural difficulties of the
coast make an invasion by Russia. sim
gle-handed. something not to be thought
or, while the lately completed lines of
railways afford ample means for rapid
concentration and mobility of troops. ia
pan has been laying in vast quantities of
rice, canned meats and other foodstsffs
for months.
she has fine smokeless powder. a we'll
! tried magazine rife of native pattern
| and ample domestic facilities for the re-
pair of arms and the manufacture of mu-
| nitons. - W
Russia has been carrying troops to the
the past few months has been shippins
them there by thousands. Just what her
present force is. it Is hard to tell accur-
ately, for all of her husbandmen from 16
years up are liable to military service, but
| 1t is quite safe to say she now has avail
able quite $1,000 fighting men,