The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-02-14
ALEXlEFF HAS FRIENDS
IN THE UNITED STATES

I peace COMFORTS with honor. In the spring
of 1895, when the great fleets of Russia
and Japan lay opposed to each other in
the harbor of Che Foo, the greatest naval
battle lof modern times was only averted
| by his GOODNESS.
! Second in command to Alexieff was Ad-
mlral Tyrtoff, grim old sea fighter, who
burned to open an attack on the fleet
commanded by Admiral Ito, the victorious
Japanese commander in the Yalu battle
Russia had given Japan an ultimatum,
the time had expired, and the last tele-
gram had come from St Petersburg, say
ing that war was inevitable. Tyrtoff
strained at the leash. The men of both
fleets were drunk with the lust of battle
The great gray and black ships had been
stripped for action.
'Wait until noon tomorrow, said Alex
Jeff. Perhaps a telegram has been de-
layed in the sending"
Within an hour came the message saying
Japan had yielded and the battle was
averted
But, when occasion arises, Alevioff has
shown that he can be a most determined
fighter. At the siege of Tien Tsin the rail-
way station, the key to the city, was held
by 400 men of the Siberian riflemen In
their green uniforms. They were cut OF
from the rest of the garrison for days.
They were hard pressed and beat off at
tack after attack at great loss, Their COM
mander wired to Alexieff that If they
staid In the railroad station two hours
longer they would be annihilated.
mot man must be withdrawn" was
the grim answer. you must hold the
station or be annihiated."
! And when the railroad station was fin
| ally relieved the Russian flag was still
floating and there were eighteen of the
400 men left unwounded to receive their
rescuers.
Alexieff is noted for the great care and
| consideration he gives the men under his
command. He more than any other great
Russian commander Is on almost chummy
terms with his soldiers, but 1t Is friend
illness in which there is respect amount
ing almost to awe on the part Of the
men in the ranks. On the day Of St
| George, when the wearers of the cross Of
| ST. George, privates or princes, sit down
together at Alexeff's table in the vice.
regal palace, their host will sit there with
them for eight or nine hours, as the va
rlous detachments come and go. A few
days later he may make a long march
into the wilderness of Manchuria lodging
In a wretched mud hut and LIVING, like his
men, chiefly on cigarettes and peanuts.
caught Alexeff without his regimentals
on. Wherever he may be, under no mat
ter what conditions he may be living, he
is always properly and handsomely
dressed with all his medals and decora-
tons In place. He always looks as If he
had just stepped out of handbook, If one
may imagine a six foot, bearded sailor
stepping from such a dainty equipage
Alexieff, who is now 90 years old, has
spent most of his life in the new empire
which, Russia is building on the coast of
Asia.
Everything is done and over with in
Europe" he says. There you have only
to keep your repair shop running Out
here we are helping to create things
He is a man who likes to do things. I'm
der his direction the. Russian millions
were spent in building docks and forti-
fications at Vladivostok, and when that
giant work was done he moved on Joy
fully to tackle the still larger problem at
Port Arthur Also under his admins
tration the great commercial city, Dalny
and the commercial capital of greater
Russia, the city of Khabarovsk, at the
junction of the Amur and the Ussuri
have been built, both of them, from prac-
tically nothing.
He loves the work of this new country
| He admits that he is not at all happy
away from It. The delights of civilization
pail on him as they do on most of those
who have tasted the delights of empire
building, If his cigaret be excepted Ad-
miral Alexieffs favorte recreation Is
| found in playing the game of Russian
bridge, in which he Is said TO be extreme
| ly skillful. IT he can meet and defeat an
expert at this game. then the admiral is
happy. If a game goes hard against him
it is said that he feels the defeat as a
bitter blow.
Alexeff has visited America several
times. having crossed the continent more
than once on his way to and from Russia
to his eastern station. and is a great adj
mirer of the United States. 1t is said to
be largely due to his influence that the
exports from this country to ports on the
Pacific under Russian control have in
creased greatly within recent years.
His ambition has been, commercially at
least, to make of the great provinces I'M
der his control a new America.