The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-04-21
AsTORIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.
THE RUSSIAN DISASTER.

THE RUSSIAN DISASTER.
Never before, so far as we can recall has great
nation at war met with 50 many or such serious dis
asters through accident blunderng as has Russia
thus far in her conflict with Japan says the Tribune
Her FIRST oss at the outbreak of the war; was due as
much to carelessness and laundering as to anything
else. Since then much of our East Asia news has
been devoted to reports of Russian ships fired upon
BY Russians through mistake or damaged by mis-
placed Russian mines. Now comes browning and
altogether irreparabe disaster One of the big bat
tieshlps has been destroyed by Russian mine that
had got adrift and between 700 and 500 men have
been lost with her. Nor is that the worst of it. Vice
Admiral Makarotf, the commander of the feet went
down with the ship. That is the heaviest blow of all
The ship may be replaced, in time Other men NAV
be drafted to fill the places of the hundreds of the
crew But Makaroff's place cannot be filed We
have only to recall the wretched plight of the Port
Arthur squadron before his arrival and compare that
with its performances since to realize in measure
ms value to the Russian navy and the loss that navy
suffers in his untimely death. He was brave man
skiful commander and true patriot, and even the
japanese themselves will regret his fate
Some weeks ago, in discussing the comparative
strength of the two beigerents we called attention to
the fact that, while the Russians had fine navy.
there was reason to doubt whether they were as
skilled and as efficient in the of its delicate yet
powerful enginery as were their antagonists With
out unkndness, we may now conclude that our doubt
was well founded. Upon no other theory is it easy
to explain the series of disasters which they have
suffered. They do not seem to know how to use to
advantage or even with safety to themselves. the
powerful ships and munitions with which they are
provided Nor is that to be wondered at The Rus |
sias as nation have not the high civilization of the
japanese. They have not the general education. and
they have not the special education in the sciences
and the mechanic arts. While they have been build
ing great navy they have not developed nation
of expert engineers to use it. They have the guns
but the men behind the guns are inefficient It is
notorious that target practice, torpedo practice and
similar practical drills, to which the japanese. like
Americans have paid much attention, have been
in the Russian navy, while the character
istc sovenliness and lack of order and precision Of
the Russian peasantry have too often been observed
aboard the Russian batteships The lesson of this
ag0nizlng disaster is that all the engines and ex
pos1ves and mechanical devices in the world cannot
replace the human factor, but must always remain
The personal equation is as dominant
IN the problem of naval warfare today as it was in
the days of Nelson and Dundonald
Whatever fighting was done yesterday between the {
two fleets, and whatever its results the loss Of
me Petropaulovsk must alone be regarded as great
saster to the Russians. At the beginning they had
even battleshps to Japans six. The Retvisan and
ne Czarevltch were long ago disabled and the re-
pairs that have been made upon them have not re- i
tored them to full efficiency The Potava was said
o have been injured, but may have been fully re-
tOred Now the Petropauovsk is a total loss There n
emain, then, at most only four, and perhaps not q
nore than three, Russian battleships in complete o
ghtIng trim On the other hand, all six of the JAP
neSe vessels are as sound as ever and each one of
hem Is stronger than any one of the Russian ships
such circumstances, the task which lies before the
ailant Makarof's successor is not an enviable one.
t..