Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-02-20
DESPERATE RUSSIA.
(Continued from page ~

the ministry Of the interior. where 'i'f
permanent censor bureau OF pays
books ana newspapers in RUSSIA - ~
Gated.
News kilograms addressed TO 1oreisii
sources originating in the IioSI u
tant PARTS of the empire, NladlFoStoch'
for example or Odessa, were formerly
telegraphed to St. Petersburg 10 NC
passed on. NJ. Plehve, minister OF inc
interior, and Count Lamsdorf' the ioi
eign minister, both joined in the recon-
mendation that the censorship ne
abolished.
The internal censorship is 10 pc re-
tanned, but foreign dispatches are "
be entirely free. Inasmuch as s('te
of war exists, kilograms from the thea-
tire of hostilities will be subject 10 the
same kind of military censorship en-
forced in all countries under similar
circumstances.
A Russian correspondent of The AS
sociated Press who witnessed the naval
engagement off Chemulpo, Feb. s. has
|teleeraphed i'm the following account OF
the fight from Shanghai, where he has
arrived with the survivors of the Rus
sian ships on board the French cruiser
Pascal:
A JAPANESE squadron consisting of
six armored cruisers and eight torpedo
boats arrived off Chemulpo prior to the
declaration of war. Admiral Uriu,
commanding the Japanese squadron,
requested the cruiser Variag and the
tori edo gunboat Korietz to put out t"
sea threatening otherwise to attack
the ut their anchorage. protest
wa AIDE by the captains of the French
crj.ts, Pascal, the British cruiser Tai
bot nll the Italian cruiser Elba. The
captain of the United States gunboat
Vicksburg alone refcained from pro-
testing. AS the Variag and the korietZ
steamed past the foreign war vessels,
the crews manned the sides ana
cheered continuously and the strains
of the Russian national anthem ac-
companied the Russian sailors as they
went into battle. The heroism dis
played by the crews of both the Rus
sian warships so impressed the for
eigners present that many of them
wept. believing that the Russians We're
going to certain destruction.
AS soon as the Russian ships ap-
preached the mouth of the harbor the
Japanese poured out their fire upon
them. Every gun took part in the ter
rifle cannonade which lasted for one
hour. At o'clock in the afternoon, the
Variag and the Korietz returned to
their anchorage.
The Russian officers and crew be-
haved splendiGly. Three times flames
broke out on board the Variag. while
she was under fire, and each time they
We're eXtinguiShed as cOOlly as il the
zen had been at drill. The wounded
men We're carried below and the MEM
berS of the crew who lost their lives
We're replaced by others. The holes
made III the Variag by the projectiles
If the enemy were not stopped up. The
Nariag sustained terrible damage. Both
starboard and port bulwarks We're de-
stroycd, her guns We're crippled and
her hull was riddled with shot Thirty
threee men on board of her We're killed,
including MidshipmanCount Nirod. The
captain of the Variag was somewhat
injured. The Korietz suffered no dam
age.
The japanese squadron lost many
men. Two japanese cruisers We're Sc
verely damaged and one torpedo boat
was sunk.
For four hours the correspondent
continues. I'VE remained in the har-
Dor. expecting the Japanese to enter
and renew the attack. The injuries of
the Nariag made it impossible for her
to fight any longer and in order to pre-
vent the Japanese from getting the
vessels as spoils of war, both the Va
RAG and KorietZ We're sunk and the
tender Sungari burned.
"All the Russian survivors of the en-
gagement We're taken on board the for
eiSn warships present, excepting the
NickSburg. The Japanese admiral de-
manded the surrender of these men as
prisoners of war; but this the foreign
captains chivalrously refused to do
The official report of the Chemulpo
fight gives the losses on the variag as
one officer and 33 men killed, two Off
GERS slightly wounded, and II men Sc
verely wounded. There were no losses
on board the Korietz. The officers and
crews of booth ships behaved nobly.
Major Gen. Plug. chief of staff to
Niceroy Alexieff. has sent the following
telegram from Port Arthur:
Our scouts report that no Japanese
have been seen either at Tsin Chu or
Ping Yang. Corea. The population is
indifferent toward us. Natives say that
if high tide comes in five DAYS the
ice will begin to drift. The west coast
of the Lao Tung peninsula is covered
with ice for a distance of a mile and a
Gudi to sea. None of the enemy's
sh'i'' has been seen lately. There have
bee 70 fresh attempts to destroy the
railr -,l.''
Paul Lesser, Russian minister at Pc