Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1904-03-18
PORT ARTHUR NOT ABANDONED.
Russian High Officials Laugh at the
.#.. Story.

Russian High Officials Laugh at the
Story.
st. Petersburg, March 16.-From
the highest official quarter the Asso-
ciated Press has received information
that there Is absolutely no foundation
for the rumors persistently sent out
from Toxic that the Russians are
abandoning Port Arthur.
1T is the veriest NONSENSE" said
the official informant Of the Associat-
ed Press. Nothing has occurred there
to warrant such reports. The Japan
csc fleet has not been seen for forty
eight hours"
| The newspapers here manifest the
| greatest indignation over the report,
the Boerse Gazette characterizing it
| as outrageous and q British invention.
! General Kuropatkin expects to
reach Mukden March rs. Everything
will be sidetracked in order to get him
| to the front on schedule time. The
| general may proceed on flying visit
| to Port Arthur, but he is more likely
| to enter at once upon his duties as
commander-in-chief of the Manchurian
| army.
General Kuropatkin has his plan OF
campaign practically perfected before
he left here for the far east. He re-
turned to st. Petersburg quietly from
his country seat and his presence here
was not known for four days. These
| four days he devoted to the elabora-
ton of his plans in conjunction with
| his staff and with the aid of all the in.
| formation in possession Of the minis
try of war as well as of the special
reports from the theater of war.
On account Of the great difficulty Of
| housing the vast number Of troops
poured into Mukden, $4,000 have been
sent forward within the last few days
towards the Yalu river, as reinforce
ments for the 1000 troops already at
Kasan and ANU, and the stream Of
! soldiers from European Russia is now
being held at Hardin. The housing
problem will disappear with the ad-
vent of warmer weather, but in the
meantime the government is hurrying
| forward large numbers of portable
collarsible wooden quarters.
RUSSIA ADOPTS OFFENSIVE.
Fleet Leave the Harbor at Port
. Arthur.
! London, March ia correspond
| ent of the Daily Mail at Niuchwang
| says that after the removal of the bat.
tleship Retvisan four Russian steam.
hn uoi1ar thu lin
| guta and the Sungare, were anchored
| at the mouth of the entrance to Port
Arthur in proper position and sunk,
| leaving only small channel avail
able, Vice Admiral Makaroff having
previously ordered the whole fleet to
| remain outside with steam up, ecuno'
my in coal being unnecessary.
This dispatch, which is prominently
, displayed by the Daily Mail and
| which, the correspondent says is ION
! Russian information" is, If true, news
, OF the first Importance, confirming
the idea that Vice Admiral MakaroH
will adopt the offensive and make a
desperate attempt to bring together
Russia's scattered naval forces or en-
deavor to inflict damage upon the
Japanese navy. The story must, how
ever, be viewed cautiously, the only
! approach to confirmation from any
other quarter being in a dispatch from
correspondent of the Daily Tele-
graph at Yin Kow, which merely
says:
"Vice Admiral Makaroff has issued
orders to the effect that the saving Of
coal is unnecessary, but that the big
gun ammunition in the forts must not
be wasted. Evidently this ammunition
| is running short"
There is no other news on the sub.
ject.
The Daily Telegraphs Toxic CORE
spondent sends an uncontirmed rumor
| to the effect that Japanese marines
| have landed and occupied Dalny.