Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-12-01
Japan Not So Very Little



serious political mischief. The con-
| tinental powers, and Russia more
especially, cannot get rid of the belief
| that the island empire, however brave
or astute or lucky its children may
Re. is after all but a little state,
| which in very short time must
bleed to death 1t is not very easy
to trace the origin of this belief. I'M
less it be the habit of expecting great
size In all Asiatic empires, or of COM
| pairing the area of Japan with that OF
China, or OF Russia itself. So COM
| pared, Japan is, of course, a little
| place which looks on the maps almost
Insignificant. Compared, however.
in more sensible way, with the 9th.
er island empire which has so long
! been one Of the great powers of the
world, Japan is by no means small.
| Its total area, without counting For
mosa, is by $1,000 square miles great
er than that of the British isles. and
as large a proportion of it is fertile
and thickly populated. That popula-
ton again, is 44,00000O or 5000 900
greater than our own Q90D, 5000, 600
greater than that OF france. and al
most equal to that of Austria-Hungar
II the word little again, refers 10
strength for war, that strength is in
many respects superior to our own.
We could probably destroy the Japan
/ csc fleet, but the Japanese feet ha
destroyed that of Russia and could.
II allowance Is made for position.
maintain contest with that of
France or Germany. which would not
/ De absolutely hopeless. AS regards
soldiers, Japan has a conscrfption.
/ and the CONSUMPTION obviously works.
/ Within the last six months the coun-
try has sent out six armies, each near.
!! equal to either of the forces that
commended at Waterloo. We thought
we mad done great thing when we
/ sent 10000 men to India i'm 1857 and
an extraordinary one when we trans
| ported 100000 men to South Africa, in
1900. But Japan has transported
more than 400 900 men across the sea
and is now defying the Russians at
L.aoyang and Port Arthur with arm
les greater in the aggregate than that
which Napoleon III modified for the
invasion of Germany. OF the quality
OF these forces it is unnecessary to
speak. Sailors and soldiers alike
are. in discipline. in speed of march
ing. and in endurance of fatigue, the
eqlrals of any that Europe has pro.
duced; while in their reckless con.
tempt of death they display special
quality which. as great Russian off.
GERS admit, sometimes appalls and de.
moralizes their own stubbornly brave
men.
Where in all this is the evidence OF
the "littleness" upon which ruling
Russians rely. and which their press
declares to be guaranty of their
own ultimate victory? II is, they
say. because of this deficiency of ia
pan that Russia, IL she will only CON
time the contest, must ultimately
bleed her "pigmy" opponent to death.
The consumption of officers is no
doubt great, but campaign of six
months such as the Japanese have
fought through breeds men in the
ranks who are competent. so far as
the business of actual warfare is con.
cerned. to become good officers. As
for the CONSUMPTION of men. there is
no reason why ii should exhaust ia
pan any more than the couscriptions
o. Napoleon | exhausted France. and
his conscriptions were continued for
10 years of almost incessant war 1t
s said that the old martial class of
Japan--the samUrai-must be getting
used up, but the ranks are already full
OF peasants who fight as well as ever
the SamUrai did No doubt the new
conscripts have been less perfectly
trained than the old but the use or
training is to produce obedience and
the readiness to face death. and those
military qualities have been drilled
into the Japanese by an experience
CT many hundred years.
Won Moltke said that it took two
years to teach conscripts to face
shells; but throughout the war.
though many hostile eyes have been
observing them, there has been no
evidence that Japanese soldiers
quail The Russian generals and
admirals, partly from pride. attribute
first assault on Port Arthur, and in
some of the subsequent battles, to en-
ergy astuteness and luck: burt energy
and astuteness are qualities that make
nation strong. and it is hardly luck
that has dictated Admiral Togo's in
vincible patience and enabled him
and his colleague. Admiral Kaml.
mura. to defeat equal forces in open
water. And the luck is strangely
persistent which has enabled General
Kuroh to keep huge Russian army
in perpetual retreat toward the from
tiers of the great province which il
vas sent to preserve. We fail alto
gether to see the evidence of little
ness" in anything that has occurred.
and, while even more surprised than
cur neighbors at the sudden rise of ia.
pan, believe that the rise is that of a