Arizona republican., 1904-08-27
PHOENIX, ARIz., AUGUST 27, 1so4
The Port Arthur Naval Fight.

The report of Admiral Ouktomsky, ron, in a telegram to the czar, giv- ing the details of the fight of August 10, when the Russian vessels tried to escape from the harbor. emphasizes the unreliability of the news from the far east. In the report which may be regarded as official the admiral men tions that all of the six battleships of the squadron returned to the harbor after the fight and it is presumed that they are all still there.
 The Czarevitch, the flagship of the late Admiral Withoeft, was reported to be at Tsing Tau, having broken through the Japanese lines and es- capped in the darkness after the death of the admiral More or less detailed descriptions of that night battle were sent out from Chefoo. The character of the injuries were described by re- ported dispatches from Tsing Tau and it was generally understood that the battleship had been disarmed.
 By this report the actual losses of the Russians in vessels are reduced to the cruisers Askold, which was disarm- ed at Shanghai on Wednesday, the Pallada and the Diana, also in neutral ports, the Novik, which was over hauled and sunk by the Japanese off the island of Sakhalin, and the de- stroyer Ryeshitelni, cut out by the Japanese in the harbor of Chefoo. The sinking of the Rurik was of course not attendant upon or consequent upon the attempt of the Port Arthur squadron to escape.
 Concerning the damages inflicted up on the vessels of his command, Ouk- tomsky mentions only one vessel, the Peresviet. The casualties, all told, he gives as two officers and SS men kill cd and twenty-one officers and 2S6 men wounded.
 If this report is true the battle which was regarded as one of the fierc- est of modern naval engagements was not after all a very sanguinary af
 
 come of it sustain the reputation of the Japanese as sea-fghters. They failed 10 prevent the escape of four cruisers which succeeded in breaking through their lines, but were only able with their overwhelmingly superior force to scatter them. Their showing was a weak one compared with the perform ances of the American fleet at Santiago Bay.
 Their failure to accomplish more may. however, not be laid to a want of naval skill. The condition of their ves- sols, which have been in constant and active service since the beginning of the war. must be taken into account. A warship soon grows stale and it's guns are not long lived.
 The ships of Kamimura did much better work when they encountered the Vladivostok fleet. While this Japan csc squadron had been also in active service as long as that of Admiral To- go its service had consisted for the most part of alertness only. Its guns were in fighting shape.
 In the fight at Santiago the American fleet had the advantage of being in what is described in the language of the ring, as the pink of condition, while the vessels of the Spaniards were foul as a result of their Atlantic voyage and their inability to dock them at Santiago.
 If the failure of the Japanese to ac- complish more on August 10 may be at tvibutable to the condition of their ves- sels they would be handicapped in a meeting with the Baltic fleet should it appear in far eastern waters within the next two months.