New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-12
WAR INCIDENTS.

The japanese may not give the world
startling sensation every day, as some Of them
have promised, but they evidently do not mean
10 let their campaign flag. They are keeping
busy on both land and sea. with varying fort
unes Their destruction Of bridge on the Rus
sian Siberian railway IS one Of the things they
have been expected 10 do. and we shall not
be surprised If they do a good deal more OF
the same sort Of thing. One Of Russia's weak
points lies in the length Of railroad behind
her which she must guard. a railroad running
through q land in which it is peculiarly sus-
ceptible TO attack. 1t has been estimated that
properly to guard that road would take as many
men as Russia has In her entire East Asian
army, compelling her, If she would conduct the
war effectively, at least to double her forces
in that part Of the world. That would be a
serious task. Yet If she does not do il. she VIII
be in danger OF having the railroad broken, and
the interruption OF railroad traffic might endan-
ger her whole army.
On the other hand the japanese appear 10
have met with a repulse fl an attempt 10 make
a landing on the Leao-Tong peninsula. Just
where the attempt was made, with what force
and for what purpose il was made, and with
what loss Il was repulsed are not yet known.
The attempted landing may have been merely
for purposes Of reconnOitrinE, IL may have been
a feint 10 cover operations elsewhere or Il may
have been a bona ide effort to invest Port
Arthur from the landward side. whichever ii
was IL Is not at all surprising that It failed.
The Russians occupy that peninsula IN great
force, and are doubtless prepared 10 make
stubborn resistance to any japanese assault
Those who remember the defensive genius OF
Todleben and the impetuous valor Of Skobelen
need not be told that on land the bravest OF the
An1ad0's soldiers are likely 10 meet foemen
fully worthy Of their steel We expected from
the beginning that the japanese would be sue
cessful on the water. On the land they may not
fare SO well 1t depends largely upon the actual
size Of the Russian Army there, concerning
which little is known. Some have declared It
numbers fully half a million, while others say
q hundred thousand would be a liberal estimate
What VIC do know is that Japan, with her full
mastery Of the sea assured, viii be able to put
four hundred thousand men into Corea in snort
order.
That she viii have command OF the sea Is
confidently TO be expected Indeed, she may be
said to have had Il from the moment she struck
those telling blows 1T Port Arthur and Che
mulpho. which left the Russian feet hopelessly
inferior to hers. Reports were extant yesterday
that she had completed the work Of destroying
the Russian feet at Port Arthur. Whether they
were true or false. it seems certain either that
the Russian ships must remain idle at Port Ar
thur or that they must come out only 10 be
captured or destroyed. The rumor that Rus
sia will send her Baltic feet 10 the war seems
70 be confirmed. IL is not 10 be supposed, how
ever, that Russia would be permitted 70 violate
treaty stipulatons by taking her Black Sea
feet through the Dardanelles. Nor is there any
reason to suppose that her whole European
feet from the Black Sea and the Baltic, II It
were taken TO the Yellow Sea, would fare any
better than has the one Jared which was already
there II contains all told only seven first class
battleships, which are scarcely equal in aggre-
/ gate strength to Japan's six, and in cruisers II
is hopelessly weak in comparison with Ia~an's
/ She sent the flower OF her feet 49, as y
fore this war. IL II has beea 90 i l.