The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-05-01

the navy. but they originated and car
ried into successful execution the pro-
ject that turned the threatened and i'm
pending Turkish victory into defeat and
rout
With the permission of their superior
officers and the assistance of a band
of gallant seamen, Makaroff and Skryd-
lof made night torpedo attack upon
a Turkish ironclad. The warship was
completely destroyed. and, inspired by
the victory thus obtained, the attacks
were repeated. The Turkish feet was
thrown into a panic, and Instead OF
continuing up the Danube, retreated to
the Black Sea. The advance of the Rus
sian army, uninterrupted by the fleet.
was a triumphant one.
During the remainder Of the war he
continued his services. He Commanded
the gunboat Grand Duke Constantine,
which he equipped with torpedoes. His
attacks on Turkish ships and raids on
Turkish harbors won him promotion TO
the rank of captain, the orders of ST
Vladimir and St George and a sword
OF gold.
Shipbuilder of Note.
He was the inventor of the ice-crush-
Ing vessels now in use in the Russian
navy. and the designer OF many ships
He was for a considerable time chief
OF the bureau OF naval ordnance. and
IN this position made many improve
ments In the armament OF naval ves-
sells he made a tour Of the world for
the purpose of recording hydroRraphic
observations, and published a report
which won high encomiums from scien-
tlhc societies everywhere. He has been
at different times commander of the
Baltic and Mediterranean fleets and
curing the ChinO-Japanese war. at the
time when conflict with the Japs seemed
inevitable. was in command Of a souad
ron or Admiral Tyrtoff's feet IN Eastern
waters.
with his advance. that of Admiral
skrydlon. his successor. has kept equal
lace, from the time they did gallant
work together in the destruction Of the
turkish fleet in the Danube. Skrvd
loh, though with a pitifuIly depleted
force, is now expected TO carry on the
defensive operations that Makaroff re-
signed with his death.
When both were alive the two men
were known as the most daring OF
russian sea fighters; now that Makaroff
Is dead the title survives to SkrvdIofr
Whether he viii prove worthy of IT the
events of the next few weeks are very
likely 10 show. In the Russian heart
there is no want Of confidence: the
Russians expect him 10 win against
whatever odds are brought against him
They trust to him and the Little
Father" to retrieve whatever disasters
have been suffered. and to pluck reluc-
tant victory from the jaws of defeat.
Admiral of Jap Fleet.
In Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo.
japan has already been able to demon
state bundantly-especially TO the
RUssians-that she has a naval fighter
fitted by training. experience, and ma
tive ability 10 cope with his opponents,
10 strike with the swiftness of lightning.
to do the greatest amount of damage
10 the enemy. with the smallest amount
of loss to his own fleet
II is not Togo's first experience in sea
lighting this series Of conflicts In 'which
lie is now engaged. He won his spurs
in the Chino-Japanese war. in which he
nTed the first shot and participated in
a number Of bloody battles Cool, col
lected, reserved, undemonstrative-th
is little of the bluff. old sea-dog" about
Togo. Rather he is the scholar in nc
zion, with every needed information as
20 his profession at ready command.
profoundly versed I'm the strategy OF
naval fighting and using the murderous
weapons of modern warfare with stern,
quiet. resistless deliberation. He strikes
when he is ready-and then strikes TO
Kill. He has absorbed and understood
the truth of General Sherman's dictum
about war. and fervently believes IT T.
best and most merciful to get it over
with as soon as possible.
He is nov about fifty-hve years ole.
Though aot of princely or noble rank,
he is of the japanese gentry, a samura
of the Satsuma clan, whose members
have made arms and fighting their pro
fession for centuries. His warlikc at
tributes come to him naturally, through
many generations of fighting men. He
is one of the many among his coun
trymen in whom the bravery of tho
old samurai and the diversified knowl-
eCge of new Japan are combined.
Was Educated in England.
The commander of the Japanese feet
received his education as a naval officer
at the British Naval College. Green
wich. which he attended as a student
more than thirty years ago The foun-
dation Of his skill with ships and men,
therefore, is the sturdy one that Great
Britain gives the men who are destined
10 carry her nag into foreign lands.