The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-05
Plans for the Commission of In
quiry Are Satisfactory.
Substance of Official Report Is
Made Public.
STICK TO FIRST STORY
Russian Officers Still Declare
There We're Torpedo Boats.
Seek to Prove That They
Could Not Be Theirs.

St Petersburg, Nov. Sill p. M
Russia has accepted the Geographic
draft OF the -Anglo-Russian convention
for the commission of inquiry into the
North sea incident, submitted to Russia
"Wednesday, as announced in these dis
patches at the time, and the final eX-
: changes will be ratified in London. The
convention covers six articles as prev
1ously forecasted from here. The com
mission will sit in Paris and viii con-
sist of five members, Russian, British,
American and French. the representa-
tives of these four nations to chose the
fifth member. Broad outlines for the
inquiry are laid down by the convention
but the commission will have wide lati-
tude i'm determining all the relevant
facts.
Although the convention is agreed to,
1t is believed that some minor matters
connected with the subject, the exact
nature of which can not be ascertained
are still undecided. The Associated
Press has strong reason to believe that
the letter from Vigo, published in the
Novoe Vremya this morning, represents
practically the substance of Vice Ad-
1niral RojestVensky's detailed report
submitted to Emperor Nicholas today
by Captain Clado. Indeed it is almost
certain that the letter was written by
Captain CladO himself. 1t has attracted
much attention. being accepted by the
public as well as by the Novoe Vremya
as the complete Russian version of the
North sea. incident.
Commentins editorially on the latter
the Novoe Vremya declares it shows it
was not case of panic, nor of the mis-
reading of signals, but of cool calcula-
fion of the time for the arrival of the
torpedo boats after they were sighted
by the Russian transport Kamtchatka.
The Novoe Vremya says the commits
sion will have an opportunity of seeing
the wireless messages on the subject.
-Four points of the Russian case, as
presented simultaneously by special dis
patches from Paris to two papers here,
which bear evidence that they came
Information which reached ViVe
Admiral ROjestvensky as he was leaV-
ing Danish waters showed that sus-
picious vessels were in the North sea,
navigating first under one flag and
then under another.
2-The transport Kamtchatka's re-
port by wireless telegraph some time
before the incident occurred that she
had seen two torpedo boats (the KAN
tchatka being then 30 miles behind the
squadron
3-Later the receipt of a suspicious
wireless message signed t'Kamschatka'
asking for the exact latitude and longi-
tude of the squadron, a message which
1t was afterwards ascertafned was
never sent by the Kamtchatka.
EThen the appearance of two tor
pedo boats alongside the squadron
which could not have been Russian as
all the Russian torpedo boats were
then in the English channel. The
squadron did not fire until the torpedo
boats were seen.
The fact that only seven torpedo
boats are now with the squadron
whereas eight left Libau is explained
by the fact that one of them broke be-
fore the squadron left Danish waters
and was lowed back to Libau by the
Russian icebrea ker Ermack
The reports of British warships fol- |
lowing up the various divisions of the |
Russian squadron are creating intense /
irritation here. The SWEET says:
The shadowing of the Russian
squadron by British cruisers can not |
go on. This game must be stopped and /
the sooner the better"