The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-11

fighting vigorously and steadily and ap- parently uninjured. The newspapers here publish extra editions containing news of the battle and produced the first popular demonstration of the war. Flags were raised everywhere. and ex- cited crowds thronged the streets. Later in the day came a cablegram from Paris saying that Vieeroy Alexieff had report ed to St. Petersburg that the Russian ships had been injured by torpedo at tack.
 Berlin, Feb. 1O.-The naval men here were doing little else at the admiralty department to-day than talking about the Japanese Russian engagements and the deductions to be drawn therefrom. ! One conviction was that Japan had ac- quired such superiority that her com mand of the state practically results. The unwillingness of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to leave the protection of the shore batteries enables Japan, in the opinion of the naval expert here. to conduct her landing operations unmo- tested. It is believed Port Arthur will be invested on the land side as quickly as possible.
 One of the Japanese objects in engag- ! ing the forts, it was further pointed out. was, doubtless. to draw the Rus sian fire and locate the guns on shore That the Japanese ships withdrew was not regarded as indicating losses. A contrast is also made between the conditions of Japanese and Russian ships. All the former were docked with in six weeks and every bit of internal apparatus was in perfect order and tuned up for action. while some of the Russian vessels, it was added, had not been docked for year.
 Which way did Japan's new cruisers, the Nisshin and Kasaga, go after leav- l ing Singapore is one of the subjects for speculation on the part of the German officers, the favorite view being that they sailed westward so as to lie in the course of the Russian troopships bound eastward, one and possibly two of which were beyond Alden, sailing east ward, before the hostilities began. l Although the two new Japenese cruisers are far from completely equip ped, they might be an even match for ] the Russian armored cruiser Dimitri Donskoi and her accompanying torpedo
 boats.
 The breaking of the Manchurian rail- [ road at one or several points far vest ward of Harbin is expected. as the Jap anese working in Manchuria are thor oughly familiar with the topography and are likely to have been prepared to act, only waiting for the announcement that the war had begun. Japanese agents, it is further asserted here,
 probably have already arranged with
 bands of Chinese marauders to break the railroad line and to try to keep it
 broken.
 Expert opinion here expects that
 Japan will strike a fresh blow every day.
 The German mails for the east are
 now forwarded by way of New York
 London Feb. 10.-The Japanese min lister here, viscount Hayashi, has re- ceived official confirmation from Tokip of the destruction at Chemulpo yester- day of the Russian first class cruiser Variag and the gunboat Korietz
 The official dispatch from Tolsio, re- ceived by Minister Hayashi, reads as follows:
 "On Monday Japanese squadron es- ! corting transports met on the way to Chemflpo, Corea, the Russian gunboat Korietz, as the latter was coming out of 1 port. The Korietz took up an offensive 1 attitude towards the Japanese vessels and fired on the Japanese torpedo boats. The latter discharged two tor Ipedoes ineffectively, and then the Ko- rietz returned to her anchorage in the port.
 Early in the morning of Tuesday Admiral Urik, commanding the Japan l csc squadron, formally called on the
 Russian warships to leave Chemulpo
 before noon. The admiral added that if l his demand was not complied with he l would be compelled to attack them in the harbor. The two Russian warships l left the port at about 11:S0 a. nl., and a battle ensued outside the Polynesian 1 Islands.
 After about an hours engagement I the Russian warships sought refuge
 among the islands. Towards the even- ing the Russian cruiser Variag sank, and at about a. m. to-day, February l 10, the Korietz was reported also to have sunk after having been blown up.
 The officers and men of the two sunken
 vessels sought refuge on the French
 cruiser Pascal. There were no casual 1 ties on the Japanese side.'' l The Russian squadron, consisting of l the armored cruiser Dimitri Donskoi, 1 the cruiser Aurora and six torpedo boat destroyers, sailed January 22 from Suez 1 for the Far East. One Russian tor
 pedo-boat destroyer, which was disa- l bled, remained at Suez.
 GEAR PROMOTES MIDSHIPMEN.