The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-10-05
HOW TO FEED HIS ARMY?
The Problem for Kuroki to Solve.
as he Marches MorthWard---
Crops not Totally Des-
trcyed in the Area
Over which Two
Armies Fierce
Iy Fought.

Gen. Kuroki's Headquarters il the
Field, Undated, via Tien Tsin, Sep
tember 30.-(Evening. THE most in
terestine military problem at present
is how large a Russian army the rail
way can support in Manchuria. While
the army is south of Harbin, almost
all the necessary food supplies can be
obtained in the country, but the
farther north it goes the more it must
depend on the railway, while. at the
same time the Japanese will gain an
advantage by having an increased area
to draw from.
The richest section of Manchuria is
the country of wEich Liao Yang is the
principal market, and the crops ID
that section in this season are unus-
ually large. Merchants who are ac-
quainted with the country, believe
that if Gen. Kuropatkin should re-
treat to Harbin he must then bring
nearly every pound of food by means
of the railway, especially as this
years crop in the Sungari Valley has
proved failure. Beside this, every
horse for the Russian commander
must be brought over the railway.
II winter campaigning is attempted,
on which point there is much specula
tion, it Will become increasingly diff
cult after December, because the
ground freezes to so great a depth as
to render intrenching operations al
most impossible.
The organization Of the japanese
army continues to be as efficient as it
has been since the beginning of the
campaign. Most of the troops were
equipped with winter clothing when
the first cold weather and snow arriv-
ed, and khaki has been replaced by
heavier material with remarkable
quickness.
The railway will be operated to Liao
Yang within a week and through
trains will be running to the front
from Dalny and New Chwang.
The harvesting is progressing slowly
in the fields in front of the japanese
army, and to the southward: Thou
sands of Chinese are employed as
teamsters and coolies by the japanese
army. There is, therefore, great
scarcity of labor, and as result many
of the crops are neglected.
The thick millet, which has been a
great factor in the movements OF both
armies has nearly all been reaped
and there is now little more than
plains.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press rode from Llao Yang to New
Chwang and found that surprisingly
little damage had been done to the
grain, considering that two great
armies had fought over the country,
while with the exception of a few
buildings which had beer burned IN
the Russian settlement at Liao Yang,
there were small evidences Of destruc
tion. The territory is far from being
as devastated as might naturally have
been expected.
The reports which charge the Japa-
nese troop with looting at Liao Yang
were greatly exaggerated. Some OF
the soldiers who first entered Lao
Yang, finding plenty to drink, helped
themselves and did some looting Of
small articles from the shops, but the
conduct of the japanese army as a
whole throughout the campaign in re-
spectipg property has been irreproach-
able. The looting done at Liao Yang
was insignificant, and compared with
the looting at Tien Tsin and Pekin by
foreign troops in 1900, it is not wor-
thy of mention"
Conditions at Mukden are bad.
There are thiry thousand refugees
there without resources anoH IL the
deepest poverty.