Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17
RESULTS OF THE WAR
Advantage Has Been in Favor
Of Japan
CLOSING THE CAMPAIGN
PRESENT BATTLE PROBABLY THE
LAST OF THE SEASON.
Soon the Weather and Heavy SHOWS
Will Make Impossible the Move
ment Of Troops.
CLOSING Thee CAMPAIGN
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

L
By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
| Written for The Evening Star and the Chicago
| Record Herald.
The battle now raging around.Mukden is
| probably the last of the season. and will
| close the campaign of 1904. In a few weeks
| the weather and the heavy SHOWS will make
the movement Of troops impossible, and
| both armies will be compelled to go into
| winter quarters. When Port Arthur falls,
| as it must fall sooner or later, the Japa-
nese will have accomplished their purpose,
as 1t was explained to me in Tokyo last
| summer by Gen. Baron Kodama, chief of
the general staff, who Is now serving IS
chief of staff to Field Marshal Oyama in
| command of the Japanese forces in Man
churia. Kodama has been the genius Of
the war. While the plan of campaign was
| not In any sense the work of a single in
| dividual, but the result of continuous con-
| ferences and suggestions from many
sources. he has been the central figure, the
| man who has worked over the suggestions,
| harmonized them and put them In practical
shape.
Port Arthur Must Fall.
Japan has accomplished all that she ex-
y
| ably more, although Port Arthur has held
| out much longer than anybody believed to
be possible. General Kodama told me In
the most matter-of-fact way that they had
decided to carry it by assault instead Of by
SIEGE and that they were prepared to sacrf-
flee twenty-five thousand lives in that eff
fort. He spoke as coolly as if he were talk
ing about the lives of insects instead of the
lives of men. At that time the Japanese
expected to capture the citadel about the
4th of July, and he suggested that the peo
pie of the United States might consider it
compliment if the japanese celebrated
! our national anniversary in that manner
Military experts are convinced that many
more than twenty-five thousand brave
Japanese soldiers have already been sacri-
| feed in the siege. and probably nearly as
| many Russians. But the latter cannot hold
out much longer The most reliable reports
represent them to be short of both food and
ammunition, and the desperate efforts or
| the Russian authorities and sympathizers
to break through the blockade indicate
that the situation of the garrison is critical.
1t has received a great deal of supplies
from Chinese junks which have managed
to elude the vigilance of the blockadlng
| fleet but they are no longer getting
| through and the end is near. When PORT
Arthur falls the Japanese will control the
entire Liaotung peninsula and the Korean
empire.
The Japanese Plan.
| The japanese plan has been to drive the
Russian army through the Tingling pass IN
the mountains north of Mukden, and then
fortify their position so that they may be
able to hold it against any force the Rus
slams may hereafter bring. They cannot
very well go beyond the pass. If they cross
the mountains their position would be In
secure and difficult to defend, ana the cos.
and difficulty OF Transporting suppies "ouio
be doubled.
The mountains are natural boundary
and the pass can be easily fortified ana
defended They would not be more than
half way to Hardin which is the junction
of the Manchuria branch with the main
line of the Great Siberian railroad That Is
at least 200 miles north from Mukden, anu
Mukden is at least 400 miles south from
the Russian frontier 1t would be impos-
sible for the Japanese to drive the RUSSIAN
| army that distance, and the desert OF Moi
| golia lies between Mukden and the siberian
| frontier.
The winter will be spent by the Russians
| in massng troops and supplies at Hardin.
| The Siberian railroad can be Kept open al
| most continuously during the winter anu
| can handle an average of 1900 men week
under the most favorable circumstances.
| But it is not to be expected that this maxi
mum can be kept up during the winter
months in that climate. If they are able 10
transport $500 even 1000 men week
| the Russians will be very fortunate.
Advantage of the japanese.
| in geographical conditions because their
sources of supply are SO much nearer ana
| convenient Everything the Russians use,
| the forage for their horses, the ammuni-
| ton for their guns, all of their food ana
| euuipage all material for repairs, must
| be br ought across the widest part or the
| entire continent of Asia. a distance much
| greater than that from New York to san
| Francisco. Hence the cost Of sustaining
u IN
portatton alone is at least $40 for every Fl
| that is spent by the Japanese. In addition
| to this 1t costs at least ten times as much
| to maintain the Russian army as the Jap
| anese army and the drain upon the Rus
| sian treasury is enormous. This is vital
| question. and has an important bearing
| upon the result and consequences OF the
! war
The Russian War Chest.
| In 1902 it was believed by the leading
fnanciers of Europe that the Russian war
chest contained about $1,000 900 in gold,
which had been accommodating for several
| wears to meet any emergency that might
| arise The autocratic organization of the
Russian government permits it's officials to
| conceal their expenditures from the public,
anS therefore, no one knows how much of
| this fund has been used, but the general
| imp ession is that it has been nearly ex-
hauSted.
This conclusion is reached by adding the
extraordinary expenditures for war puf-
poses to the ordinary expenses Of the gov
| ernment There has been enormous in,
| crease of taxation during the last year and
| the burden upon the people is now as much
| as they can endure. The ordinary expen-
| ditures of Russia during the year 1902, as
| reported by the Statesmens Year Book.
! were 2187 ia, 676 roubles, which Is equiva-
| lent to 81. 45O, 100000. The estimates for
| 1904 were about the same. but the actual
| expenditures for this year must be several
| hundred million dollars greater, and the
| difference must have been supplied from
| the permanent war chest, because there
| has been no corresponding increase Of reve-5
nueS.
The national debt OF Russia on the LIST OF
| January, 1902. was 6.430. 651 .O61 roubles, or
| approximately 81, 2S7, 100, 7OS. and the an
| nual interest charge was 290, 266, 1886 rou-.
| bles or approximately $193. $40, 800.
Russian Expenditure.
| The ordinary cost of supporting the Rus
| sian army and navy in time Of peace 10
| 675, 600 roubles year. and in time OF
| war this sum must be at least doubled. or
approximately $3.50, OOO, 900. This is consld-
| cred by military experts as very modest
| estimate. and 1t will increase rapidly as
| the war continues. In other words. the
Russians can not continue the war without