New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-14
THE RUSSIAN DISASTER.

Never before. so far rs we can recall, has a
great nation at war met with so many or such
serious disasters through accident or laundering
| as has Russia thus far in her conflict with
Japan. Her first loss, at the outbreak Of the
war; was due as much TO careessness ana
laundering as TO anything else. Since then
much of our East Asian news has been devoted
to reports Of Russian ships fired upon by Rus
slams through mistake. or damaged by misplaced
Russian mines Now comes n browning and
altogether irreparable disaster. One of the big
battleShips has been destroyed by a Russian
mine that had got adrift. and between 700 and
500 men have been lost with her. Nor is that
the worst of #. Vice-Admiral Makarof, the
commander of the fleet, went down with the
ship. That is the heaviest blow Of all. The
ship may be replaced, in time. Other men may
be drafted TO fill the places Of the hundreds of
the crew. But Makaroffs place cannot be filed.
We have only 10 recall the wretched plight OF
the Port Arthur squadron before his arrival.
and compare that with its performances since,
to realize in a measure his value TO the Russian
Navy and the loss that navy suffers In his
timely death. He was brave man, sktlful
commander and a true patriot, and even the
japanese themselves will regret his fate.
Some weeks ago, in discussing the compara-
tive strength OF the two belligerents, we called
attention 10 the fact that, while the Russians
had a fine navy, there was reason to doubt
whether they were as skilled and as efficient in
the use Of its delicate yet powerful enginery as
were their antagonists Without unkindness,
we may now conclude that our doubt was well
founded Upon no other theory is 1t easy TO ex-
plain the series of disasters which they have
suffered They do not seem TO know how to use
10 advantage or even with safety to themselves,
the powerful ships and munitions with which
they are provided Nor is that to be wondered
at The Russians as q nation have not the
high civilization OF the japanese They have
not the general education. and they have not
the special education in the sciences and the
mechanic arts While they have been building
a great navy, they have not developed a nation
Of expert engineers TO use st They have the
guns, but the men behind the guns are inefficient
II is notorious that target practice, torpedo
practice and similar practical drills, to which
the japanese, like Americans. have paid much
attention have been neglected IN the Russian
navy. while the characteristic slovenliness and
lack Of order and precision OF the Russian peas
antry have too often been observed aboard the
Russian batteships. The lesson Of this agoniz-
ing disaster is that all the engines and ex-
ploslves and mechanical devices in the world
cannot replace the human factor. but must al
ways remain subservient to It The personal
equation is as dominant in the problem OF naval
warfare to-day II was In the days OF Nelson
and Dundonald
Whatever fighting was done yesterday between
the two fleets, and whatever were its results,
the loss of the Petropaulovsk must alone be re-
garded a grave disaster to the Russians. At the
beginning they had seven battleships to Japans
six. The Retvisan and the Czarevitch were
long ago disabled, and the repairs that have
been made upon them have not restored them to
full efficiency The Poltava was said to have
been injured, but may have been fully restored
Now the Petropaulovsk is total loss. There
remain, then at most only four, and perhaps
not more than three, Russian battleships in
complete fighting trim On the other hand, oil
six of the japanese vessels are as sound as
ever, and each one Of them is stronger than any
one of the Russian ships. In such circum-
stances, the task which lies before the gallant
Makarof's successor is not an enviable one