The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-03-11

! lead to an explosion. There is every rea-
! son to believe that the japanese authOri-
| ties, backed up by the American and Brit
I ish ministers, have succeeded in giving
| the rulers at the capital a colorado imi-
! tatiOn Of backbone. Reports from China
| indicate that the court is less panic-struck
| now that hostilities have actually broken
| out than was anticipated. 1t is confidently
believed that the pressure which is being
eXerted will result in the Dowager En-
| press and her encourage remaining at Pc
Kin and assisting to maintain order, while
Japan tries issues with Russia
The outlook is most hopeful, far more
so than was anticipated some months ago
at the British admiralty 1t an open
secret that in view Of the defensive al
lance existing between the British and
Japanese governments the British admir-
al. Sir CypTian Bridge, after the most
careful study of the situation reported to
the authorities in London that he was by
no means satisfied with the strength of
the naval force at his disposal This Off
Ger is one of the most erudite students of
strategy and tactics in the BBritish fleet
and his deliberate views could not be ig-
nored even if there had been a desire to
blink facts. At the admiralty there was
no such intention and the position was
carefully reviewed in the light of possible
rather than probable eventualities. One
result Of the passage of dispatches be
tween Admiral Bridge and Whitehall was
an unprecedented assembly in the neigh
borhood of Singapore. Sir Cyprian steam
ed to this rendezvous in his flagship, the
battleship Glory; from Sydney came Vice
Admiral Arthur D. Fashawe. commander
in-chief of the Australian squadron in the
cruiser Royal Arthur. and K ,r-AdmiraI
George l.. Atkinson-Wil commanding
the East Indies squadron, which has been
kept so busy during the Somarland cam
paign also Travelled to this conference.
More can he done in half an hours con-
versation than in months Of correspond
ence-formal, slow and often irritating be
cause he'd tape puts its trammels on the
free exchange of opinion.
The whole question of the practicable
ty Of concentrating these three froces in
case Of emergency was discussed at this
meeting Of the admirals, and a plan of
operations was settled uron on the spot
The three cOmmanders-in-chief discovered.
when they came to assess their resources,
that they had at their disposal very
large lighting force. though the number
of armored ships able to take their place
in the fighting line was less than was
considered desirable. In view Of the
claims of the home fleets. however, the
admiralty We're not in position 10 imme-
diately apply any remedy TO a defect
which would operate only if things came
10 their worst beyond detailing an addi-
tional battleship and an almored cruiser.
Excluding many small ships and a num-
ber of torpedo craft, it was found that
the three squadrons comprised the follow
ing ships:
China RattleshiPs. Glory. AL
hion. Ocean. Vengeance. and Centurion:
aTmored cruisers. Cressy and I.eviathan.
and King Alfred outward bound with re-
lief crews. with orders to remain on the
station until all possibility of danger was
past; protected cruisers Amphitrite.
Blenheim Talbot. Eclipse ThetiS. Sirius.
and Fearless; sloops. Algerine. Espiegle.
Phoenix. Rinaldo. Rosario. and VeStal:
three large gunboats .and eight river
gunboats.
Australian quacron-Armored cruiser.
Euyralus. outward bound To relieve the
protected cruiser Royal Arthur. protected
cruisers Katoomba.. Mlara. Phoebe.
Psyche. Pylades, Ringaroona. and Walla-
roo: sloops, Mutine and Torch; two gun
boats.
East Indian squadron Protected cruis- I
ers Fox. Hyacinth. Perseus. Ponone. Por-
poisa. sloop Merlin; one gunbcat. and a
special service vessel
Compared with the forces which any
other power could concentrate at short
notice in the Yellow Sea or adjacent wa
ters, tho ships flying the Union Jack and 4
the white ensign formed not deSpicsble I
assembly. including as they do nine mod I
ern armored ships cf great power. good .
speed. and conspicuous homogeneity. Four /
Of the battleShips are Of the same class.
and the armored cruisers are sister ships. +
facts which would have an important III
fuence on tactical formations in the event 4
Of their having TO act together
Another source of satisfaction revealed .
By the survey Of the forces in or near the f
theater Of operations was the fact that
next 10 the British forces those of the
United States were the most powerful.
largely exceeding in fighting pcwer the
squadron OF any other nation IN tire Fa-
East Readers are familiar with the
names Of the ships of the stars and
stripes in these waters. but 10 enable com
parison it may be vel 10 set tkem out I
here;
sttleships-Kentueky. Wisconsin. and /
0Esgon.
"Monitors-Monerey and Monsdncok
Protected Cruisers-New Orleans, Al