The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-21
OnI Thirty Per Cent of POpu- IatiOn Remains in Port
 Arthur Since Attack
JAPANESE FLEET IS
 PATROLLING THE COAST
Enormous Consignment of Artillery Is En Route From Russia to Man.
 churla-Prepsring for
 Big Land Attack.

Yinkoy, February 2o.-By means of spe- cial permission from Major General Pfug, viceroy's chief of staff newspaper cor respondent passed the lines under official escort and visited Port Arthur, which is closed to civilians. The correspondent gives the following account of conditions
 Only 30 per cent of the population re- mains at Port Arthur and many of these are leaving. The trains are still crowded with refugees. Railroad conditions are excellent and trains are running on schedule time. There are only few un- finished railroad tracks and one unfinish- ed bridge between Niu Chwang and Port Arthur. The peninsula of Liao Tung is quiet. Adequate guards are maintained at all culverts and bridges and prepara- tions for defense are contoinued. The troops near Kin Chau are active. A strong force is guarding the narrowest part of the peninsula
 Mitigate War Conditions.
 "The authorities have mitigated war conditions at Port Arthur by fixing the prices of foodstuffs. The prices of other commodities however, have advanced. The authorities have taken possession of all food supplies in the stores which were deserted by Chinese and other merchants They are providing for a siege by sen .ns wheat milling machinery to Port Arthur and say there is sufficient food supply there for resistance of two years
 Japanese refugees under the personal supervision of the viceroy and General Blancon are leaving Port Arthur on neu- tral ships.
 Although the harbors on the Liao Tung peninsula have been reopened, the authorities do not expect further ar rivals.
 pThe Japanese fleet which is sighted at intervals from Golden Hill completely controls the coast and under the emper- ors police orders, all incomers are treat ed as spies.
 Repairs to Fleet.
 Repairs to the Russian fleet are pro- ceeding. The cruiser Noviz has been docked, but the condition of the battle ships Czarevitch and Retvizan remains unchanged. Engineers say that the Ret vizan will be fioated in few days
 Captain Stepanoff. who was in com mand of the torpedo transport Yensei (which was reported blown up from acci- dental contact with a mIne), is said to have met a heroic death in trying to savs her crew.
 Shippers are of the opinion that the harbor of Dalny will be unsafe for years to come on account of stray mines from the Yenisei, some of which are reported by the last merchantmen arriving at Port Arthur as drifting in the open sea.
 To Make Simultaneous March.
 When the Tenth regiment is near Kin shau, the Ninth regiment near Liao Chang and the Twelfth regiment near Liao Yang, it Is intended to commence a sim ultaneous march toward the Yalu river.
 While Major General Pfug Is advanc- ing the troops from Mulden to the Yalu, he will at the same time be strengthening his center, and be prepared to defend the railroad and the north Korean bay coast in force The military authorities are thoroughly aware of their unpreparedness to rush achievements.
 "An enormous consignment of artillery is reported to be on the way from Rus sia and 1t is said without hesitation that there were not more than 125,OO0 troops in Manchuria, and at Vladivostock when war began. The administrative authori- ties of Port Aruthur assert that the Jap anese have landed in Korea only.'