The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-15
SAD TIMES
 FOR RUSSIA Populace In the Deepest
 Gloom. OFFICIALS STILL HOPE Believe Kuropatkin Has Path
 For Retreat. The Reports From the Battle Indicate That Even Liaoyang is Ex-
 ceeded in VaIor and
OFFICIALS STILL HOPE


 exists in high circles in the Russian Government by no means equals the foreboding of coming disaster per- vaded the general public, which is in- duiging in the deepest pessimism.
 In the absence Of official news, the public is feeding on the widest rumors of defeat reported by General kuropat- kin today
 The. fact that no word regarding the battle has been given out connrms the popular fear. The explanation of- fered that today was holiday does not suffice to ailay the unrest. General Kuropatkins report of the result of the days operations has reached Emperor Nicholas at Tarkoe-Selo. but it had not been returned to the war commits sion which sat only until 9:30 o'clock and adjourned.
 The Czar himself is reported as bit- terly disappointed and spending hours with his cabinet studying out with the help of his military aides, reports of the battle. The general staff, how ever. by no means despairs, though ad- hitting that the tide of the last two days has been against General Kuro- patkin. The general stan says the bat tie is not over and that in any event there Is nothing indicating a rout.
 Willing to Believe the Worst.
 The depressing feature of the situa- lieve the worse Thus reports from tion is that every one is willing to be- Tokio and elsewhere stating that the Japanese are advancing and the Rus sians falling back are accepted with faith based upon the previous Russian retreat. -G
 Many reports a,e current as to the genesis of the forward movement. It Is freely said that General Kuropatkin was forced into taking the offensive by pressure from St. Petersburg. This has been officially denied and as Gen. eral Kuropatkins order to advance was given over his own signature. 1t seems likely that he will have to bear all the responsibility, whether the situation Is of his own making or not.
 Friends of General kuropatkin say the present offensive movement was inspired from St. Petersburg as was doubtless General Stakelberg's move-' ment to the relief of Port Arthur, and that if General Kuropatkin's star has set. others higher than he are respon- sible. At the same time. the supporters of Kuropatkin argue that whatever may be the direct outcome of last days fighting 1t is not likely to be an irre- trievable disaster to the Russian army.
 Left Line For Retreat.
 It is pointed out that even if Gen. eral Kuropatkin was forced to advance against his better judgment, he Is too good a general to have undertaken an aggressive movement which he did not feel strong enough to carry out without leaving a road for retreat, and while the Russian forward movement may be an absolute failure so far as the relief of Port Arthur is concerned, General Kuropatkin may lose many men and some guns and this Is the worst that can happen.
 A., keeping the alignment of his forces. and the dispatches indicate that he Is doing this. and the Japanese do not succeed in breaking up or cutting off any considerable portion of his army, he will not be In much worse position, even if he should be forced to retire to Mukden, than he was before the ad- vance began. The probabilities are that the losses on both sides will be about equal.
 Dispatches from the front give vivid picture of the desperate character of the fighting along the whole line. The Russian plainsmen have been again forced to engage in hill fighting. which is little to their liking. There have been desperate and repeated attacks on almost inaccessible positions, which leave no question of the resolution and gallantry of the Russian forces.
 Fierce Hand to Hand Fight.
 Guns have been captured and recap tured in fierce hand-to-hand fights. while the pitiless downpour of rain. the inevitable accompaniment of a great battle has, flooded the trenches and drenched both armies without al- laying the desperate conflict.
 The latest word directly from the field of battle is a Mukden dispatch to the Associated Press in which 1t is stated that 15,oo0 Russians had been wounded which. together with today's casualties. would make the total prob ably exceed the figures of Liaoyang, and make the fight rank as one of the bloodiest battles in history. A pitiable feature Is the coming of thousands of wounded to Mukden. The roads and fields are covered with crippled men dragging themselves to the shelter of the hospitals, the wounded helping each other, as few able-bodfed men are being spared from the fighting line.
 It must be borne in mind In reading the descriptions by correspondents at the front that some of the phases right in their point of view have already heen discounted by official or later news, but taken as a whole they pre- sent a vivid panorama of the situation st the entire front save at the extreme east where the heaviest Russian at- tack was planned and delivered. From that quarter the news Is less full and satisfactory. though 1t seems unques- tionable that the Russian advance on inc main Japanese position at Bensihu has been checked.