New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-03
NOTES OF THE WAR.

~, ,o..,, d,snatcbez contradict the former
,oros NJ a large Russian army nearing PmS-
w., We are told that there are l,4cO Rus
s,ors st CbOng-Ju forty miles south OF TIE
Yalu; five hundred at Ku-SOns. ten mics
further on. and hfty at An-Ju. seventy-hFe
miles from the Yalu and about forty-hve miles
northwest OF Ping-Yang. OF course. these may
he a mere mask for much larger bodies Ihere
Is also q report that 200 japanese have been
landed at Chiung-Chan- That - the hoFln ..
,n,ost rCr+ on the east coast OF COrea, aDout
sixty miles south Of the Tumen lslIeI gnu
ninety miles south OF PossIet GaS, ress1t a
ports of so small bodies or TROOPS PIg Ieit -
striking contrast 70 recent stories which dedlt ~
NO drures less than myriads. ConsideTlnS tHe
DrobabIe condition 81 roads In Corea AT lhls lIi--
- 49, n ts not unlikely that The later ana
smaller figures are the more truthful
Nv the middle Of this month all the ports on
the western coast Of Corea and on the Lao
Tong Peninsula should he free from Ice or SO
nearly free as to permit easy navigation The
..o7t,- ~ y1adivostok and the northeastern
r,a~ts Of Corea will come a week or two later
~ the general Japanese tnyasion or CortA en- y,
Manchuria has not occurred before ~ nm
NAV surely be expected then. th"ush - ~
vee-s more will be needed to put the roadS HUI
anything like decent condition
There is a plausible theory that the japanese
have been landing myriads Of soldiers not
directly
difficulty OF reaching those ice-bound coasts. but
unon such Islands "a the Blonde and Elliot
sroros Landing upon those islands would De
easv. and could be kept secret; and then. wn .I
the ice breaks up, the troops couId DS sPeVL,-S
rushed across the short distance 10 the mann
land.
Great activity Is said 20 prevail IN Russian
shipyards on the Baltic There is need OF II II
,bera f. 70 be fulflment OF the promise 10 seEd
eli
snrtnr At presen. the only first class battle
sb,n available IS the Osliabia, which recently
,,,-,o5 bacl from the Red Sea. The fine Alex
o,5a~ III concerning which va were specu-
la,ing not long ago. "a finished. but not YET
ready for service" which means It has been put
into commission and then sent back TO the oocAS
,or some alterations There are two more bat
tIeshlps nearly finished. but how soon they az
lie got ready IL unknown there are - n. -
NDe prot ected cruisers nearing complexion buU
an these would make feet OF only Tour Dll.lT
ships and three cruisers when couII ga - -
49, 20 match the japanese fleet rs Tor tns
dozen other vessels at Cronstadt. they arc olu
and slow. and would realIy Dc Hlo'7 VI III "
cunbrance than an aid
vice-Adrnirai Makharofr. who has been sent
n command the Russian naval forces IN last
Asian waters. was the inventor OF the Ice
breaking boat Yernak. with which ne De4leNTu
II would be possible to reach the North Pole Dy
eating passageway through the Ice n9ss' re re
has long been an advocate Of small swift VA
ebin~ and many Of them, rather thah Il rev
gfont battleships The admirable work done oy
the small cruiser Novik az Foi' <I'i'u' s1
TO confirm his theory.
4 81. Petersburg dispatch by way Of Vienna
10 '"The London Times" estimates that by March
90 the Russian forces IN Eastern Asia VIII az
gregnts 177.OOO men, including 25OOO railroad
guards This It is assumed VIII be the limit OF
endorsements until summer. because the rail-
road cannot carry provisions and supplies for
an army of more than 10000 That Is DIS
couracingIy small estimate OF Russia's poten-
t,aI,tv in land warfare. but It Is not surprising
and It Is not UNIQUE. The high German military
authority. presumably not unfriendly to Russia.
the "Niuitar wochenbIatt." OF Berlin. upon the
basis OF a wealth OF detailed Information. hS-
ures that the Russians had ten days ago IN all
ManchurIa and Corea only 15S.T61 men and
for field use-2JG guns The japanese. II Is es-
ttr,ated at the same time had 1GJSS4 men and
7O2 guns. Between the two armies. in number
OF men, there was thus little difference. but the
japanese superiority I'm artillery was simply
overwhelming Worse STILL however the "Wo-
chenblatt" estimates that IN the most favorable
circumstances. with the Siberian railroad en-
trelv given I'D to military uses. and with no
brealdOvns or blockades. II would be possible
I'm the first eight weeks 81 the war for Russia
to put not more than 5000 additional men
into the field II by the first week Of April
there are not more than 2}J.ODO Russian soldiers
at the scene Of war. there viii be danger or
Japanese control OF the land as complete as OF
the sea.
While a good deaf has been heard about tor
nedo boats and torpedo boat destrOyers In the
war. and some OF those vessels have done e.
fective work and others have been lost. the
great majority of the mosquito feet has not
figured In the news. At the opening OF the war
the Russians had about sixty torpedo boats and
thirty destroyers while the japanese had about
the same number OF boats. but not more than
twenty destroycrs. We may assume that most
of the japanese boats are at home. guarding
tie coasts and ports against possible attacks
OF Russian cruisers But what has become OF
the ninety Russians IL seems scarcely pos
sibIc that many are in port at NladivOstoS
and Port Arthur: yet there arc few other places
of refuge for them.