New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-19
NOTES ON THE WAR.

Reports come TO hand Of Russian movements
at the east and OF japanese movements at the
west side Of the Of war Song-Chin.
which the Russians are said to have entered on
Saturday night, is on the east coast of Corea,
about hundred and twenty miles below the
Tumen River Peuk-Chong. which they are said
to have reached on Sunday. is eighty miles fur
Their down the coast. and only eighty miles north
of won-San, the chief port that side Of the
peninsula. II these reports are true, the mean
ing of the movement may confidently be
guessed. In the first place we may be pretty
sure there are few. if any, Japanese warships
off that coast. They have all gone around 10
help Admiral Togo finish up his Job at Port
Arthur. and the Russians are taking advantage
Of their absence. Again. il is only a small de-
tachment OF Cossacks that has invaded Corea.
The largest number mentioned is five thousand
That Is, of course, too small force for serious
fighting. though II may be effective fer skirmish-
ing. cutting lines and the like. 1t seems to be
aiming toward Won-San. But at Won-San
there is a much superior Japanese force and
that place is the eastern end of the line Of forti
ications which the Japanese have constructed
across the peninsula at its narrowest point, the
other end being near Chin-Am-PO and in touch
with the japanese army on the Yalu. We may
assume, then, that the object OF the Russians
IS to create a diversion IN their favor from
whatever may be occurring or impending on the
Yalu. If they can frighten or drive the Jap
anese to send reinforcements to Won-San. and
up the east coast. by just so much Will the Jap
anese forces on the Yalu be weakened. We
may add. however, that il will be well TO await
further confirmation before fully accepting these
reports.
Such dellberation in believing news Of start
ling occurrences has been desirable from the
beginning of this war. If all the tales of enter
prising-euphemsm for acknowledgement"
correspondents had been accepted at face value
we should have had to believe that more Rus
sian ships had been sunk than there were in the
,,-bn Rnc No md hat atf eac
tremendous battles had drenched Corea and
ManchuTia with blood and had caused the Yau
and the Lao to run red with gore. The present
report Of 4 big japanese expedition to Ying-
Kow may be true. If so. it differs radically
from a long series of predecessors couched in
almost Identical terms every one of which is
now seen to have been baseless The may
he said of stories Of heavy lighting on the Yalu.
The fact is there has not been one single land
battle yet In the war.
Those who are impatient for the fighting to
begin, and who wonder why Russia has not yet
annihilated Japan. or Japan destroyed the Mus
covite colossus. viii do well to bear i'm mind the
extent of the theatre in which the drama is be-
ing enacted. Remember that from Port Arthur
to Vladvostok is nearly 100 miles. Even from
Port Arthur TO the mouth of the Yalu is two
hundred miles Corea is nearly as large as ali
w-England and New-York State put together
and is about twenty times as difficult to travel
IN as the worst part Of the worst OF these States
where the gospel Of good roads has not been
preached.
The fact IS that rapid campaigns are likely TO
be unsatisfactory, II not disastrous. campaigns
The British who undertook holiday promenade
to Pretoria" can testify to that So can those
who remember the ION TO Richmondw impet-
uosity OF 1861. Theirs was of opinion that Ma
poleon failed I'm his Moscow campaign because
Of his haste. He strove to achieve the whole
stupendous task at single blow. when he
should have done 1t with successive blows-es-
tablishing himself on the Vistula in one cam
paign. on the Nemen in the next and so on.
II would be little short of miraculous If either
Japan Russia able TO overthrow the
other IN one short campaign. For the Japanese
TO undertake march TO Hardin In the first few
weeks OF the war would have been madness.