The San Francisco call., 1904-11-23
Japanese Hope
to Winter in
Fortress.
Big Siege Guns
Are Not Yet
in Action.
Special Dispstoa to The Call


CHEFU. Nov. 22.-The Chicago Daily
News correspondent with the japanese
amy outside Of Port Arthur sends the
following cablegram:
General KOdsma. cher Of the Jap
anese general STAFF. after a thorough
Inspection OF the operations at Port
Arthur and a conference with General
Nogi, gave the following interview:
You have seen Port Arthur and
may think IL easv 10 take said the
general. But il is a quite difficult
ask
OF course I said, 1t has thirty
powerful forts on which the Russians
have spent ten years engineering; the
mar fural defenses are strong; there is a
Stubborn army Of fighters within,
cleVerly comma nd ed
kOdama stretched out his closed
hard, interruutiny me.
I hold Port Arthur here he said
Where viii you winter about Port
Arthur / asked You are not build
ing barracks ard have only shelter
tents The Malchurian winds bite
bt-erly.
7 shall winter inside. replied the
general I via take the fortress
soon. I hesitate to use my big guns.
tlr fear Of hurting nOn-combatants.'
SITUATION Is NOVEL.
7 cannot say what damage the big
guns VIII do resumed the general.
This is the first time in history that
soast-defense guns have engaged each
other ] brought ours from Japan. The
russians cannot use theirs against
Admiral Togo's fleet and have turned
them landward.
Why do Russians not use their
guns against the feet?'
Eodama, sketching Port Arthur.
with semicircular parallel lines repre-
sen-ng the outer harbor, said:
The outer line shows our mines;
the nner the Russian mines. Our series
~ electric mines is laid counter to
theirs II struck by shells they would
exp 5de and set off the Russian series,
damaging the coast defenses Of the
har'Or. Thus checked by mines and
counter mines. the Russian coast de-
lenses and our navy must remain in
active The Russian fleet is unwilling
no rake the initiative, and so the enemy
has turned not only his coast defense
guns. but even his naval guns, land
ward. In reply % this I brought from
japan our coast defense mortars and
naval guns. You viii see two great
naval equipments lighting on land
PRAISES RUSSIAN FORTS.
In the end I said. is not the boy
DO khaki' the deciding force? Your in
fa9-ry loss thus far has been heavy,
and your infantry must finally take the
trrrress If il is ever taken?'
NO said Kodama. This is a ques-
tLCn Of strategy. tactics and engineer
Ing ] have an army large enough to
take Port Arthur. The enemy has about
90 troops, we have about so 00O-
tLres TO one-a sufficient force even
o0lsidering their defenses. It would be
impossible TO use more men. The out
come now depends on ammunition and
geueralship.
our blockade is perfect. The Rus
sian forts are well built on the Belgian
model. The general location Of the forts
also is similar to that Of Belgian forts.
They are iron-plated toward the sea;
tCvard land there are only earthworks.
with some masonry and a little con-
crete. A clever engineer designed them.
We find them absolutely changed since
The China war. when we took Port Ar
thur in one day Then one fort. Etz-
shan. was the key 10 the whole posi-
tiofS once that had been taken all the
others fell Now we cannot say that
any single fort is the key. All are so
arranged that we must take them in
detail The capture OF one means only
the capture Of that individual fort, not
a series. as formerly. Study as we