Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-04-05
WAR Two MONTHSOLD
PROGRESS or THE CONFLICT Be.
TWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN.
Strict Censorship Makes II Difficult
Matter tor Correspondents TO Get Ac-
curate News TO Outside World -BIs-

curate News TO Outside World
patches Received AraeCnntradi ctory.
The world knows about as little OF
what has been done or is going on in
the war area Of the far East as if the
telegraph We're not yet invented. The
war correspondents seem to have been
bottled mp and do not know what the
belligerents are doing. and they are not
permitted 70 tell the little they may hap
pen to find out. Therefore they amuse
themselves and confuse the readers of
newspapers with rumors and guesSes. In
place of news and facts. the newspaper.
readers Of all the world are fed with idle
gossip and the more or less absurd the
cries of self-advertised experts on the
conduct of operations of which they are
absolutely ignorant.
Tuesday morning. we are told. at vast
expense of cable tolls, Admiral Togo's
fleet, consisting of fifteen big ships and
eight torpedo boats, advanced upon Port
Arthur. which the admiral had captured
on the previous Sunday, and bombarded
it. Why Admiral Togo did this is not
explained. Nor are we informed how
i was that the Russians regained pos
session of the city. Yet they must have
recaptured it. for we are notified that
on Monday they evacuated Port Arthur,
first having surrounded it with land and
sea mines and kerosened all the build
ings, coal and stores.
At the same time the Russians. as is
stated by the correspondents, are rush
ing large quantities of supplies to Port
Arthur. As the japanese have captur-
ed the town it is certainly very polite
of the Russians to supply them so boun-
tiully with food Meanwhile. the Rus
slams. having evacuated Port Arthur af-
ter having recaptured it and driven out
the Japs. have had time, in mining the
harbor. to recover fifteen japanese tor
peloes from which the Japanese, i'll
their pardonable excitement, forgot to
withdraw the safety plugs. This new
ertheesS, has not prevented the Jap
aneSe, as we learn from the London
Times correspondent at Toxic, from
blockading the entrance to Port Arthur.
The tidings from Vladivostok are no
less interesting The harbor is blocked
with ice. and the Russian squadron.
which left the other day for the purpose
of directing a junction with the Russian
feet blocked ut Port Arthur, is frozen
up there. This seems peculiar. III view
of the fact that the Nladivostok feet has
sailed to intercept at a certain point in
the Pacific the battleship and two cruis-
erS bought by Japan from Chilli which
reached Japan two weeks ago and par
ticipated il the bombardment of Fort
Arthur ON Tuesday morning. But we
m
Two Mouths of War.
The Russo-Japanese war has been i'll
progress for two months. SO far as can
be gathered from the meager dispatches
the operations of the war have been
limited to the naval attacks Oh Fort
Arthur and Nladivostok. On land there
has been no engagement more serious
than picket sllirmish. There have been
no reconnaissance in force, no maneuv-
ers of the opposing armies; there has
been no unmasking on either side. In
eight weeks there has been no war on
land. the generals on both sides giving
all their attention to the mobilization of
forces.
In the several bombardments of Port
Arthur Russia has met with considera-
had little influence in shaping the course
of the campaign on land Undoubtedly
Russia has been put at a disadvantage
on the sea front of the theater of war
by tho Gripping of her fleet, but this has
not prevented the massing of troops on
strategic lines. and it is now reported
that the mobilization of the Manchurian
army is complete On the japanese side
there must be the same degree of COM
pleteness in preparations for advance.
This does not mean that a general en-
gagement will be fought until the Jap
anese conI sander feels that his army is
strong enough to force a battle. Then
will come the real test of strength.
1t is not known to what extent the
Russian fleet has been crippled. but the
japanese admit that it is still strong
enough to give them great uneasiness.
Japan. with nearly all of its available
military force IL Korea, must retain con-
troll of the sea to win, or in case of
defeat to save it's army from destruction,
whereas Russia can conduct great land
campaigns and permit its fleet to remain
OF the defensive.
AS the main issue of the war turns
on the occupation and control of terri
tory, whatever the fleets may do, the
decisive battle or battles will be fought
on the land. not on the sea.
The strict news censorship is painful
to press associations and publishers, who
have sent squads of high-salaried CORE
spondents TO the war, and very annoy
ing to the public. yet it must be owned
that the japanese have shown rare good
Judgment in keeping their military move
ments concealed from the reporters and
from their enemy. A censorship that
cannot be beaten by the ingenuity of a
whole battalion of American newspaper
men is a corruscating triumph of admin
istrative efficiency and executive ability.