The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-01-10
EXPECTS QUICK
NAVAL VICTORY
OVER RUSSIANS
British Officer Thinks
japanese Have De-
cided Advantage.
HAVE THEIR OWN DOCKS
While Cars Ships Must
Needs Be Heavily lmped-
ed by BarnacleS.

LONDON. Jan. 9.-In discussing the
rumor that the Russian Port Arthur
squadron and the japanese arrnored
cruiser fleet are likely to come into col
ision at any time now. an officer in the
British navy who has recently returned
fiom Hongkong, declares the advantage
viii be entirely with the Japanese. He
said:
Il fail to see what the Russian feet
can do. Vessels foul fast in those
waters. Even TO save a week or ten
days, anchorage in Hongkong Harbor.
the mail boats are sent up the Canton
River to whampoa. where they lie in
. fresh water and the weeds and barnacIes
drop or to n certain extent; at any
rate they do not accumulate. 1 once
jouraeyed from .Hokodate to Yokohama
in a Japanese steamer which had such
an immense accumulation of barnacles
that a man could walk around the out
SIDE OF the ship on those projections.
Docks of Their Own.
This WAS supposed TO be a thirteen
knot boat but with every stitch OF
canvas set and a full head OF steam, six
knots was the best obtainable. of
course, this was before the Japanese
had built docks of their own. What,
then, must be the condition of the Rus
sian battleships and cruisers, for which
no docks are available?
Certainly the ships that have made
the long voyage out must not only re-
Quire docking. but in all probability ex-
tensive refitting and repairs as well. The
Russian feet. under such circumstances.
cannot venture far from It's base, and
then only I'm full force. liable>fo an at
tack by an enemy that can easily sail
around 1t.
An Enormous Advantage
Then again. the Japanese possess an
enormous advantage in the inland sea.
which forms their Panama Canal
Their fast boats can reconnoiter from
either end. intercept. and capture coll
liers. and transports. as well as locate
any foul-bottomed Russian man of war
Thus. while the Russians cannot navi-
gate their own waters speedily. the
Japanese can maneuver freely and
choose their own time and place OF at
tack. well knowing that the longer they
put matters on the worse II will be
for the fast-fouling Russian vessels"
The Russian fleet In the Far East will
be REINFORCED at once by the Smolensk
St. Petersburg. Tambow. 6ebastopol.
and Vladimir now at Odessa. and which
today received rush orders 20 prepare 20
sail.
esq., Liberation a Myth.
II anything could open the eyes OF
those who believe that the mission OF
Russia In the Far East Is one OF liber-
alton. the treatment accorded to the
unfortunate Armenians who have passed
from the frying pan into the fire should
enlighten them. When England desired
20 introduce reforms into TurkIsh-Ar-
menia. Russia. backed by France and
Germany. cynically refused 10 permit
any change. and England promptly
backed down
The Armenians who fed across the
border 10 Russia met with a hostile re-
ception at the hands OF Prince Gelitzin
The unhappy people were prosecuted
with the utmost rfgor. and their church
was plundered. II was not until the
Gar paid his visit 20 Darmstadt that
the condition OF the unfortunates could
be brought TO his attention. and he or
dered that the persecution be stopped
II was. for time. but the reports that
are slowly altering out Of the country
now indicate that the prosecutions have
been renewed with even more severity
than at first.