The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-10-22
bers. This is an important office and
voters should carefully consider the
merits of the men seeking it.
THE EASTERN STRUGGLE.

papers in this country, who were
largely instrumental in bringing on the
present war, are silenced by the APP
palling loss of life. Nothing like the
rate of fatality which this war has
shown up to date has been shown by
any previous conflict. The nearest
approach to it was when Napoleon in
his great battles turned his imperial
guards first upon one section and then
upon another of the enemy. Always
hitherto wars have been characterized
by a series of maneuvers planned and
executed by the commanders of the
opposing forces, and the result of a
campaign was often determined like a
game of chess by these maneuvers.
In this struggle not only is the high
est military genius found upon each
side, but the troops are instructed to
win or die. There is a peculiar fatal
ity which pervades the rank and file
of both the Russian and the Japanese
forces which renders their bravery
more reckless and needless than that
bravery which characterizes European
peoples. The thought Of death has
absolutely no deterring effect either
upon the Russian or the Japanese
character, to them no higher glory can
come than that Of dying in battle for
their Gar or their Mikado. Those
Americans who in the early days of
the present struggle unthinkingly fol-
lowed the Anglo Japanese press Of
this country in giving their sympathy
to the Japanese, have probably by this
time come to the conclusion that they
We're sadly mistaken. 1t is apparent
now that the present struggle is war
practically of determination. 1t ought
to have been evident to any thinking
person, before the war commenced that
in no case could the japanese hope to
conquer the great Russian Empire
| Whether or not the Russians will be
able to conquer the Japanese is an
other question depending entirely upon
the ability of the Russians to trans
port troops and supplies. Whatever
may be the final outcome of the war
it is now certain that it will be many
moons before that result is reached.
The Russian is simply displaying the
! same characteristics in this war which
he has shown for hundreds of years.
The same indomitable courage, stolid
stubbornness and accomplishing perse-
verance. Those who best know the
| Russian character predicted that the
japanese would have all the best of
the struggle in the beginning. They
have learned that the Russian charac-
ter requires time to think and move.
But it is this very characteristic which
will prolong the present war, and
| which will give Port Arthur to the
Japanese only when the Russians are
dead or starving in the trenches.
Throughout the history of Europe
the Russians have proven themselves
the best soldiers behind entertainments
which the world has ever shown. They
are showing the same thing today at
| Port Arthur, where Gen. Stoessel's
little band has already defended that
| fortress many months longer than it
was expected to stand, against an
army many times it's superior in num-
Der. At the opening of the campaign
! against Port Arthur the Japanese adj
vanced with remarkable rapidly; one
place after another the Russians
slowly and sullenly retreated from, I'M
til the final walls of the fortress We're
reached. Here the Muskovite stands
in his trenches and repells tens of
thousands of the enemy with frightful
slaughter. The siege of Port Arthur
will go down in history as one of the
many famous sieges in the world, like
Sebastopol and Plevna, where the Rus
slams also showed their staying quail
| tiles.
\ We were told at the commencement
of hostilities that the Russians would
not be able to operate their Trans
Siberian Railway. We were assured
that it was a poorly built tram-way in
the construction of which the Rus
sian government had been defrauded
out of many millions of dollars, and
we have since learned that this rail-
way is constantly bringing REINFORCE
ments to Kuropatkin and supplies to
his immense army. Not only that, but
since the war commenced the Russians
have actually constructed the loop
around the south shore Of Lake Baikal.
This is one of the greatest feats in en-
cheering and railroad construction
that the world has ever known. This
portion Of the great Siberian railway
is about $50 miles in length, contains
more than thirty tunnels and eX-
tends between the shore of the lake
and the over-hanging mountains over
, places which few years ago it was
considered impossible to march troops,
let alone building a railroad. The con-
struction of this loop around the south
shore of Baikal has doubled the trans
portation facilities of the Trans Siber-
ian railroad. 1t is claimed that this
loop will handle ten trains per day of
thirty cars each. The best that could
be done on the steamer Baikal, when