The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-23

|s(5H:|s n . lAilOlNl'il). N5A. sun
known 10 tier profession. loc,lted huiists.
dressed wounds. and rescued from denth
thousands ~ soldiers who would have
aled ,'ndeit the system Of surgery prGvnls
lent forty years agns lilo Japanese. hospl-
tal CORPS Is ~ marvellous organizations. pnd
have not vet hsurd u nplc complaint
Regarding tts e fiieicncy, OF failure to give
first n!h To Tic wounded,
lNCRi!.t SEES HEIR NAVY. 5$
THE salna IS t,ne of8thc NAVY Jupan's
programme nf naval expansion Tor the past
ten Wears. liecessitattng largely Increased
hnrGFnsynt ta&ntion. has been nbundantly
v'ndcnted, 3eing an ins,,lar nation. she.
must have sea- power. or IN a few Years
Slic VIII have no power, 'rhc coast Of
Japan is divided into nvc naval districts,
cacl, With u l,rst.ciuss modern naval
station. The. one al kure IN the Inland
sen. I have hnd tile pleasure Of Visiting
twice recently. nnd listening to the aW-
rul din OF Its hammers which uever cease
day or night The amount Of work they
arc carrying On is astonishing. There is
another station nj sss0bc.E in the harhor,
OF Nngnsaki, nnd IN tile hnrbor OF Nag
sssnki there ale immense shlpyurds where
10000 ton vessels are being constructed,
and work OH these nlnnstci wnr craft Is
being pushed day and nlsht. ] learn
from official sources TINT Japan has pur-
cnnscd IN America 400 tons Of nrnor
plate forsiimmeaihte use. which VIII pc
brought to her naval stations aud put on
Tho sides Of tile great bnttlcshps now
being constructed, @
a well-informcd writer referring to the
character Of Japan's navy and the type
OF her vessels nnkcs this interesting OBJ
serwation: THE main idea prevailing III
their selection Ethe defense of tho nation.
al interests by OFFENSIVE operations against
the cncmys fleet. thu, at no great dis
lance from the base OF operations ht
home" Hence the whrshps Of japan
have no excessive space for coal burkelH,
but moro room for guns and reserve am
muniton.
One fact, by tho way, has been much
commented on during this war Jnpnns
largest battlesh:ps have had comparative
little dangerous service Most Of the hard
fighting has been done BY torpedo boats
and dcstroyers limo case have the hNt-
tleships been much nearer than two miles
from the enemy. The reason for this Is
the absolute necessity Of Inpan holding
control OF the seas ANY undue or nnwisc
exposure Of hertbig ships and their sub.
sequcnt disablcment would have given
Russia an immense advantage. Had 1t
been possible for the Baltic fleet to come
at once to these waters after war was
declaredtthe history OF the last six months
would have been differently written. Now,
however It seems too late.
SAW THE JAPANESE FLEET. NJ
Crossing the yellow Sea n few days ago
on the German mail steamer Gniesenau
when about 40 miles from Shanghai the
captain on, the bridge remarked tosscveral
of us below thnt&thc Japanece fleet was
off to the left. Weahad been watching the
smoke and wondering what was below
those tunnels TheEnews quickly spread
around the deck. and soon every man had
a field glass TO his eyes trying to make /
out the movcn ents #of those monstcrs.|
There were two large nttleships and two
destroyers. hut whittier bound and on
what helligercnt intent, we could only
conjecture. Quite q fleet has been hover
ing near Shanghai ever since the Askol6
and Gromovni took Arofuse4in that sharl1or
after the Port Arthur battle. sThevs are
waiting 'kc&watchdogs to pounce down
on the Russian vessels il an$attempt IS L
made to gain the open sea-
The Blue Jacket" spirit in Japan hns
received great accentuntion since the war
began, especially since the rlliant VIC /
tories OF Admirals Togo and Kamimara.
Heretofore /. the army has been more
popular. Now there is equal eacerness
for assignment to he navy. Everybody
In japan has reioiced in the success of
Admira kamimara in sinking the Rurik.
and running the other Vladivostock ships !
back to port IIe was being severely
criticised hecause OF the transports that L
were sunk and the escape OF the Vladivo-
stok squadron. But since his recent VIC
tories he has become a national hero. and
shares with Admiral Togo the special
favor of His Imperial Majesty.
Recent events at the front have no. L
effected the final result. II Is
&i,o ~ = srrtE t<,I
any cessation OF hostilitics until she has
recovered her former military
prestige by drawing her enemy into
the interior. and waiting for. the SHOWS Of
winter, she hopes to turn the tide Of
battle in her favor. This IS merely my
humble conjecture, but the same view
seems to prevail among those with whom
I5have discussed the subject, and who are
we'll acquainted with Russian cha ctcci,
and Russian policy In the east.
WEARING HERSELF OUT.
Y Ny own opinion IS confirmed with eafh
new day in these lands that II the war
continues much longer Japan Will be
the grea test sufferer. She Will exhaust
herself whipping the Russians as sen;
Joe Wheeler. I believe 1t was. remarked
concerning the Lost Cause We we're
not whipped. we simply wore ourselves
out licking the Yankees.
Japan's chief asset IS he ardent pa TRIO
tism and un1r.ng LOYALTY of her people.
they will suffer anything for The ma ton.
hit their resources ltayc Admit, even |,
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