The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-06-24
DISASTER FOR THE RUSSIANS.
European Critics Now Regard vafan
cow as Almost Comoarahle to Sedan.

gov as Almost Comparable to Sedan.
London. June 23.--Special dispatches
from Lao Yang that General
htropatkin is personally superintend-
ing preparations for a new development
n fighting is reported south of Kin
Chou. where he is at present presum-
ably with the main Russian army. This.
is the view of the Daily Telegraph, that
, gaay mean hat "~kuropatkin, like a
desperate gambler. feels tina nothing
remains to him but TO stake all upon
the last Wild fling of the IRON dice"
h Telegraph takes what may be
considered an extreme View. saying:
w can no longer doubt that one UNI
pardonable and irreparable mistake has
gulf of disaster. With further light
thrown upon the battle of Vafangow
this morning, General Stakelberg's de-
feat proves to have been ruinous in
its character as that of the Yalu, and
more thar likely to be as fatal in its
Impending consequences.
From General Oku's dispatches to
Toxic, there is every reason to believe
that the Russian losses in last weeks
fighting, counting the killed and
wounded and prisoners. amounted to no
les than 10000 men, about a quarter
I w tAANAA NONli AoihG iCllSdStd.
Bigger Fight Impending.
ut is hard to avoid the conviction
that the greater part of Stakelberg's
lacerated forces will never again join
hands with Kuropatkin, and the ques-
ton is whether their fate Is not already
f~oresi1adowed by fighting on ever a
wider and bloodier scale than that of
~Nafangow, which is reported to be rag
ing around Kai Ping.
:A11 tha rroha hilitjac o,o frof ;p ~,
japanese are able to strike hard and
strike swift in this. as in all previous
emergencies. he result of the second
and more terrible catastrophe will leave
kuropatSin too weak to hold his pres
ent base, n an attempted retreat to
Hardin may come before the fall of
Port Arthur.
"Sut whether General Kuroki and the
first Japanese army will not nave closed
Upon the Russian real in the meantime
is another and very momentous ques-
ton. Mo Tien pass may be turned and
seized at any moment.
"A distinguished French military
critic, Very friendly TO Russia, has been
deploring k~uropatkin's action in COM
hitting the crudest of all st~rategical
blunders in making up a large army
into small pockets and inviting the
Japanese to pocket them in detail.
The situation in Manchuria contains
all the conditions of the most rigid mil
itary collapse since Jena. when, after
the Russian defeat, the garrisons and
fortresseS in all directions fell of them
selves INTO the conqueror's hands.
Gen. k%uropatkin's position. In a
word. is like that of n man who de-
liberately undermines the f%ounaation
of his w house and continues living
in the third story"
Expect Big Engagement.
st. Petersburg, June 21.-Dispatches
from Lilac Yang confirm the report
transmitted yesterday as to the prob
ability of a big engagement in the i'm
mediate future arising from the jana
nese desire to cut off Stakelberg's re-
treat.
Much irritation is expressed here
concerning the fact that during the
'ecent engagement at Vafangow the
Chinese gave signals which enabled
the Japanese to locate the positions Of
the masked Russian batteries.
Vice Admiral Skrydloff's clever es-
cape from contact with Admiral Kam-
imura eXcites the widest enthusiasm
mere and increases the belief that the
bulldog of the Russian navy" will
dispose of more Japanese transports in
| triumphant sally.
The Japanese burned the Russian
supplies in the station at Vafangow.
they pursued a train which was escap-
ng and bombarded the Russians with
'hrapnel.
Gen. G%erngross lost 2,0sS rank and
lie aud eighty-seven officers.