Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-11
STOESSEL'S DEFENSE
REsENTS CRITICISMS FOR SUR
RENDERING PORT ARTHUR.
Held Military Glory Beneath Con-
science-Graphic Description OF the
Conditions Before Capitulation.

The French steamship Australen. whose
arrival at Alden, Arabia, yesterday was
chronicled in The Star. carried among her
other passengers Lieutenant General Stoes-
sci, seven other generals. two admirals, lSs
minor officers and 143 artillerymen. former
Iy of the Port Arthur garrison.
Mime. Stoessel, who accompanies her nus
band, has with her six orphans whom she
has adopted. They are children OF ofhcers
who fell at Port Arthur.
Communication between the Australian
and the shore is not allowed on account of
a recrudescence of the plague there, caus-
ing fifty deaths daily. Thanks. however. to
the isolation of rocky island, on which
there is a plague hospital the correspond
ent of the Paris Matin and Philadelphia
Public Ledger visited the vessel. He was
received most graciously by General Stoes-
sci and General Reiss, his chief OF stan,
who acted as interpreter.
Held Out to Last Minute.
They said it was a sad thing to return
vanquished. but they were conscious or
having done their entire duty in holding
the fortress as long as they did. They could
not have held Port Arthur. at the most,
for four days longer. The munitions and
food supplies had been almost exhausted.
There remained only 5000 loaded shells and
100000 cartridges, which were powerless
against the Japanese eleven-inch guns,
which rained their fire upon the Russian
front.
"In the garrison" said General Stoessel,
there We're 10000 men. of whom $4,000
were in hospital and 4.0OO were noncombat-
ants. OF those remaining 5000 were al
flicted with scurvy and were obliged to
fight seated or lying down in the trenches
Half a Pound of Meat a Week.
For several months" said General Stoes-
sci, "the troops received six and two-thirds
ounces of horse meat each week. All the
food was prepared with machine oil.
After September, the ony ships which
succeeded in running the blockade were
the steamship King Arthur. commanded
by French captain, and three junks. All
brought -four
THE last news We received from the
outside world was on September 20, when
a telegram from General kuropatkin said
he would come to relieve us in three
months. We received no more news OF the
feet under Vice Admiral Rojestvensky.
High Hill. the Last Straw.
"The desperate state of the garrison and
the physical and technical exhaustion of
the fleet were followed by the capture OF
High Mountain Metre HID, which re-
suited in the enemy taking away our prin-
cipal means of resistance
1.-The three months having passed and
no news of the fleet under Vice Admiral
Rojestvensky having been received, the
situation became desperate. The garrison
being exhausted and the fleet, whose pres
ervation had been the principal reason for
resistance having been destroyed after the
capture of High Mountain, I considered
that any further prolongation of the strug-
gle would inevitably lead to frightful car
mage.
Great Name or Clear Conscience.
General Stoessel added that he decided
on the capitulation on his own authority
ard without consulting any one. He con-
Guided by saying:
1.-THE Tsar and my peers will judge
whether l should have prolonged the siege,
or, by a heroic criminal act, have blown
up the fortress. / prefer less great name
in military annals to having 10000 lives
on my conscience"