Omaha daily bee., 1905-11-30
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. DEFEATED
Desperate Battle Between Fleet and Forts
at sebsstOpol Wednesday Afternoon,
SAILORS BARRACKS CARRIED BY STORM
ships Controlled by the RevOlu-
tionists Are Either sunk or Sur
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. TeIe-
graphers strike.

ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 2s.-sebastopol
was today the scene Of a desperate battle
between the mutinous sailors and the troops
in the forts on shore.
During the battle the town and the forts
were bombapded by the guns Of the cruiser
| Otchakon, Which lies a burning wreck of
Admiralty Point. Its hull riddled with shells
and it's Haunting red ensign OF revolution
| hauled down.
Many of the crew OF. the otchakoH were
killed or wounded.
! According TO one report the barracks of
| the mutineers we're carried by storm after
! the mutinops feet, which is said to have
numbered ten vessels, had surrendered and
| the whole position is now In the hands OF
| the troops under the command of General
| Nepleun. The Associated Press however,
is unable TO guarantee the correctness OF
| this report.
| Owing TO the importation of the telegraph,
| details are difficult to obtain. but as the
| Associated Press is authoritatively informed
| by the naval general stan tonight, the
battle was begun by the troops on shore
who opened fire on the Otchakoff, which
was defiantly displaying the red nag.
The comma nder of the Otchakoff Lieu
tenant Schmidt, Immediately accepted the
challenge, replying with both batteries, one
| trained on the town and the other on the
| fort.
Captain Zilotti, aide de camp to Admiral
Wirenius, chief of the naval general staff,
, informed the Associated Press that the lat
est dispatches received from Sebastopol
| showed that the Otchahoff was on fire and
badly riddled. with its revolutionary colors
| hauled down, but he was unable to give
more definite information.
| Battle Begins at O'clock.
According to a more detailed report re-
ceived from another source and purporting
| to come from the Admiralty, the battle
| began at 3 o'clock this afternoon when
Lieutenant Schmidt. not receiving a reply
! to the demands of the mutineers, opened
, fire from fleet OF ten ships, to which the
northern batteries at Fort Alexand ar
! tillery posted on the shore and several yes
sells which remained loyal replied.
| Dtring the naval battle the sailors on
shore, ehtrenched in the barracks. defended
| their position with machine, guns and rifles
against the attacking infantry. After an
engagement lasting two and half hours,
with the Otchakoff riddled and on fire and
the cruiser Dnieper and another vessel
sunk. Lieutenant Schmidt who had been
badly wounded, surrendered the entire
| squadron. The mutlnous sailors on shore
surrendered to the Brest and Bieistok
| regiments
According TO this report the Panteleimon
! formerly the Kniaz Potemkine) was in
| Jured below the water line and torpedo
boat is ashore on the rocks.
The demands OF the mutineers are said 10
; have included, besides the fifteen proposals
dealing with service conditions the convo-
cation Of a constituent assembly and the
complete realization of the liberties prom
ised by the imperial manifesto.
Telegraph Operators strike.
ST. PETERSBURG, Nov eli D. m.-
The operators OF the St. Petersburg tele-
graphs have decided TO strike at midnight.
II is not know whether communication
can be maintained, as most of the military
! operators were arrested yesterday for sedi-
ton and as the cable operators, though
they are foreigners, may be inundated
into leaving their keys The line to Fin
land is still working.
The situation has again suddenly grown
exceedingly grave The Russian capital
Is cut on from telegraphic eommunicat lion
with the interior. The Pam Russian strike
OF telegraph operators declared yesterday
has gone into operation and the work.
mems council is celebrating whether to
! declare a general political strike through
out, Russia tomorrow. predicating this on
the unwarranted arrest Of the members of
the peasants congress az Moscow, and
also calling on the people 20 compel the
employers at st. Petersburg who locked
cut 1000 men to open their doors.
The telegraph strike draws an impenetra-
Die curtain between the capital and the
provinces which in such a crisis renders
hA 49, ~
perate as instant and constant touch with
the military and local authorities In the
d, Interior is imperative. II the telegraph
strike can be maintained the government
will be compelled to grope blindly in the
dark. The employees of the Offices here
have not vet struck, but they are ex-
peeted to walk out today.
Only two lines are working outside of
St. Petersburg.
Telephone messages from Moscow, which
are nomentarily expected to stop say that
the operators on the Siberian lines and
ON all the lines south. north and cas-.
OF MOSCOW have struck. Communication
with Sebastopol and Odessa has ceased.
The operators on the lines throughout the
Baltic provinces have also struck.
The telegraphers' strike is the direct out
growth of the governments circular pro-
hibittng telegraph operators from Joining
union, which prohibition Is attributed 20
N. Durnovo, minister OF the interior, for
whose removal from once the radicals are
vigorously working The minister recently
summarily discharged the leaders of the
Moscow union and yesterday their col
leagues sent twelve-hour ultimatum to
d. Durnovo and Premier witte demanding
the reinstatement Of the dismissed men
and the withdrawal OF the obnoxious cir.
cular No ansWeF beine forthcor,sr.. =,
the specified time, the. strike was declared