Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-09
Can kuropatkin Retret?

nave broken out at SmOleHSk, IHluule
Russia.
Can kuropatkin Retret?
st. Petersburg, March 9.-The great
question now and the one over which
the general staff burned it's lights late
into the night, is whether Field Mar
shall Oyama has entangled the Russians
in his strategic net sufficiently to pre-
vent a successful retreat to Tie pass.
General Rennenkampff's force to the
eastward admittedly is in great danger
Of being cut off and considerable
force of Japanese appear to be oper-
ating on the Russian right well toward
Tie pass.
If the Japanese succeed in reaching
the railroad and interrupting traffic,
if only for a few hours, it may have the
greatest consequences for General kur-
opatkin, who is now engaged in a literal
race with the Japanese to reach nat
urally defensible position forty miles
northward. Thus far, he has stood of
all attacks directed against the TANKS
of his army and holds the way OF re-
treat open. He undoubtedly was forc-
ed to abandon number OF siege guns
on his Shakhe river position, but If he
succeeds in turning over the army In
tact, with the principal portion of its
artillery train, to his successor, the
Russian case will be by no means des-
perate, for Oyama will again have
missed his quarry, and comparative
ly barren victory will have been pur-
chased at enormous cost of life.
All reports indicate that the jap
anese were utterly reckless OF sacrl-
fees, making attack after attack es-
pecially on the center and westward.
against machine guns and infantry fire,
which literally moved down the ad-
yancing columns, making human flesh
so cheap that the survivors could sta
ton themselves behind piles of corpses.
Kuropatkin's Head Must Go.
After this action Gen. kuropatkin's 8
deposition may be regarded as GER
tain. War Minister Sakharoff is pick
ed as his probable successor; tho
Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevitch OF
the board Of strategists. may be IN
trusted with the direction of affairs.
A strong faction Of the army, those
high in influence about the emperor,
opposed Gen. Kuropatkin from the first
and tho his early defeats We're con-
doned, because it was realized that
Gen. Kuropatkin was doing all that
man could do with the tools at his
command, it is now felt that after
twice havine had the opportunity to
show what he could do with power
full army, and having failed to accom-
plish victory either tirne, his removal
is advisable. A high military official
said last night that the emperor had
had enough of a general whose inter-
pretation of a victory was successful
retreat; that Fabian tactics are well
enough in their way, but that kuro-
patkins went beyond Fabius and neg
lected to take account Of favorable
opportunities for counter strokes
Friends of Gen. Kuropatkin, however,
say that no general is apt to do as well
as he has done, and declare that his
removal may mean, as in the American
civil war, the exchange of a Hood for
Johnston.
Will Revive Peace Talk.
The news of retreat on Tie pass
is bound to revive talk Of peace, tho,
if Field Marshal Oyama has failed to
crush Gen. Kuropatkin, peace is no
more imperative now than it was last
month. Peace advocates point out as
a significant fact the departure
of Vice Admiral Rojestvensky's squad
ron from Madagascar for Jibutil sim
ultaneously with the loss Of the bat
tie Of Mukden, and intimate that per-
haps the recall of the fleet may have
been adopted in view of the latter
event. The movement on the other
hand, may be in pursuance OF plan
for junction between Rojestvensky
and the reinforcing squadron, prepar-
atory to giving battle to Admiral
Togo's fleet. The peace movement
admittedly, has strong feeling, even
in the ministry, but it cannot be stated
now whether the defeat at Mukden has
been effective enough to turn the
scale. No decision can be taken, at
least. until the extent of the reverse is
known.
More important still, however, is the
effect on the internal affairs of Rus
sia.
Defeat is not unwelcome to the
liberals, who argue that the graver the
governments difficulties the greater
the extent of the reforms which it may
be forced to concede. At the present
crisis the project of the reform rescript
of March 3 has not been worked out,
altho it has been the subject Of much
deliberation. A commission is yet to
be appointed, and whereas yesterday
the idea was to have a purely CONSUL
tative body, meeting separately ac-
cording to estates, the existing con-
ditions of affairs may force the COM
mission to propose long steps toward
a more influential body possessing the
initiative in legislation. The strange
spectacle is thus presented of men
who claim to be patriotic Russians re-
joicing over the defeat of their country
ON foreign battlefields.
The revolutionists probably use the
defeat as a pretext to renew demon
strations against the war.
Fire in Royal Palace.
Berlin, March 8. = Fire broke out