Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1905-02-22

closest sympathy and fellowship by the
one purpose that rules the hearts of
all, which is to make the war sue
cess. AL are willing to suffer in the
cause. All are Wiling to make sacri-
ices, and are making them, from Gen.
Nogi, the hero of Port Arthur, who has
lost two sons in the war, down to the
most humble inhabitant.
The supreme ambition Of every SOL
der who leaves home and friends for
the battle front is to die in the thick
OF the fight. and find a grave in Man
churia; and mothers and fathers, aad
brothers and sisters count it mark of
distinction and honor to have lost their
loved ones on the battlefield. This
feeling exists even into the high
er circles. The story is told of the
wife of Gen. Yamamoto that when he
fell in the engagement at Liaoyang and
the news reached his widow, she said
with eyes undimmed by tears and
with a smile upon her face that she
counted it an honor that her husband
had fallen in battle. And this is not
because the Japanese heart lacks af-
fectionate impulses or feels not the loss
of dear ones, but because the heart of
Japan is all wrapped up in the terrible
var.
And to how many, many thousands
has come such qualification. The world
does not yet know, but the numbers
are fast mounting up towards the 100,-
900 mark. The dead thus far have out
numbered the wounded. There have
been some cases of suicide rather than
fall into the hands of the enemy, a no.
table instance being that of Lieut.. Col
Suchi, commander of the transport Hi
tachi Maru," which was sunk by the
Vladivostok feet. Rather than sur
sender he burned the flag and .Kan sui
sided and many others on the ship fol-
lowed his example, and as result all
the troops persisted.
But the sentiment against this an
cient practice is growing, and in some
cases it meets with frank condemna-
ton. The moral idea that life is sa-
cred and that suicide is beated meth
I'd of proving courage or innocence has
gotten hold Of the public mind, and
Japan can never go back to the old
idea and the old practices of self-de-
structfOn.
The care OF the wounded who are
sent back to Japan is admirable, and
the most conspicuous feature at Sen
dai, Osaka. and other large cities are
the temporary tnspitals which have
been erected In some cases they are
so numerous as to appear like whole
villages by themselves. They are
roomy and airy and clean. The usual
size of the buildings is about 40x150
feet, which provides accommodation
for 60 men comfortably. These sheds
are connected with each other by COW
cred passages. The largest group Of
these hospital buildings is at Osaka.
where the old exposition grounds
have been cleared to make room for
them.
It is a splendid. tribute to the medi-
cal and Surgical ski. Of the Japanese
and to ths efficiency of the corps Of
women nurses enrolled in the Red
Cross organization, that there are so
few deaths among the wounded. Fully
80 Fer cent. recover and get back into
battle again. And this is not because
the wounds are slight, for in some
cases they are so CHASTITY that one mar
wells that the injured soldiers lived long
enough to get back home.
The fierce hand-to-hand fighting
which has marked so many Of the en-
gagements has resulted In many bayo-
net wounds, some Of most Egly char
acter. In one instance the bayonet in
piercing the body of captain was bro
ken OF as he fell, but he, by superhu-