The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-01
MIGHTY FORCE OF
JAPAN IN FIELD
Continued from First Page.

Continued from First Page.
sistance'' The result of all this is that
neither side can take the offensive without
the sentries being warned Of the move
ment at least a full day before the ad-
vance can possibly be in a position to
attack the resistance line proper. BY
that time the soldiers have all been hur-
ried forward from the villages, the ar
whcR a % sca IT, aBont fof nes
the rear will be pushed forward and by
the time the armies are actually In
touch with each other this skeleton Of
a defense which we see today will be a
real and vital line of battle.
Country Is Beautiful.
The country Immediately north is
broken and rough, somewhat resembling
Montana, but after the Liao river is
crossed where it bends west and north
the hills break and there stretches away
! and away in all directions one Of the
most beautiful and fertile plains that
the eye Of man ever gazed upon Flat
country thru which flows the blue Dan
| ube. for miles the eye sweeps over green
fields thickly set with groves of will
| low, elm and tamarand, while waving
| fields Of corn and millet make very
garden of-nthe country. ~
The immediate neighborhood of the
river is thickly studded with Chinese
villages and the homes of small Chinese
| farmers, now nearly all occupied by
the Japanese. Across the fields in all
| directions are the roads built and main
tanned by the army. Bridges have been
thrown across the river in many places
Telephone lines strung on bamboo poles
stretch across the plain. At every vii
lage one sees signs Of the Japanese ad-
vance. First and foremost thoro
scheme of drainage and sanitation has
been carried out. Deep bitches line
the roads on both sides. Culverts.
grades and new bridges have turned
these erstwhile wretched apologies for
highways into roads that in many places
one mi ght lay steel for railroad with
perfect safety.
Supply System Is Perfect.
Along the roads drag long lines Of
Japanese transport carts, ever moving
up to the advance positions and head
quarters with supplies for the army.
In each village is substation where
food, ammunition and supplies of all
kinds have been accumulated for the
troops in the immediate neighborhood,
In the larger towns are larger depots
for divisional supplies, and as we 90
back we find the corps supplies Once
an action is started on the resistance
line the wonderful machine moves
. simultaneously and with the mechanical
accuracy OF a great printing press;
ly and certainly. Forty, fifty, hun
dred miles in the rear ammunition
stored away for the battle begins to
move slowly forward toe replace that
now stored in the villages ahead, and
day by day as the supplies on the spot
become exhausted fresh materials come
tainty that paper is fed into. a press.
If the fight wakes hot the machine
moves fast and the supplies move for
ward quickly; If it lags, the machine
, moves slowly. At no time is there con-
; fusion or complication. All is arranged,
, and whether the battle starts today,
next month or next year, every part of
the machine will perform it's prear-
ranged function.
Japanese Are Patriotic.
If there ever was people who car
ry their country with them, it is Ger
, tainly these same Japanese In thei1
idle hours the soldiers build Japanese
, gardens. Small artificial lakes are due
/ and bordered with stones. Little BAN
boo bridges are constructed and thu
quaint Japanese lanterns of stone are
, placed about in the garden made from
s the flat. stones picked up by the sol
diers in the country about.
t In one Of these gardens the soldiers
! of the company had built summe,
; house after the kind seen in japan
Lattice work was covered with greens
and iris blossoms made of paper were
strung on strings and dangled over
head. Indeed, in some of these places
d it is impossible to realize that one /.
h in Manchuria and not back in pictur
/ esque Japan.
Men Adore the Officers.
In all the villages of evenings thu
4 soldiers play about in the streets like
\ schoolboys. In groups Of five and si1
) they play at games, leapfrog, STANDING
\ on their hands and heads, and ever
\ sort Of horseplay conceivable Thei
/ officers 90 among them in the wa,
h which makes their relation to thei
men unique in the armies Of the world
3 When he appears, every soldier is a
A once on his feet and at rigid tatten
tion," with his hand at salute. Thel
n invariably comes the soft-spoken wor,
\ from the officer, and the military as
pect fades from the soldiers faces an,
y they crowd about him, laughing an,
telling him their troubles. The othe
4 night walked thru the main stree
4 Of one of these villages with coupl
h of officers.
\ During the walk we passed, I sup
4 pose, fifty soldiers, and there wa
scarcely one that went his way wiithou
I a Joke or a pleasant word from his su
perior. The result, is that WheneTe