New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-17
TELLING.

The Japapese are following up their victory
at Moukden. Since that tremendous batte
there have been long reports from Russian
sources to the effect that Kuropatkins army
was retreating in good order to Telling and
would be able TO make an effective stand there,
and that the japanese were so worn OUT ana
demoraIized that they were unable to continue
the campaign in any energetic fashion. AT the
same time there was an almost complete and
somewhat suggestive silence on the part Of
the Japanese 1t has been observed all through
this war that silence among the japanese por-
tends some important action. To-day we see
what has been going on behind the screen OF
Japanese silence and Russian loquacity. The
victors at Moukden have pursued their retreat
ing foes northward to Tie Ling and have capt
ured that alleged stronghold We have not sup
posed it to be particularly strong place, ex-
cepting as nature made it so. But if the Rus
SLAMS had succeeded in terrifying it strongly
they evidently defended it weakly, abandoning
If at the first touch from the Japanese
1t is TO be supposed that the Russian army,
or the bulk of it. got through the pass, and is
now somewhere north of it. Kuropatkin re-
ported on Wednesday that his army was trav-
ersing the pass in good order, and yesterday s
news was that hot fighting was IN progress
north of the pass. So the Russians are not yet
surrounded. But the possibility of their main
tanning an orderly retreat and defending them
selves from their pursuers is obviously dimin-
ishing If they could not make stand at Tie
Ling, a place prepared for that purpose, after
only forty-ive miles retreat, it is difficult to
see where they can hope to make stand north
of that pass. No other place has been prepared
for them south of Hardin, nearly three hundred
miles away. Moreover. after losing vast stores
at Monkden, and more, as we are told, at Tie
Ling. they must be getting short OF supplies,
and it is problematic whether they can get what
they want by railroad during their retreat.
There is also the question Of endurance. The
men will become worn out. the Russians proba-
bly much sooner than the Japanese, seeing that
the latter can halt in relays to rest and can
get reinforcements by rail from the coast.
The outlook is, then, that the Russian army
will either be compelled to surrender or will be
broken I'D and scattered in its flight seeking by
such scattering the better to escape the pur-
suers. In either case. as we said the other day,
It will cease to exist as an effective fighting
force. There will then be nothing to prevent
the japanese from pushing on as far as Harbin'
and there cutting off Vladivostok from COM
munieation with Russia and assuring the fail of
that place. For them to do more than that, to
push further into Siberia. would seem to be
dangerous and needless But with the Russian
army IN Manchuria abolished and Russia's com
munication with the Asian Pacific Coast de-
stroyed, they might well consider their aggres'
siye work done and devote themselves there
after to the maintenance of what they had
gained This latest victory at TELLING unmls-
takably indicates the increasing probability or
such an outcome of Oyama's campaign.