The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-22
WEAK SPOTS IN
JAPANS WARFARE
Continued from First Page.

The waterways, such as the Liao river,
were of enormous benefit to the Japan
ese and were used absolutely at the
top notch of efficiency. But, unfor-
tunately for the islanders, the water
ways were few and far between, and
when the war closed they had reached
the last point where the Liao was Of
value to them. After that they would
have been dependent on their own carts
and the line Of the railroad.
Trouble with Land Transport.
The Japanese cart is very small, car
rying between 800 and 1000 pounds of
supplies, ammunition or what not. Each
his entire time to keeping the pony
from charging about and mixing up
with his equally atrocious playmates.
In other armies four horses driven by
one man pull an average weight of a
ton apiece. With the japanese one horse
attended by one man pulls less than
half ton and makes terrible disturb
auce in doing that bit of work. The
result has been that it took weeks and
months for the Japanese to make a
move. After they had made one ad-
vance they waited for long periods un,
til the thousands Of tiny carts could
bring up food and ammunition for an
other advance. This was a grave weak
army can strike quickly and effectively
unless it can keep it's baggage and sup
ply train always in touch with it.
The last great weakness to be men
| toned is the railroad, which, from an
American point of view, is about the
| worst built and worst operated bit of
line that one ever saw. In the first
place, the grades are inexcusably heavy
| for Manchuria is not a difficult rail
road country. However, the Russians
not the Japanese, are responsible fol
this. Then the steel is light, being not
over forty-eight pounds, and the con
japanese have changed the Rusisar
fve-foot gage to suit the toy equipment
| of their narrow-gage imperial railroaC
| system in Japan. And here lies the
greatest Of ali their troubles. For how
can they expect to do a man S work
with a child's size railroad?
Railroading in Manchuria.
The cars are absurd little creations
which hold six tons apiece and the en-
gines are built to haul twenty to thirty
of these little cars at time. The ne
result is that the line is blocked will
dozens Of these absurd little trains
which all together carry less than il
carried by one good-sized American
train. A single American locomotiy'
weighs over one hundred tons and pull
forty cars each with a load of ,fft,
1 tons, or total pull of over two thou
sand tons, or nearly twenty times wha
one Japanese engine hauls.
The disadvantages that the Japan
ese have had to face because Of thes
conditions are excusable. but the poo
operation even of these small train
to an outsider seems bit beyond eS
cuse. The poor, wheeling little en-
gines are not responsible for their fee
bleness, but surely some one is re
sponsible for the fact that hours an
hours elapse at every siding. The dis
tance from Mukden to Telling is fort
miles. / have made the trip four time
and never in less than four and a hal
) to FIVE solid hours, perhaps two 0
which were spent on sidings waitin
for another train down the line whic
was waiting for its schedule time t
come around before it moved on to tn
next station.
: The Japanese, like the entire east, al
parently fail to realize the value 9
| time. They are better than the ChiI
ese, who figure by days and week
| The Japanese have got down to hour
] but they have a lot to learn befor
they can operate railroads on Anne,
, lean lines where the unit of time is nc
weeks, days or hours, but minutes an
: seconds. Stanley Washburn.