The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-17
Chief Strapp ought to be able to find
means to larrup the fire fiend.
EXCUSES ARRIVE

EXCUSES ARRIVE
The war correspondent always acts
according Ito his kind, and member
of the Russian species is telling the
world now exactly why it all happened
He has whole lot of excellent rea-
sons for the Russian disaster. 1t is at
tributed to the reckless giving, out of
war news, and at the same time it is
asserted that the subordinate COM
manders in the Russian army did not
know the plans of their chiefs and had
to obey orders blindly. The Russian
intelligence department is reported as
defective. the leaders have no good
maps Of the country, the sympathy of
the Chinese has been alienated, and so
the list goes on. 1t is always easy to
tell why disaster happened after the
are the common outcrop Of misfortune.
The outside observer, looking at the
situation as a whole and knowing de-
tails only as they bear, upon general
conditions. will not be at great loss to
penetrate the causes of Kuropatkin's
memorable disaster. 1t is not too
much TO say, indeed. that this was
confidently anticipated by every well
informed watcher in the world. The
events of the war up to the date of the
battle of Mukden had brought out suf-
ficiently both Russias military quail
ties and her state. of military prepara-
ton to make the event foregone con-
clusion. This judgment necessarily in
cluded all the field operations OF the
war and covers its ultimate event.
So far Russia has not developed
military genius. We hardly think it
likely that this marks characteristic
race defect but rather belongs to the
Russian system. Still it is a strange
omission. The most absolute mon
arches as well as the freest republics
have developed great commanders.
Now nothing is more certain than that
no general ever had better raw ma
terial to work with than Kuropatkin
and the others The Russian common
soldier has proved himself the equal in
courage and in endurance to any man
in the world. He may lack initiative
INx,f la ir oh
patient under the severest sufferings
and privations and ready to fight to
the last ditch. There is no army in the
world that would have offered a more
stubborn or bloodier resistance to the
fierce onset Of the Japanese than they
met at Liaoyang and at Mukden.
The Russian generals appear con-
spicuously deficient in knowledge of
modern warfare. Their operations have
typified Russia as a whole. The army
has been great, powerful, inert mass;
enormously strong on the defensive. but
apparently as incapable of effective ag-
gressive movements as an OK would
be against gnat. Even more notice
able than the wonderful dash, per-
sistence and almost fanatical bravery
of the Japanese is the proficiency of
their commanders. The campaign has
been studied out beforehand with the
accuracy Of a game Of chess This is
modern warfare. At no time, on the
other hand, did any Russian general
appear to have developed an original
plan of battle, to have effected any
move that surprised his opponent. or
to have exhibited the slightest genius
except on the defensive. This reliance
| upon mere brute strength might have
answered a few centuries ago, but to-
day it insures failure.
The whole conduct of the war brings
into brightest relief the intellectual SUI
periority OF the Japanese 1t is there
that their actual victories have been
won. They have overlooked nothing.
They have not failed to profit by their
most trif1ing experience. When the
history of this war is written. il viii
stand conspicuous above all the con-
tests of modern times in the scrupulous
exactness Of its detail and the almost
omniscience with which the infinitely
numerous particulars of warfare have
been planned in advance and skilIfuliy
] put into execution. In a military sense
Russia is still asleep. Along that line
her talent is not developed. She has
relied upon her vast bulk. The repulse
of Napoleon was achieved by passive
resistance. In her war with Turkey
she displayed the same qualities as
now-enormous bravery, great capac-
| ity for suffering and logged persist
ence- She has never produced gem
eral or war minister with the-eapae
lty to plan an original CAMPAIGN. or tn