Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-01-05
PORT ARTHUR suRRENDERs.

,
& After a defense Of an untenable po-
sition which will go into history as one
of the greatest events Of any war, Cen
ress Of Port Arthur, the Gibralter Of
the orient. to the Japanese army under
Gen. Nogi. After 240 days and
nights of battle and siege, days Of
horror and nights Of fear, capitula-
ton has finally proved the alternative
to which Stoessel had to turn. He
shows himself true soldier and a
general cognizant Of his duty to the
men in his command when he volun-
Ytarily surrenders rather than suffer a
terrific defeat which could not be
prevented and must result not only In
unconditional surrender but in ter
ribls loss Of life.
The surrender of Port Arthur is a
great victory for the Japanese, but It
Is dearly bought. Just how many
thousands of men have laid down their
lives that the mikado might have this
new years gift will probably never be
known. The Russian loss has in
sciuded almost the entire Russian gar
rison that defended the fortress when
the Japanese first began their attacks
with the view Of dislodging the enemy.
The whole world breathes more
easily now that Port Arthur has fall
len. Whether Russian or Japanese
sympathizer, the observer of the wars
events is glad to hear the news which
comes officially from Toxic today. So
great had been the fear that Japanese
victory would only be after a veritable
massacre that 1t is relief to all to
learn that Stoessel. in spite of his
boasts that he would never surrender,
has seen the wisdom Of refusing
longer to stand out against fate and
now saves his life and the lives Of
his handful Of loyal followers by Of
fering to turn over the fort to the
Japanese.
The capture Of Port Arthur, however.
does not mean that Japan has won
the war and that the fighting is all
over. On the contrary, the mikado's
men now face what is probably the
hardest proposition they have had
since the far began. When the fleets
that are now hurrying toward each
Formosa, every broadside that is
fired will help to determine the final
outcome of the great struggle. If
Japan wins in the fight with Rojest-
vensky, then the capture of Port
Arthur will be an advantage to the
little brown men and they will have
taken a long step toward final, deci-
sive and complete victory over the
cars armies. If the Russians win
In the naval battle, however, hey will
be free to harass the coasts Of Japan
with their fleet and to attack Port
Arthur at frequent intervals and with
enough force to compel japan to keep
large force there instead Of the small
garrison that will be sufficient II
Russia has no fleet in oriental seas.
The war, has arrived at juncture
now where both sides are counting
their men with great deal of interest
and concern. Japan has been draw.
ing on her reserves for some time and
although the supply is not yet ex-
hausted the mikado is able to see that
the time Is coming when he will be
short Of fighters. The car faces a
much more serious problem in the con
ditions in Russia. There he must keep
as great an army as he has in Man
churia, for the task of keeping the PEG
pie from open rebellion in Russia is as
hard a one as that Of defeating the
Japanese. Already there have been
several riots caused by the refusal Of
the reserves to go to the front and
hundreds on hundreds of Russian Jews
are fleeing from the country every day
rather than serve in the army Of the
car they hate
When the winter is past the devel
opments of the war viii become more
Interesting than ever before Unless
the European nations interfere, and II
is a pretty safe prediction that they
will, the spring campaign will center
around Mukden. Here is the only place
the Russians have ever been able to
make a stand that counted against the
oncomfng Japanese and the world will
watch with great interest for the out
come of the campaign.
But there is always the question OF