Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-04-03

.
, and to continue to fignt until the ei
, emy is DESTROYED or captured or YOU
squadron is sunk. No vessel of YOU
command is to be permitted to strik
her flag or to escape capture by iigh
Unless the japanese can be driven OF
the sea the war must be brought 4
) an end II is your duty to dastro
} japanese sea power and you must d.
} that; You must either destroy Japai
} or be yourself destroyed in the al
, tempt"
} Those members of the par part,
} who are trying to induce tne czar Il
) issue an order like this 10 Admira
Rojestvensky, but have not yet sue
ceeded, say that, although the war II
being fought on land. the war was wor
by Japan the moment the Russian.
lost command of the sea. and that il
Will remain lost to Russia unless the
sea supremacy of Japan can be de
stroyed. Rojestvenskys fleet, the
war party points out, so long as IL re
mains in the Indian ocean is no more
menace To Japan than is the Black
sea fleet, locked up in an inland sea
! by the fiat of the powers But there
Is chance-a desperate chance. il is
admitted, but still chance-taat Ro-
lestvensky might be able to strike a
blow that would destroy the eauili-
hrlum. Japan without navy is al
Russia mercy. A lucky shot. a tor
pedo fired az a venture. a mine drop
ped at random might put Japanese
tatlieship out of action The odds
re long enough to make them attract
I'VE TO a gambler Rojestvenslly must
be sent to his doom. If ne can de
stroy or badly cripple his enemy Rus
sia may save her face and make bet
Ter terms of peace; If Rojestvensky
and his men are sent to Join Makarofl
and the unnamed dead of Port Ar.
thur. II makes no difference to the
Grand ducal war party. who in their
intense cynicism philosopnically say
that Russia can be no worse OFF with
out a fleet than she is with one that
hres only on unarmed fishermen and
is afraid to meet the enemy.
On the other hand. the men who
sntlalons with Japan with the least
possible delay point out that to send
Rojestvensky to inevitable destruc-
ton Is the crowning act OF folly. The
leet Will be destroyed they feel Ger
thin of that, because they know that
unframed and badly disciplined crews
whose officers are without experience.
tnn t.t.
Togo, and there are naval men who
believe that Togo Is as great "A strate-
glst on the water as Oyama is on the
land. The more Russias power Is
broken, the less able sne is to carry
on the struggle. the greater will be
Japan's demands when she comes to
impose terms of peace. tne members
of the peace party point out to the
car, and therefore they urge that the
cheapest and best thing for Russia
to do is TO bring the war to an end at
once: to acknowledge that she has
failed and 10 pay the price Of defeat.
1t is for the czar TO decide, and that
unhappy man has no power of decis-
ion.
All the dispatches from st. Peters
burg and from other sources inspired
by Russia, emphasize the stubborn de
termination of Russia to refuse to pay
an indemnity to Japan. Exactly why
RUSSIA imagines that she is to escape
without the payment of an indemnity
no one in Washington understands.
7 he fundamental rule of every game
'a that the loser pays the score; everS
nation that has gone TO war and lost
mas paid the penalty. Russia having
played and lost, must now settle the
bill But Japan cares less about an
indemnity in money than sac does
about guarantees of peace that Will
he lasting Japan, of course, would
be very glad to receive s5O0.0O0 900.
which would defray some OF the costs
Of the war and go long way toward
paying for the battleships that Japan
Will add to her navy as quickly as
tney can be built by American and
British snipbuilders. But when japan
sheathes the sword she wants to feel
that it will not have to be torn from
its scabbard in a year or two. she
uOes not want merely an armed truce
with Russia. What sne wants is
peace, and to enable her to feel GER
tain that she will have peace and that
she will not have to keep her army
on war basis, she hopes to make it
Impossible for Russia to take ner I'M
dwaTes.
Information of the most trustwor-
Thy character is to the effect that ia
pan is willing to forego a money in
demnity. but that Toxic VIII be as firm
as rock in all those features OF
settlement which effect the perman-
ancy of a peace. What the Japanese
Rave in mind is this:
Russia must not be permitted TO
have a naval base in the far East.
II Russia retains Vladivostok the port
must be neutralized. Sne must not
be allowed to keep troops in Manchu-
ria. because Manchuria is Chinese.
and order must be maintained by the
troops of China and not by those of
Russia The railroad constructed with
russian capital on Chinese territory
without the permission of China may
be worked by Russia purely for com