The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-07-01
Japan's Influence Seen.

after the last ties Of the Chinese East
ern railroad had been planned. So
positive and so plausible was this oft
reiterated statement of the 'Muscovite
cept that country as a great colonizlhg |
force in the far east. To-day one can
not fail to realize how shallow was the
hold that Russia had on this country |
and what veritable veneer was it's
much discussed and world-heralded col
onizing achievement. Few months have
passed since the Russian election from
this whole country. and yet but for |
Russian street sign here and there and |
ruins of dwelling house in the archi- |
lecture of the west, there is nothing
permanent to indicate that the Musco-
vites ever held more that the most SUI
perfcial grasp on the people or ideas
how different it is! One hears nothing
about grand plans and world policies.
Japan begins it's efforts from the bot
| tom and with coolies and intelligent
Japanese of business abilities and busi-
ness instincts she moves over here, not
with the desire to grow rich on the
Chinese, as Russia hoped to do, but to
the old. Thus, by helping the Chinese
to help themselves, she will help not
only herself, but also the whole world.
On the Manchurian Railway.
We are detained day or two in
Dalny waiting for a car for our horses,
but at last we are off on the long thirty
have brought their railroad with them
and now dozens of American locomo-
tives that last year were putting up
and down the Tokaido are now pulling
trains thru Manchuria, for the Russian
cars and locomotives, with their five
foot gagged trucks, are useless to the
Japanese, whose gage is only bit over
which has characterized all their move
merits, they have reduced their trans
portation system over here to almost
the same degree of perfection that one
sees in Japan itself. Six or eight trains
day each way run between Dalny and
the north, while many trains are oper-
serTcs 0G not ene egf
| Owing to the fact that all the cars
T have had to be shipped i5from Japan,
there is a dearth of passenger cars and
even the few that there are are mostly
the third.class ones and hence not par
ticularly comfortable. itti90a
However, we count ourselves lucky
enough to get any shipment at all, con-
sidering the times, and with some
equanimity we pack ourselves into the
small thirdclass car with some forty
or. fifty soldiers, settlers, Japanese and
gentlemen who are also going north.
The center aisle is piled three feet
tdeep with military accoutrements and
carefully as to how one IS legs will dove
tail with ones neighbours before one
sits down. This is sad enough by day,
but when night comes on and each and
every one opens up his packs and blank
cts it is most surprisingly crowded. In
| - co -
when the corn begins to pop. We sleep
with our arms and legs mixed in hope
less confusion with the arms and legs
of a cavalry major who has overfowed
from the seat in front, while a sergeant
Of infantry in the seat behind "passes
away SO profoundly that he keeps
faing over into our laps a MoweyGr
long enough, and this night actually
ended also, and in the early dawn Of q
beautiful May morning we carefully dis
entangled ourselves from our good
natured companions and had some early
morning ''chow.'
A Fertile Country.
This country thru here is wonderfully
fine. It reminds one of the best parts
of Montana, the valleys Of the blue
Danube and the stonewall covered
fields of New England all rolled int
one. More fertile than Montana, i
seems to have the fine soil and greer
southeastern Europe, while the count
less Chinese villages with the ston
walls running around almost every felt
take one back to Maine or Vermont.
The war has swept like an avalanch
up this peninsula, but save here an!
there one sees nothing to indicate il
Az Nanshan and Kinchow and at othe
points along the line one sees tn
- trenches which have been so hardl
I fought over. Here and there station
1 have been destroyed and shell holes thr
the walls show that the battle heat ha
passed this way.
Trace Of Liao-yang Battle.
Not until Liao-yang is reached d
4 we begin to recognize from the fac
Of the landscape the ravages Of wa
Here we see on all sides the long line
of trenches, gun pits, wire entanglt
ments that helped make the fight g
August and September last such
dreadful carnage. The buildings aroun
by fire have been hastily repatche
with Japanese mating, and hurried
thrown-up sheds. The place is now
great base and thousands upon thou
ands Of coolies are piling provisions
much the same way that we saw the
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sheds have been erected for hospital
where the afflicted of both belligeren
can be cared for properly
A few miles from Liao-yang is ii
Sha river, where for SO many montl
the two armies lay watching each 9th
and where in October Kuropatk
fought such a disastrous battle. Her
as at Liao-yang, the fields are hone
conbed with trenches and gun pit
Along the wagon road which leads
the north one can still see vestiges
the great battle, and Of the retire:
Boots, shoes, pieces Of uniform,
Vulnerable cartridge cases and occasio
ally the skeleton Of g soldier or hor
that has escaped burial, meet the e5
At the crossing Of the rivers al
streams one invariable sees the gre
steel bridges. Of the Russian railw
blown and shattered by dynamite wi
one or two sections lying twisted
the riverbed But at no place has ii
dynamiting delayed the advancing
but for brief moment. Piers of til
bers dovetailed together with pil
driven thru the corners to- give the
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