Arizona republican., 1905-03-16
MACHINE OUT OF ORDER.
An Explanation of the Series of Rus.
 sian Defeats.

St. Petersburg, March 15.-M. Kiri- loff. one of the Associated Press Rus sian correspondents, who was wounded at Liao Yang, continuing today his discussion begun yestrday of the causes of the Russian defeats, has drawn a powerful picture of the com plete criminal lack of knowledge on the part of the Russians of the coun- try and the enemys movements and of the utterly imprudent- gossip and babbling which acquaints the Japanese with every movement and plan before they are inaugurated. He compares the Russian army to a powerful yokel moving forward blindfolded, wildly | brandishing his arms and shouting aloud what he will do to the enemy when he catches him. He cannot see his path nor his enemy. Here he l stumbles up hill. There he falls into | the valley. The keen eyed enemy cas- | fly avoids his waving arms and pours in a succession of blows. which sends | the Russian yolzel reeling backward to l his bitter astOnishment
 | Kiriloff adds that the blame for the successive defeats is not Kuropatkin's. It is simply due to the fact that the machine is out or order. A good work man was given bad helpers and miser-
 
 1 tune were in the army itself Mishaps were attributed to the defensive posi- tion of Kuropatl<in and it was said that when the Russians assumed the in itiative all would be well. This was not realized, because every movement was preordained to failure by the pre- mature publication or dilatoTy eXecu- ton of plans. The mere stripIing sub lieutenant chatters recklessly and in formally of dispositions and move ments which should be known only to a few chiefs. The disposition and plans of the battle of the Shakhe river, for example, were discussed several days in advance in a railroad restaurant in Mukden in the hearing of many Chi nese civilian camp followers.
 "The general staff gives information to whomsoever asks it. Babbling is the bane of bureaucracy'' says Firi- , loff. "and the sooner it is corrected, the . better"
 While thus opening Japanese eyes ! the Russians close theirs. Not only , company and battalion commanders. but even colonels and at times com manders of divisions enter into battle ignorant of the very maneuvers they are expected to execute.
 For instance, General OrIof on Sep > movement on which the battle of Lilac | Yang hinged and he blindly led 15OO0 men into battle, ignorant why, where fore or whither. Naturally there was l disaster instead of the destruction oi . General KUrOki's forces and victory : The general staff is inattentiVe to the l all important duty of mapping. Ever f now the Russians have unsatisfactory [. maps and the units in the hill country are unable to keep in touch with eacI . other. The Russian intelligence de par tment is defective. It knows no
 thing of the Japanese numbers, post ! uOns or movements not only in tn, unsettled mountainous regions, bu
 even on the populated plains Of Man | chCria. Instead of easily securing the
 sympathy of the Chinese the Russian
 alienated them and they now side witl
 tn Japanese. Russians drove away tn
 Chinese bandits who are now the eye l of the Japanese army and who destro!
 bridges and communications as well
 Kuropatl1in is also hampered b.
 frantic reports from nervous general
 particularly those of Rennenkamp
 who sends poems instead of results.
 The late Lieutenant General Kelle
 was also at fault. Kuropatkin was ob
 liged to reprimand him sharply q shor
 time before his death These fault
 existed and still exist. The army ha
 been defeated and will be in the futur
 unless they are remedied