The sun., 1905-09-06

and soldierly. a. the marines always do,
whether In action or on parade. II was q
fine appearing body Of blue uniformed
young Americans that stood at rest at the
west side of the 4peaoe building for 30
they call II now In Portsmouth, although
officially 1t Ia known - the General Storage
Warehouse" or "No. 90" Of the Portsmouth,
navy yard.
II may be worth while to repeat at this
point and for the last time. In the interest
Of historical accuracy. that the Portsmouth
navy yard 10 not In Portsmouth, or even In
island that comes within the geogra phical
limits Of the town Of KitteBy, Me.
To the right Of the marines wss their band
and little way back the saluting battery
that was to boom out the peace nsws. En-
ployees Of the yard, white dressed sailor
men OF duty, some women, little group
Of newspaper correspondents, some Of
whom had come thousands Of miles from
across the sea to chronicle the doings Of
the peace conference, stood opposite the
south doorway Of the general storage ware
house at which the envoys and the witnesses
to the ceremony Of signing were to enter.
Non-oommissioned officers Of marines
guarded this entrance and told each un-
Official newcomer that he would have to
stand on the other side Of the yard. Two
or three carriages with photographers
mounted on them had places behind the
correspondents.
RUSSIAN. RNvoYs ARRIVE.
but nobody Of consequence appeared.
Then, at five minutes Of 5, the commanding
officer Of tho marines, Major Franklin j.
Moses, gave q sharp word Of command.
His men stinened to attention and the
members Of the band got their instruments
ready.
Two autos dashed past the marines and
around the corner Of the conference build
ing. Present arms!" came from Major
Moses. Then the band burst forth into
four ruffies and finished with few bars Of a
march. The Russian ENJOYS had arrived.
Mr. Witte and Baron Rosen were In the
second automobile. In the first was the
Hon. Herbert II. D. Peirce. Third Assistant
Secretary Of State and master OF cere-
monies for and In behalf Of the Government
OF the United States.
Frock coated and silk hated he stepped
out OF his vehicle In time to greet Mr.. Witte
and Baron Rosen as they alighted. Mr..
Witte, grim and gray, wore q short over
coat. lie lifted his :ophs. IL surprised
and embarrassed sort Of way as he went up
the half dozen stops to the entrance. Baron
Rosen, as debonair as ever. had on a gray
raincoat He, too bowed to the crowd,
which silently responded.
Rear Admiral Mead, the commandant Of
the navy yard. escorted the two Russian
envoys up the stairway leading to the oon-
ference room. He was in the special full
dress uniform Of his grade. Mr.. Planoon,
one of the secretaries Of the conference,
was with Mr.. Witte and Baron Rosen. He
carried portfolio.
THEN CAME THE JAPANESE.
Five minutes later, just at 8 o'clock, .
carriage drawn by two horses arrived at the
conference building, The marines did not
salute this time and the baud did not play.
In the carriage was Mr.. Sato, the official
mouthpiece Of the japanese ENJOYS In their
dealings with the reporters, and two more
secretaries Of the Mil1ado's mission. After
that the arrivals were thick and fast, but
there were no more salutes until at s:i5
the Japanese plenipotentiaries arrived.
1t was rather crowded In the automobile
in which the Mikado's emissaries made the
trip from the Wentworth Hotel to the navy
yard. Mr.. Dennison, the American adviser
Of the Japanese Foreign Office, who has
served in a similar capacity to Baron
Komura and Mr.. Takahira during the peace
negotiations, sat with the chauffeur. Be-
hind him on one seat we're Baron Komura,
Mr.. Takahira and Mr.. Yamaza. the director
A. nj 80 tho To
Ministry Of Foreign Affairs.
Admiral Mead greeted the Japanese.
while the band played more ruffles and
marches and the marines presented arms
again. Baron Komura. Mr.. Takahira, Mr..
Dennison and Mr.. Yamaza wore conven-
tional frock coats and silk hats.
ALI. sHAKR HANDS.
reached the second floor Of the building
they were taken to the general waiting room
of the envoys. There they found Mr.. Witte
and Baron Rosen, who arose from their
chairs and greeted their former adver-
sares courteously. All OF them shook hands.
1t was beyond the hour set for the meeting,
so no time was lost In formalities.
The last necessary act was the reading
OF the protocol Of the final meeting, and the
envoys decided to intrust this rather per-
functory proceeding to their secretaries.
Appreciating the necessity for haste, the
secretaries hurried through the reading Of
the French and the English texts Of the
convention and in less than half an hour
reported to their respective chiefs that
everything was ready for the act of
signing.
HISTORICAL GROUPING IN THE CONFERENCE
ROOM.
Mr.. Witte, Baron Rosen, Baron Komura
and Mr.. Takahira went at once to the big
chamber where the conference had been
conducted In the center Of the room
is a long mahogany table. Those who
had been invited to witness the ceremony
were already there--a select group that
seemed smaller than 1t really was in that
spacious apartment, The envoys bowed
to the gathering and the gathering bowed
back
Then Mr.. Witte and Baron Rosen took
seats on one side Of the table and Baron
Komura and Mr.. Takahira on the other
1t was a picturesque scene and well worth
remembering. Grouped around the ennis
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