The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1905-01-06
News Held Back At 81. Petersbura.

The authorities at st. Petersburg,
in the absence of direct oficial news
from Gen. Stoessel hat Port Arthur
had surrendered. have not permitted
the news to become public. Emperor
Nicholas is in the South of Russia,
and his ministers are for the time be-
ing in the dark as to what dispatches
have been sen to him from the front.
Toxic was the scene of rejoicing,
people of all ranks finding in the out
come compensation for all the sacri-
fee of life and money that was en-
tailed in the ten-months siege.
To what extent the fall of Port Ar
thur will make for a restoration of
peace is an open question. There is
An Encouraging Note
in the expression by Baron Hayashi,
Japanese minister at London. of the
hope that in some way it will facili-
tate final peace" though the pacific
note is perhaps lost in the later words
of the minister which call attention to
the fact that the besieging army will
now be free to &C north, where it will
UO du Oll6Cl W luc CIulOINCIACAS
Gen. Kuropatkin has been receiving
from Russia since the battle OF
Shakhe. The spirit of the Russians
may be judged by the statement OF the
secretary of the embassy at London
that the campaign will be renewed
with fresh vigor in the spring, and
that the nation will not be content to
nlrnit Don't Arthur fo cnn,oir in the
hands of the Japanese.
Baltic Fleet Can Go Home.
Both in Paris and in London the
opinion is that the squadron under
Vice Admiral R~ojestvensky which
started from Iibau for the Far East
three months g will have to retrace
IS way home, as adherence to the
u.iginal plans would invite disaster
without probability of effecting a juno
ton with the warships at present in
the harbor of Vladivostok.
That Japan may not be permitted to
retain possession of Port Arthur with
out dispute is shown in the fact that
Paris newspapers are already reviving
the claim made in 1901 that the hold
ing of that position, commanding the
Eastern seas, by the Japanese would
be a menac to European powers
Talk Of Peace.
There is an expectation in diplo-
matte circles in ST. Petersburg that
some one of the powers may make a
tender of friendly offices, and the init
marion ic nnnyynrnd that tho Initial
States may take the initiative. Should
this be the case it could only be upon
assurances from both the warning pow
ers that the tender would be received
by them in good part.
Port Arthur a He'll.
Chefu. Jan. 4.-The Russian officers
who arrived here yesterday from Port
Arthur on the torpedo BOAT destroyers
which escaped from that place have a
single word for describing what the
fortress has been for the past five
days during which the Japanese have
night and day. @They used the word
importantly and convincingly, declar-
ing thai the horrors witnessed were
beyond any description.
There is not a single spot in the
town which was safe from shrapnel.
Many of the hospitals were hit and
the wounded refused to stay III them.
Some lay in the streets on heaps OF
debris, exposed to the bitterly cold
weather, and some staggered back to
the front, hurting stones M defying
the Japanese until taken prisoners or
death came mercifully
To End Their Sufferings.
There were five days and nights Of
this state of affairs. The stock of am
munition which had been carefully
h%usbanded for months was almost
gone and it was all too evident that
Japan was about to grasp the prize
which had cost her an army of mel
and countless treasure.
The capture of 203-Meter hill by the
Japanese was the garrison's first vital
wound. Then came the capture of
Rihlung, Sungshu and Panlung noun
tains. Gen. Stoessel had announced
that he would fight till the last.
His plight last night" said Capt.
Kartow, commander of the torpedo
boat destroyer Vlastni. looked like
the last.
There vas no stopping the Japan.
csc, who died in droves, fighting with
the last instructive witch of the
nerves, with eyes fixed on Liaotie
1885, 49,, -