The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-15

 HGAINS TIME Oys Ia Fails to Follow Up e Great Victory. RUSSIANS SURRENDERING Struggling Parties Lay Down
 Their Arms. Nicholas Decides on Further Hcstii- ties, but is Worried over Obtain
 ing Necessary Financial ... wherewithal.

By delay in pressing his pursuit of Russia's defeated and demoralized army to Tie pass, Field Marshal Oyansa has afforded General Kuropatkln time to sort out the disorganized units of his command and restore his force to at least a semblance of order.
 So far as known there Is no con- siderable forsS of Japanese nearer Tie pass than six or eight miles, but in Russian quarters there Is a feeling of apprehension that some turning move ment Of which there Is no definite in- formation Is in progress.
 From Japanese sources it Is reported that many struggling parties of Rus sians, cut off, from their commands in the retreat from Mukden are surrender ing upon the appearance of Japanese troops.
 The council of war summoned by Em- peror Nicholas Is reported to have de- cided yesterday that the war must be carried forward. The all important question of financial means, however. Is said to have reached no solution, the situation being complicated by the re- ported decision of French capitalists not to negotiate the loan recently of- fered by St. Petersburg.
 The probability as regarded in St. Petersburg seems to be that when Gen. eral Kuropatkin has completed the task of recognizing what is left of his army he will be permitted to return to Rus sia and that the command in Manchuria will be entrusted to General Sukhom- limoff, whose war apprenticeship was served under General Dragomiroff. who has been regarded the foremost of Rus sias scientific soldiers. It is possible however that the command will go to Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch.
 Oyama Mysterious.
 Tie Pass, March 14.--As after the bat tie of Liaoyang, the advance of the Japanese army against the new posi- tions of the Russians at Tie Pass Is very slow The leading columns are eight or ten miles southward and in touch with the Russian van posts. but the operations al present are not seri- ous. Field Marshal Oyama shows slight intentions of pressing his ad- vantage in an immediate attack on Tie Pass. It is possible. however, that a wide turning movement, of which re- ports are current, is in progress. In such operations the Japanese have the immense advantage of several bases and lines of supply to which is now added the Sinmintin Road while the Russian army necessarily is dependent on one base and one line of communi- cation and therefore may easily be out fanked.
 In the grand army order Is being brought out of chaos with remarkable celerity. The plain in front of Tie Pass which on March II seethed like a nest of ants with the defense and con- fused mass of transport artillery and troops corps. divisions and regiments being scattered and parties inextri- n a n crIn a1n AhA regiments reorganfzed. stragglers sent to their respective commands, organ nations taking their assigned positions and today the same soldiers who on March 10 became a terror-stricken, surging, dlsorganized mass of gray at few shots from a little detachment of Japanese, or who even fled in panic, fir ing indiscriminately in all directions as they ran at the mere baseless cry of Japanese cavalry are now gathering singing about the camp fires, with new courage, ready to oppose with stubborn resistance an attack on Tie Pass.
 Tt Is unfair to accuse the entire army of this panic. General Linevitch entered Tie Pass with his regiments in perfect order, with music playing and men singing, and scarcely a straggler was lost in the long difficult march. Other organizations made equally pi ASCWCitA tAy TclTcdlS, ana especially the rear guards of all the armies, who performed their difficult task steadily and resolutely. There Is much to be said also for the panic-stricken con- dition of the troops. They were large ly composed of undisciplined men and wagon drivers who mingled with sol diers, who. for fifteen days. were under constant fire crowded together in a mass from whence egress was impos- sible.
 An Odd Fact.
 It Is one of the odd facts of warfare that the morale of the beaten Russian army has been largely restored while the Japanese though victcrs apparently are so broken and have incurred such heavy losses that they are unable to press the advantage. Otherwise 1t is inexplicable why the Japanese have not followed up their vigorous pursuit with an attack on Tie Pass when they might have taken the position almost without a struggle. It Is now too late for any easy success.
 The struggle for the possession of Mukden cost both sides close upon 20O- 900 men. The Russian loss of officers includes A large proportion of the regi- mental commanders and field officers. All the newspaper correspondents, with the exception of three or four, have left for the north because there is here mo- where to live and nothing to eat Be- cause of defeat many of the Russian officers are in a surly mood and much of their grudgingly- given information is colored with jealousy and the rampant spirit of capal It Is. however, possi- ble now to give a general view of the battle. the connected story emerging out of the confusion incident to the evacuation of Mukden and the forced retreat to Tie Pass.
 On February 25 all was ready for an attack on the westward. Various DOT tions of the army had been disposed for an advance on the right flank Suddenly in the evening of that day the order to advance was cancelled and a second order was given for the trans fer of General Rennenkamph's First Siberian corps and several other organ izations to the left flank, which was being pressed heavily by a large force of Japanese. From that time forward the Japanese. who were well informed as to all the Russian movements, be- gan heavy attacks along the whole front The Russians generally held their ground, doing well. until Feb p,,arv e2 when an afnexnactAd attack