New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-07-14

What One Correspondent at Port
IrthUr Did for His.


the late Queen Victoria, who first recognized
the status Of war correspondents with the Brit
ish army in the South African campaign. bv
comforting medals upon those newspaper
writer's who active service with the Japan
csc armies in the field in the course of the re-
cent war with Russia
Nineteen correspondents. representing leading
american newspapers. nave been decorated re-
Gently by the Mikado with an active service
medal similar to that received by the officers
ana men # the imperial armies who took part
IN the war
The medal is made Of gold bronze ana =
al out the size of a twenty dollar gold piece II
Il attached TO a ribbon with green and black
BARS and q narrow white border \ bar agl0S.
the ribbon bears the Jauanese characters for
War Medal" Upon the face in raised ON
hoSSlnE Is the imperial coat Of arms consisting
OF the twerty-siX petaIed chrysarthemum and
me FauioWnia lmperialis. with the military
naSS OF the army and navy in hetveeu with
STAINS crossed. The Pau0wnia Imncrialis i Of
the genus of ornamental trees and is indiqcrc.-s
TO Japan II has broad. heart shaped leaves and
"a SNOWY pale blue or violet blossom The ohvcrs.
size ~ the medal bears the japanese characters
Tor the words Granted for the War Of the
thirty seventh year of Meigi" with laurel
branch on one side and a branch Of palu1 on the
other. symholiCal of victory and peace The
accompanying illustrations were taken from the
medal granted TO W. Richmond smith who
\
Press OF this city and the Reuters Telegram
Company Of London at Port Arthur.
Along with the medal IS the following certif-
cate elahorately printed in honorifc Japanese
and hearing in the centre the large rcd seal Of
the japanese War Office surmourted bv the
Emperor's coat Of arms.
April I. 1905.
To W. Richmond Smith. Citizen Of The United
States OF America:
The accompanying medal is conferred
upon You upon the recommendation Of tho I'm
periaI Minister for War as provided in tho i'm
perial ordinance dated March 80 Of the 3eth va7r
OF Meigi. and in accordance with the law RI
spectng N" granting Of war medals Of the 37tb
and the 3Sth years Of Neigh
by order # His Imperial Majesty the Emperor
Of Japan. r AI-GII- Gyiscourn
Director of the Imperial Bureau of Orders Of
The undersigned have noted tho above certif
cate issued by the Director OF the Imperial 3u-
reau Of Orders Of Merit. and have entered l.
and the accompanying medal under number lO5
in the war medal registry Of the bureau
X YOKOTA
Y. FUGG
Secretaries of the Imperial bureau Of orders of
ID Merit.
Richmond Smith was one Of the few war cor
respondents who accompanied the japanese
armies at the front in Manchuria in the recent
war with Russia who saw any Of the actual
nghilnG az close quarters. He was attached
to the I'd Imperial japanese army IN
der command OF General Baron Nogi in front
Of Port Arthur about the time the Russian fort
ress was invested by Nogrs forces, remained
with the army for the entire siege. witnessed
the surrender of the Russian garrison under
General Stoessel and entered the captured
stronghold with the Japanese troops
Mr.. Smith went 70 the Far East about the
time Of the outbreak of the war as the repre-
sentative Of The Standard" of London and
Ike most Of the correspondents. spent six
months in Toxic waiting for permission to pro-
coed TO the front. A few days before the long
looked for permission came he was ordered 10
return to London by his newspaper. in conse-
quence Of an agreement entered into by the
leading London dailies 10 recall all their CORE
spondents not actually at the front as a protest
against the treatment accorded the correspond
ents by the japanese government. Having gone
out 10 see the war. Mr.. Smith refused TO accept
his recall, severed his connection with The
STANDARD" and went on to General Nogi's army
as correspondent for The Associated Press and
the Reuters Telegram Company.
The correspondents with the Japanese army
IN front Of Port Arthur had every facility for
witnessing the fighting which took place but for
three long months they were not allowed to send
n line TO their newspapers During this period
the world was told through the correspondents
at Che-Foo and other nearby ports in Northern
China that Port Arthur was about TO fall daily
Finally, November >, 1904, the ban was lift
ed, and the correspondents. gorged with three
months eyewitness story Of the desperate
fighting which had taken place without the
capture of a single important point in the Rus
sian fortress belt allowed TO leave the
army and take their dispatches to the nearest
cable office. They were not allowed 10 use the
army telegraph system in the field at all.
It a great race, with a splendid chance
for a world beating scoop" Mr. Smith won
the race. and succeeded in getting his five thou
sand word cable dispatch TO the newspapers in
New York and London four days ahead of any
OF his competitors. He had laid his plans with
great care before permission to use the wires
was given. There were two ways of getting
the story 10 the cable. one was by a trip |
across the Gulf of Pc Chilli a distance Of nearly
ninety miles, from the KwanR-Tung Peninsula |
TO Che-Foo, the terminus of the cable in North !
China. The other was to travel by train north |
ward TO Yin-Kow, and there use the CONNER
cial wires Of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph
Company to reach the cable end at Che-F Foo Mr. !
Smith decided that the route across the !
Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li was the shortest and most
trustworthy. IT was however, by far the more |
difficult and dangerous After great effort he Sc
cured permission to charter a small steamship.
had special night lights ana day flags for her |
recognized by Admiral Togo in the navy orders,
so that she might be able to go in and out Of
the naval Gordon blockading the entrance to the |
harbor at Port Arthur For weeks the dispatch |
boat lay in the harbor at Shao- Ping Tao. close |
TO Port Arthur, used the headquarters for the |
torpedo boat fotillas engaged in the blockade !
operations. The rest of the story is told as fol-
lows in a special article published by Melville |
Stone, general manager OF The associated |
Press. in the August number OF 1.-The Century |
two years ago
when permission was given Smith at once /
set out. He rode to the japanese press head |
quarters, had his message censored, and then !
went forward 10 Shao- Ping-Tao 1t was no |
easy ride, the twenty-six miles that interviewed.
The road ran up and down the slopes of almost
impossible mountains and was in a horrible
condition. He arrived at Shao-Ping- Tao about