The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-11
STOESSELL ON TRIAL
RUSSIAN GENERAL FACES HIS
 COURT MARTIAL JUDGES.
scnpty sleeve~ and Crutches Among the Witnesses showed That
 They Had Seen Hard Ser
 vice During War.

ft
 St. Petersburg. Dec. 10.-Before brilliant assemblage of his old com rades in arms. Lieut.. Gen. Stoessei was this morning placed on trial to answer with his life and reputation for the loss of Port Arthur on the first of January. 1905, and in firm tones and with confident manner. the Gem tersl pleaded not guilty to the charge of needlessiy surrendering the fortress and thereby humiliating the Russian Army.
 The trial took place in the Audito- rum of the Army and Navy Club. The room resembled more a social gather ing of officers of high rank than the scene of court martial Among the judges, spectators and witnesses were General Kuropatkin.l General Linevitch, General Rennenk ampf. vice-Admiral wiren and scores of other prominent leaders in the so-Japanese war. There were also present 200 officers and soldiers who had been at Port Ar thur, and who today were clad in their full dress uniforms. blazing with stars and decorations.
 General Stoessel alone was in civil ian attire. and sthis made him conspic- uous. He wore proudly around his neck the cordon of the military order of st. George. which was conferred up- on him by the Emperor during the siege. and on his breast was pinned the cross of George the Third, awarded the General for conspicuous bravery in frontier lighting.
 This same coveted decoration was worn by many of the witnesses and spectators.
 ciaily among the men who had been at Port Arthur. showed that many of them had seen hard service during the war. The other accused officers. Gen. erale Flock -Reiss and Smirnof. came to the court clad in their uniforms. General Smirnoff, who is bitter enemy of General Stoessel. ostentatiously ble from the central figure of the pro- ceedings.
 The court was convoked at noon by vice-Admiral Doubassoff. He declared it to be the duty of the court to pro- ceed with the trial of the four ofacers charged with the responsibility of sur rendering the fortress on terms dis honorable to the garrison and humili- ating to the prestige of Russia. He then called the roll of 200 witnesses including General Kuropatkin, and vice-Admiral Wiern. Several of the witnesses were absent but the court decided to proceed with the trial.
 The entire afternoon was taken up with the reading of the voluminous and detailed indictment. The recital brought the spirit of strife and war into the court room and the men who had defended the fortress against the onslaught of the Japanese listed today with rapt attention to the Story of the work. From time to time when par ticular events were referred to, a ner- vous rnurmur ran through the hall. Many of the witnesses still suffer from theF effects of the siege. and it was clear that they were controlling them selves with difficulty.
 One or two incidents showed the at- titude of the court to be unfavorable to Stoessel. His personal request that two additional witnesses be called was dismissed without ceremony. One of these witnesses, Dr. Rozanoff, who was chief of the Red Cross within the fort rcss at the preliminary hearing testi- fled that at the time of the surrender, General Stoessel had at his disposal only 5000 able-bodied men to defend the hundreds of miles of Notifications and that the bitter cold winds pre- vailing at the time made 1t difficult for the men to even hold their rifles in their hands
 General Nadien, the other witness excluded. is the author of a deposi- ton similar. to that of Dr. Rozanofr The Gensrwiaconamanded the firing line at Port Arthur. The absence of .ex-