The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-18
RUSSIAN ADMIRAL
 TALKS OF VOYAGE .Rodjestvensky Says Trip Will
 Be Safely Made NO NEED TO FEAR JAPAN Admiral Says That American Fleet Has Nothing To Fear From Pres
 ent Trip and That Navy Is
 Stronger Than Japan's.
NO NEED TO FEAR JAPAN

St Petersburg, December H.-Admiral Rojestvensky, who during the Russo Japanese war led the ill-starred Russian fleet around Africa to ultimate defeat at the hands of the Japanese is keenly in- terested in the cruise of the American battleship squadron. He talked today with the correspondent of the Associated Press cn the matter From his own experience Admiral Rodjestvensky is familiar with the problems which confront Rear Ad- miral Evans, and after outlining some of the difficulties the American vessels would have to overcome, said he consid- cred the voyage to the Pacific to hsS en- tirely practicable.
 Ut can be made safely either in time of peace or in time of war" said Rod jestvensky.
 Sheltered harbors are available for coaling in South American governments. The passage of the Straits of Magellan, especially in summer time, presents no difficulty to skilled commander. This expedition differs from the trip of the Baltic fleet in that we were obliged to coal at sea- We were not permitted to finger for even one day in the unfre- quented Bay of Annam without brusque orders from the French governor and the English admiral to move on"
 According to Admiral Rodjestvensky the chief criterion of the success of tho voyage will be Rear Admiral Evans ability to bring every vessel of the squadron to the various stopping places on scheduled time The struggling duo l l.. hard to overcome.
 The British fleet, which ranks among the most efficient in the world, found it necessary to drop the laggards during it's recent maneuvers. This would be fatal in war time. The Russion. admiral then spoke of the effect of the American squadron in the Pacific on the Japanese and said:
 While this voyage will be valuable in welding the fleet into a homogeneous weapon, it will have also a high strategic value in curbing the pretensions of the Japanese, whose jlngoism has noticeably abated since the announcement of the plan
 Rodjestvensky disparaged the idea of duplicating the battleship squadron, one for the Atlantic and the other for the Pacific. He declared that one fleet would be adequate for the protection of both coasts and that its transfer could be made periodically with advantages to both ships and crews. The fleet should have it's base at San Francisco or some other American port while in the Pa- cifc he said. To station 1t in the Phil ippines would be expensive and unneces- sary.
 Contrasting the American and Japanese fleets the Russian admiral said:
 'The Japanese personnel, man for man, is now undoubtedly more efficient than the American, due to practice In battle; but the American ships so exceed the Japanese in strength and numbers that there is no question of American supe- riority. l consider the question of war between Japan and the United States is quite excluded"
 Continuing the conversation Admiral Rodjestvensky said he was opposed to the rebuilding of the Russian feet He believes that Russia's future will be on land and that the money a fleet would cost would be better spent in building up commercial marine
 We may spend four or five milliards in the next ten years" the admiral went on, as 1t Is proposed to overwhelm Rus sia with debt in order to secure a fleet StioHtsti tlidn Jhpth Dut tHt lutuTe Ol our Asiatic possessions will be deter mined by the army not by the navy. Rus sla Is doing nothing to strengthen her army. We are holding 500,000 soldiers on the Polish frontier, a million in Russian Turkestan and only S5,000 in all Siberia, where the Chinese and Japanese are building up portentous military power."
 But will the Russian fleet be recon structed?"
 Alas yes." replied the admiral. "Un- fortunately, there are many people in Russia who wish to fill their pockets and the execution of big naval programme will give them a glorious opportunity"