The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-02-21
STOESSEL GETS
DEATH SENTENCE
TRACTS END OF CAREER OF ONE
OF WORLDS GREATEST
b GENERALS.
EVEN JAPAN INDIGNANT
At Treatment Of Hero Of Port Arthur
At Hands OF His Own People
-Smirnoff and Reiss
Acquitted.

st. Petersburg, Feb. 2D.-Genera
Stoessel was condemned to death
General Fock reprimanded aud Gen
erals Smlrnoff and Reiss acquitted
The court recommended that the
death sentence upon Stoesse be com
muted to ten years Imprisonment in
Fortress and that he be excluded from
the service
The passing Of the sentence OF
death rpon Lieutenant General
Stoessel is harsh and tragic ending
to the career of this Russian com
mander, who, three years ago, was
acclaimed around the world as the
hero Of Port Arthur" The general,
who was decorated by Emperor iWii-
liam OF Germany an dhonored by the
Russian army for his gallant defense
Of Port Arthur fortress, has now
tried and found wanting in courage
and capabilit by his own people aud
sentenced to give up MS life to fetish
army prestige.
Even Stoessel's former enemies,
the Japanese have come forward to
say that he does not deserv this
treatment at the hands of his country
and Stoessel himself argued before
the court martial that ne had iustifi-
cation for his action. In his last
words before the court, General Stoes-
sell broken In health and fortune, ac,
cepted the full responsibility for the
surrender of Port Arthur and pleaded
for the death sentence ii the court
should decide that a crime had been
committed
The basis for the indictment upon
which Stoessel and Fock. who com
manded the Fourth East Siberian divi
sion at Port Arthur, and Major Gen
eral Reiss, chief of staff to Stoessel.
were tried for their lives, was secret
report made by Lieutenant General
Smirnoff on the defense of Port Ar
thur.
Smirnoff was acting commandant Of
the fortress, Stoessel being com
mander of Kwangtung Peninsula.
Smirnoff categorically accused Stoes
sci of cowardice and incapacity. and |!
finally of deliberate and reasonable |
of the surrender to save |
his own life and In defiance of the |
decision of two successive councils |
of war.
The report was extremely biased |
II became then the most bitter per
sonal enmity and showed that the
high officers of Port Arthur garrison,
almost at one another's throats.
In opposition to this side picture
are statements made by Japanese Off
GERS who were first TO enter the
fortress. Captain Tsunoda. who. on
hebalf of General Nogi. conducted the
negotiations for tae surrender of the
fortress, came out last summer with
an open letter in defense of General
5toessel, and continuing:
"If others forget it. we remember
hat Port Arthur cost US 10000 lives
BY gun fire alone. We dug forty kilo
metres of parallels and expended 30
100000 rounds of ammunition.
European history chronicles the
glorious capitulation of Port Arthur
md 1t is so considered in Japan. That
s why the Emperor of Japan ordered
ieneral Nogi TO treat Stoessel with
N honors due to a gallant soldier. His
,wn country shonld treat him like
wise"
The trial opened in st. Petersburg
N December 10. 1907. and except for
,rief Interruptions continued until
4. when Stoessel himself fol
owing the plea of his counsel. should
red all the blame for the surrender.