The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-02-21
DEATH SENTENCE
j FOR GEN. ST0ESSEl
VERDICT RENDERED BY COURT,
MARTIAL IN FAMOUS TRIAL.
is REcoMMeNDEDTo ToMERcY
Court Asks that Death Sentence be
COMMITTED to Ten Years Imprson-
ment in Fortress and Exelu.
sion from Military Service.

st. Petersburg. Feb. 2t.--Lieut. Gen.
Stoessel was condemned to death last
evening by military court for the
surrender of Port Arthur to the Jap.
anese. Gen. Fock, who commanded
the Fourth East Siberian division al
Port Arthur, was ordered reprimand-
ed for n disciplinary offense which
was not connected with the surrender,
and Gen. Smirnoff, acting command.
ant of the fortress, and Mai. Gen.
Reiss, chief of staff to Stoessel, were
acquitted of the charges against them
for lack of proof. The court recon-.
mended that the death sentence upon
Stoessel be commuted to ten years
Imprisonment in fortress and that
he be excluded from the service.
The passing of sentence of death
upon Lieut. Gen. Stoessel is harsh
ending to the career of this Russian
commander who, three years ago, was
acclaimed around the world as the
hero of Port Arthur"
The general, who was decorated by
Emperor William of Germany and
honored by the Russian army for his
gallant defense of the Port Arthur
fortress, has been tried and found
wanting in courage and capability by
his own people and sentenced to give
up his life to the fetish of army pres
tige.
Even Stoessels former enemies, the
Japanese. have come forward to say
that he does not deserve this treat
ment at the hands of his country and
Stoessel argued before the court
martial that he had justification for
his act. In his last words before the
court Stoessel, broken in health and
fortune, accepted full responsibility
for the surrender of Port Arthur and
pleaded for the death sentence If the
court should decide that crime had
been committed.
The basis of the indictments upon
which Stoessel, Gen. Fock, who COM
manded the Fourth East Siberian di.
vision at Port Arthur and Maj. Gen.
Reiss, chief of staff to Stoessel, were
tried for their lives was a secret re-
port made by Lieut.. Gen. Smirnoff on
the defense of Port Arthur Smirnoff
was acting commandant of the fort
ress, Stoessel being commander of
the Kwantung peninsula. Smirnoff
accused Stoessel of cowardice and in
capacity and of the deliberate and
reasonable Fastening of the surren-
der to save his own life and in def
ance of the decisions of two success.
sive councils of war The report was
extremely biased. II breathed the
most bitter personal enmity and
showed that the high officers of the
Port Arthur garrison, in the darkest
days of the siege, were almost at one
another's throats.
In opposition to this side of the
picture are the statements made by
Japanese officers who were the first
to enter the fortress. Capt Tsunoda,
who, on behalf of Gen Nogi conduct
ed the negotiations for the surrender
of the fortress, came out last summer
with letter in defense of Stoessel.
The Japanese captain painted a pitt
able picture of the conditions prevail
Ing at Port Arthur. All proper food
was exhausted he said, and the 10000
Russians under arms were in no CON
dition to fight The key to the fort
ress was gone when "203 Metre Hill"
was captured Stoessel, according to
the Japanese officer, might have held
out for a fortnight longer, but the re-
suit would have been an inevitable
massacre, In which II would have
been difficult 10 distinguish combat
ants from non-combatants.
Gen. Reiss was accused of disre-
garding the interests of Russia in the
negotiations for the surrender and of
exaggerating the dangers of the situ.
alton in order to terrify Stoessel.
Gen. Fock was charged with the
premature evacuation OF important
Notifications in order to impress the
garrison with the necessity for
speedy surrender.