Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-07
Army and Navy

The announcement that the battleship
Mikasa has ben raised from the mud
of SaSebo harbor and restored to the
list of the imperial japanese navy
forms the last chapter in a typical
story of Oriental mystery, says the
New York Sun. The Mikasa blew up
and sank at her moorings on September
II, 1905. That was just at the end of
the. three days rioting in Toxic, occa-
stoned by the protest against the terms
of the treaty of Portsmouth, closing the
wra. When the Mikasa sank the. Jap
anese papers throughout the whole en-
pire published only about three para
graphs about 1t, telling the bare facts
and stating that nearly 300 men lost
their lives by the explosion. When the
captain of the Mikasa heard of the eX-
plosion of his vessel he threw himself
out of a second story window of hotel
in Sasebo and died of a broken neck.
1t was not until two weeks after the
sinking of the Mikasa that there ap-
peared in the Shanghai Times story
contradicting the Japanese version.
This account was to the effect that a
Japanese naval officer who was a guest
at dinner in Toxic and who felt his
sake prematurely allowed himself to
narrate the real story of the sinking of
Togos flagship. The riot infection in
Toxic and other large cities of Japan
had spread to the victorious fleet under
Admiral Togo, he was quoted as having
said. Most of the fighting men believed
with the indignant citizens ashore that
Japan had been cheated out of the
merited fruits of her victory. The sail
ors on the Mikasa divided into partisan
groups, one supporting the government
and another supporting it for accepting
humiliating terms. The dispute became
so hot that they had a pitched battle
aicrl1 n
Admiral Togo and the captain of the
ship were off duty. A fanatical MEM
ber of the insurgent party on the Misa-
ka fired the magazines with his own
hand and sent half the crew, friends
and enemies alike, down to death with
the hulk After the appearance of the
story the japanese government came
out with prompt denial of the alleged
facts All the Japanese papers repro
duced the official statement without
explanatory or supplementary COM
ment.
After their pet battleship had sunk
the Japanese naval engineers tmmedi-
ately began elaborate plans for raising
it. Because of the tremendous damage
done to the hull of the ship by the ex-
plosion of it's magazines, all ordinary
means for getting it up were of no
avail. The engineers had to build q
Golfer dam all about the Mikasa, and
after pumping out the water repairs
were made In the hull sufficient to give
buoyancy to the boat. After being
fioated the battleship was completely
overhauled and refitted at Sasebo.
Early In March the ceremonies of re-
esta ablishingl the flagship in the service
were condv>ted.
In a report from the senate committee
on naval affairs accompanying the
naval appropriation bill, figures We're
given showing the appropriations for
the naval establishment since 1888
when the total was only $14,S19,976.S0
The year of the largest appropriation
was 1898, the year of the Spanish war
when the figures were $125, SO1, 1,975.7S. In
only three other years was the hundred
million dollar mark passed. These were
1904. with $10S, ,633. 115.40; 1905, with $115,-
42O 997. rs, and 1906, with $1O4, sos, 1898
The department estimates for 1905
reach SIPS, O41, ,34sS0; the house bill calls
for S1O5, 4O5, ,768.43, and the net increase
recommended by the senate COMMITTEES
is $7,579, ,O31.45, making a total as re-
ported to the senate of s112,9S4. 79s.SS.