The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-16
COUNCIL PRESIDENT
is AVOWED ROYALIST

taot or all people possessed OF any
sense Of decency and propriety. are
shocked at the idea of this grim relic
figuring among the bibelots of the
part proprietor of the great gambling
hell at Monte Carlo instead OF repos-
Ing, as 1t should. in sacred ground.
Ex-General Stoessel. who surrend-
cred Port Arthur to the Japanese is
dying at odessa. where he has been
lying for tho past two months. para
lyZcd. blind. abandoned and destitute,
having been Obliged to pawn or sell
everything that he possessed. Indeed
he has been. since the beginning OF tho
year. wholly dependent upon the gener-
oslty OF one Of his former aides de
camp, without whose kindly assistance
he would have been consigned to the
pauper ward OF the hospital at Odessa.
with nothing to look forward to save
the disposal of his remains among
students for the purpose of medical
study
This is sorry end for n man who,
nine years ago, was nailed throughout
the civilized world as the hero of Port
Arthur. and whose defense Of that
stronghold excited, until the true facts
thereof were known. such general adj
miration that the Kaiser bestowed
upon him his Order Pour lie Merite.
founded by Frederick the Great for
the reward and recognition OF alto
sether exceptional feats in war
1t is a pity that the Kaiser could not
have consulted beforehand the United
States navy officer (whose name I
cannot recall at this momenO who
was attached to the stan of General
Stoessel throughout a considerable por-
ton of the Siege, and who late in the
fall Of 1894 managed to escape from
Port Arthur through the Japanese
lines on board a Chinese junk, more
fortunate In this respect than hs
French colleague and fellow naval at
tache. who made a similar attempt
two nights later, and has never been
heard Of again.
For the American naval officer in
question. who was intimately acquaint-
ed with conditions In the beleaguered
fortress. would have been able to in
form the Emperor that Port arthur,
instead of being In dire straits, con-
tanned food, ammunition and all other
necessary supplies. to last for another
six or eight months-facts which We're
proved to be true, when the japanese,
after the surrender of the fortress,
came to mike an inventory of the ex-
tent and value of their capture. No
where, therefore, did the surrender Of
Port Arthur excite n greater amount
Of surprise than at the Navy Depart
ment at Washington, which had be-
fore it the report of the officer in
question.
1t is a mistake to regard Stoessel
as the scapegoat of Russias war with
Japan. Every officer who orders a
surrender is accountable for the lat
ter before court-martial. and the
court organized at st. Petersburg to
try General Stoessel had plenty of
grounds for sentencing him to Mill
tary deGradation-entailtn the for
fixture of all orders of knighthood,
Russian and foreign-nnd to death.
For he was convicted of having dis
obeycd the Geographic order OF Gen
eralissimo Kuropatkin. dated July 3.
1904. directing him to leave Port Ar
thur without an hours delay. turning
over the command to General Smir-
noH. He admitted destroying this
message without communicating 1T to
any of the other leading officers at
Port Arthur. His messages and dis
patches TO Kuropatllin. and to the
Car at st. Petersburg, were proved to
be nothing but long tissue of lies,
telling of desperate conflicts with and
repulses OF the Japanese, which had
not taken place; while In the end no
was convicted OF having surrendered
without consulting any of the Other
general officers besieged In Port Ar
thur: a fortress that was sufficiently
we'll equipped with food, ammunition
and supplies OF very kind to have
held- out for ut lenst another four
months.
EmTsror Nicholas committed tho
sentence of death TO one OF conhne-
ment In a fortress and after three
or four years OF Imprisonment, set the
eN-gene-al at liberty.
Perhaps the only thing to be SAIL
In favor OF this Russian counterpart
of Marshal Baza!ne. who surrendered
Metz to the Germans In 1870. was,
that although he had disobeyed orders,
falsifled official documents, rendered
himself guilty of all sorts OF dishon-
esty, as we'll as cowardics, yet he did
not actually sell the fortress TO the
Japanese, that is to say. he received
no money from them 70: Its surrender
as has been alleged otherwise lie
would not be so destitute and entire
ly without means on his deathbed.
Copyright, 1913, by the Brentwood
Company