Some Leading Events in the Current Story of the World

SOME LEADING EVENTS IN THE CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. BY DR. J. M. TANNER, SUPERINTENDENT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS.

The Battle of Chemulpo.

Now that correspondence has had time to reach this country, we are receiving graphic accounts of the first battle of the Russian-Japanese war. The Battle of Chemulpo, on February 9, will stand out in history as the beginning of the war, and as a gal- lant dash to certain destruction. Eye witnesses were profoundly impressed by the scene, and tell the story of the fate of the Var- iag and her companion, the Korietz, with a pathetic admiration for the unfortunate man-of-war and the crew aboard her. Japan had closed diplomatic relations with Russia on the 6th, and at once began the transportation of troops to Chemulpo, the harbor by which Seoul, the capital of Korea, is reached. The first objective point of the Japanese was Korea, and twenty-five thous- and soldiers were immediately landed from transports taken to Chemulpo bay, a body of water about sixteen miles across, from the landing to the outer neck of the bay opening into the Yellow Sea. In the harbor lay war ships of the United States, England, France and Italy, as well as the Variag and the Korietz of the Russian fleet. These last named ships little realized how soon they were to go to their destruction. Korietz was a gunboat of only one thousand, two hundred and thirteen tons displacement, while the Variag was a beautiful cruiser, built in this country, and had a displacement of six thousand, five hundred tons. As the latter lay in the harbor, she represented a value of ten million dollars. The Korietz had set sail on the morning of the 8th for Port Arthur, bearing messages from Minister Pavloff to Viceroy Alex- eieff. When the boat was well out in the bay, it met a part of the Japanese fleet under Admiral Uryu. According to. the Russian ver- sion, a torpedo boat crossed the bows of the gunboat Korietz, whose commander began at once to clear the deck for action, and

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itwas claimed that a shot was accidentally fired from the gunboat in the direction of the torpedo boat. This was really the first shot fired in the present war. The torpedo boat immediately circled round the Korietz and fired four torpedos at her without any dam- age. Thereupon the Korietz turned, and at full speed made her way to the harbor where the Variag was anchored. The Japan- ese fleet followed to the harbor, and during the night unloaded the soldiers from the transport and disappeared before daybreak on the morning of the 9th. At seven o'clock, that morning, the Japanese Consul delivered an order to Captain Roudnoff from Admiral Uryu that the Russian ships must leave the harbor that day before noon, or surrender. The commanders of the foreign vessels were also notified to retire from the firing line, and out of reach of shot. All, except the

commander of the United States warship, sent a protest to Admiral Uryu, but the protest was without avail, and they were compelled to get out of the way. By 11:30, the Russian captain had cleared the ships and prepared to sail out to meet the enemy. It was a bold and hope- less attack upon twenty Japanese war vessels, some of which were among the largest The two war ships, and their afloat.

valiant crews, sailed out amid the strains of the marine band

playing the national anthem, and amid the cheers of the crews of foreign vessels. Escape was impossible, and the brave Russians determined to sell their lives and ships as dearly as possible. The work was short and decisive. In less than an hour the Variag was all riddled and afire. She turned to part with the Korietz, the latter being untouched. The Japanese had evidently intended to either sink or capture the Korietz. Not a Japanese vessel was struck, while 109 officers and men lay dead or dying out of a complement of 540 men. The firing began at two minutes past noon and lasted fifty minutes. The Russians had proposed to return to the fight at four in the afternoon, but concluded that further sacrifice was useless, and therefore set fire to the Variag and blew up the Korietz. The Japanese, ashore, sent up a wild shout of joy when they saw the two Russian ships blown to pieces, sinking in the harbor where, in the morning, they rode the waves in all the fullness of Russian

pride. There was also in the harbor a Russian merchant ship, the Sungari. She was set on fire, and the three vessels lay burned not far apart in the waters of Chumulpo bay. For four years Russia had been preparing for a conflict with Japan, and when the hour came, and two days after diplomatic rela- tions had been broken off, two of her warships lay unprotected and at the mercy of the enemy. The Russians had evidently misjudged the determination of Japan, and underestimated the force and rapidity with which the Japanese could strike.

Russia or Japan?

The conditions of the parties in the present war in Manchuria are so unlike as to make speculations on the outcome very un- satisfactory. Those who follow the events, and study the relative advantages in the war, ask with feelings of real uncertainty, who is going to win? They who undertake to answer the question in an affirmative manner are either bold, it may be reckless, prophets, or they have given the question nothing more than passing notice, and so reply from the standpoint of their sympathies for one or the other of the two combatants. Men never cherish the apella- tion of false prophets, and on questions like that which Russia and Japan are struggling to solve, speculations are largely guesswork. When, however, judgment is ventured upon well established data, one may give an opinion from the standpoint of the facts about which he is reasonably certain, if not upon the final conse- quences. Now it is well established that the modern inventions of defense make it exceedingly difficult for an army to dislodge an enemy that has selected its own battle ground. If the battle ground is sufficiently favorable, one man on the defensive may equal five on the aggressive side. The Boer war clearly indicated the advantages of a defense in a mountainous country, such, for example, as Korea, or Manchuria, that is, parts of Manchuria; though Manchuria, with its large open valleys and level stretches, is not so favorable for defensive warfare as Korea. Besides, Manchuria can be reached from so many points that it is more easily invaded than Korea. Japan is master of the sea; and even if a superior fleet

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compelled her to retire to her parts, they are unapproachable, so that it would take years for Russia to prove herself formidable to Japan upon the sea. Korea may be made almost impregnable on the north, and as difficult as Japan itself to reach from the sea. If Japan is, therefore, compelled to take the defensive, it is

impossible to see how Russia can dislodge her from Korea, or menace her existence in Japan. The same would be true if Japan secures Port Arthur. The danger now to Port Arthur is that it may be attacked both by land and sea. Japan already has Korea, and it is quite certain that she is erecting fortifications near the Yalu that will make Russian advance into the peninsula excessively difficult, if not wholly impossible. Manchuria is much more difficult to defend; but towholly from that country dislodge Russia would seem almost impossible, though the danger of cutting off communications by railroad would be a great menace to Rus- sians. On the other hand, Russia does not need the same natural advantages of defense. She can put troops enough in the country to secure herself against a Japanese advance, at points that might easily make one Russian soldier equal to two Japanese. Russia needs time; and if Japan is to be victorious, she must hurry the campaign. On the other hand, Japan cannot very well hurry, just at this time, as she must make careful defensive preparations, to hold the country she has already won. Besides the superior advantages to both, in a defensive campaign, from the nature of the countries in which both oper-

ate, there is a second factor of far-reaching importance in determining the continuance of the war. It is the financial prob- lem. Take as an example our small war with Spain —and it was indeed small compared with what the struggle between Russia and Japan is likely to be. Our battleship Oregon cost us over $3,790,000. The cost of a full equipment of ammunition lor our war ships was $6,500,000. The coal bill of Admiral Dewey, for the month of April, was said to be $81,000; and the government actually paid on an average $861,000 a day while the war continued. Such expenses are very exhausting to nations like Russia and Japan, whose treasuries have already been put to a severe strain in the preparations required to place them in their present position.

In extreme financial exhaustion, both are likely to listen to friendly words from the great powers advocating peace. If the

question then be put: "Will Russia win?" we may answer, "No;" or, "Will the Japanese be victorious?" and the same answer may be given. It does not appear at all likely that either can win out;

but a fair judgment from the present situation is that Japan will gain points, and Russia will lose some. Both nations must hesitate before the dire necessity of shedding a river of blood, in order to carry out a stubborn determination to win out or die. Humanity's voice through the great powers would first call and enforce a halt.

The Siberian Railway—A Marvelous Undertaking.

So much hinges on the ability of Russia to transport troops and provisions to the seat of war that all eyes are now fixed on the great Siberian railway. It was generally conceded, at the out-

break of hostilities, that the czar had not soldiers enough at the front to withstand the army that Japan could put into the field.

The road was built for the contingency of war, as well as for the opening of commerce in Siberia, and on the Pacific coast. Will it meet the new demands? is the question of the hour. It is quite

impossible to tell from conflicting statements just what the condi- tion of the road is. A hasty ride over it gives the traveler only a superficial idea of its capacity. A road so much in the public dis- cussion is worth a word of explanation and description. Russia was late in the introduction of railroads, but when it

brought them into use, the country became enthusiastic over their construction, and they are now built with an open-handed extrava- gance. The work on the real Trans-Siberian railway was begun May 9, 1891. Within ten years, six thousand miles of road had been constructed, in order to reach the Pacific on the west, and to exploit the rich fields of the Chinese empire. It took the Canadi-

ans ten years to construct less than three thousand miles. The distance from Moscow to Vladivostok is five thousand three hun- dred miles, and is covered in eighteen days, and to Port Arthur, in twenty days — if on time. The highest average speed that cars can safely run is thirteen and one-half miles per hour, this is the train de luxe, and it leaves Moscow once a week. Slower train s

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leave every day, and require probably a month to make the jour- ney. The fact that the road is new, and the rails are light, makes transportation slow. At this particular time, speed is most es- sential, and the fate of the war may hinge on this road.

The Russians have a peculiar standard for their road-bed, so that engines and cars of the roads of other countries cannot be used. If Russia, on the eve of war, could have bought from Ger- many and other neighboring countries cars and engines, the ques- tion of transportation of her troops might have been more easily solved. Another source of weakness in the road is the slender steel rails that have been used. They weigh only fifty pounds to the yard, while in this country they are about eighty-five pounds to the yard. In the construction of the road, great engineering feats have been accomplished, especially in the construction of bridges across rivers that were a mile wide, and ran over quick sands that were ever shifting. These rivers are frozen almost solid in winter, and subject to terrible floods in the spring. Many illustrated mag- azines and newspapers have portrayed life along this great Siber- ian road, but the Russian officials tell us that the pictures come from the imagination and are not at all true to life. A battle ground five thousand miles away is certainly unfa- vorable to Russia, and the railroad must save her if she is to be victorious in Manchuria. The road, too, may prove a source of weakness. There are numerous bridges along the route in Man- churia; and if these are blown up by the Japanese, the Russian army may be so divided and so cut off from base of supplies as to suffer an early defeat.To protect this long line of road, a good A few shots of dynamite, well placed, sized army will be required. would work havoc at this time, and the world is half expecting some such calamity to the Russians as the blowing up of one or more railroad bridges. What did the road cost? That is a Russian secret also. Esti- mates are given out by engineers competent to make a fair guess, and the cost thus given has never gone below $400,000,000 and it is not at all unlikely that its completion will make the cost reach $500,000,000. This is certainly one of the marvelous undertak- ings of the age.