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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1904)
Mukden , tlie ancient royal city of the Mauchus , is the focal point for the world-wide attention centered in the Russo-Japanese war. In successive stages the field of operations has swept across Manchuria. Liaoyang recently Avas the stage for great events. The battle fought there , even though but fragmentary facts are known , is con ceded a place among tlie world's great military struggles. Kuropatkin , in a masterly retreat , forced upon him by the strategy of the enemy , cove-rod for ty miles of sodden roads , saving his army and artillery from total disaster and reached Mukden. Will he make a stand here , or will his weary army lake up the march again to a position ' -farther north ? This is the. question of the hour. A few miles north is Tie Pass , a position adapted by nature for defensive operations. This , say ru mors , is in reality to bo the scene of the next great battle. In fact , a des perate battle has already been reported iherc , but this is now denied. Mukden , which in times of peace has At least LMW.OOO inhabitants , is situated in the center of an immense alluvial plain , about three miles from the Ilun- ho , a tributary of the Liao river. It is about forty miles north of Port Ar thur , forty-two miles north of Liao yang and 3oO miles south of Harbin. -General Kuropatkin discovered , early in March , that Harbin was too far north to serve as a military base for the campaign in Southern Mancuhria , and lie selected Mukden for his head quarters , because it is favorably situ ated on the railway and on the Pekin Toad. The city of Mukden has an outer .wall of mud , and a lofty quadrangu lar inner wall three miles in circuit , "built of brick. Hanked by lofty towers -and pierced by eight gates protected ly lofty brick bastions. This wall , on which three carriages could drive abreast , protects the commercial and official part of the city , and is densely crowded. Mukden , besides being the great grain emporium of Manchuria , is tlie center of the Chinese fur trade , and attracts buyers from all parts of the world. It is the ancient royal city of the Manchus , and the former burial place of tlie rulers of China. About the city and about the tombs .centers the veneration of China's millions. Aside from this , Kuropatkin may not only avoid battle at Mukden , but may be compelled to abandon all hope of further resistance until after the i\vinter nonths. His army , repeatedly defeated , is badly demoralized , say ru mors. Its morale cannot but have "been affected , and though its valor has freen unmistakably proven , the task of again facing the fanatical desperation of the Japanese might prove too se- .vere a strain. Two months of autumn remain for fighting. Nevertheless , it is more than probable that the battle of Liaoyang marks the last important struggle of the present year. The rains oiow prevent operations. The plan of the Japanese will not develop until "transportation becomes possible over the roads. A determined advance on the part of the enemy will in all prob ability be followed by a prompt north- rward movement on the part of Kuro patkin. In that event , the winter will find this situation : The main Russian army will be centered at Harbin , with the Tear guard at Tie Pass. The main Japanese army will be quartered in and about Liaoyang , with its advance guard at Mukden. Rumors have come . * FIELD MARSHAL OYAMA , THE HERO OF LIAOYANG. tually develop. Meantime , ancient Mukden rivets attention. It is impossible to ascertain what has happened during the last week be | tween Liaoyang and Mukden , except in the broadest outlines , and even as to these there is uncertainty. We know that Kouropatkin has been THE SITUATION AT I'OKT ARTIIUB. withdrawing his 'army northward , but how far he has taken it we cannot tell. "We know that Kuroki has been in touch with his rear guard to the east at least part of the time. We have had it officially stated sev eral times that the entire Russian nrmy was in Mukden or north of there , and concurrently we have had COURSE WHICH THE RUSS8AN BALTIC FLEET WILL TAKE , KNOUrt OUTC B LTicmtt , . ALTItRMVmC . . . . . . . . . ROVITtS * - .4. --------jmm . & & t. : / , hL& < The course that the Russian Baltic fleet , which has started for the far East , will probably take is indicated in the / / * / -A.Af map. The length of the journey is more O C < W than half the distance around the world , lor 12,270 nautical miles or 14,110 stat ute miles separate Port Arthur and Oonstadt by the shortest sea route. At an average steaming rate of ten knots , not including many stoppages for coaling , it would take fifty-one days for the fleet to get within sight of the beleaguered fortress. Between Gibraltar and ( Port Arthur there are at least twenty ports at which , in time of peace , the ships oould coal , but the ports being in neutral hands this is forbidden in present cir cumstances. Any adverse weather will cause great delay , for the larger ships must hold back for the small craft , of wliich there are many in the new fleet. from 'Tokio of a winter campaign. Those familiar with the rigors of the Manchurian winters doubt that such course could be seriously considered. Japan could well afford to grant a pe riod of rest to an army which has accomplished fairly marvelous things In seven mouths of fighting. All is speculation , however , and no definite word may be uttered until the armies again move and their plans ac- scraps of information to indicate that the movement was not yet completed. Rumors even of pitched battles fought by the Russian rear guard are still coining. We may disregard as mani festly erroneous all stories from hys terical correspondents and army ofli- cers in Mukden of fighting close in to that city , and we can similarly disre gard the report that Kuroki's and Oku's forces are respectively twenty- seven and twenty miles to the east and west of Mukden. The other day there appeared three circumstantial accounts of the battle of Liaoyang , telegraphed in by corre spondents who had been present Two of these correspondents were with Oku's , or the left , army , while one was with Kuroki's , or the right , army. All three of them agree that the battle was fought with desperate bravery on both sides. The Russians exhibited a new ability to hold the Japanese. Oku , on the left , assaulted again and again on one occasion thrice during twentj'-four hours. He lost regiments at a time , yet he kept on. In the opinion of the Chicago Trib une , if the Japs had tried to take Liao yang exclusively by direct assault they would have failed. But the flank ing movement of Kuroki , who threat ened to get behind the Russians , com pelled them to evacuate the town. The critics who have eyes only for Glut's army , and see it battered and bruised in its direct assaults , must not forget that Kuroki could not attempt his flanking movement from the east un less Oku should press the south in sufficient numbers to keep a larje number of Russians employed theie , and so prevent them from being sent to interfere with Kuroki's flank march. But the Japanese did not surround and capture the Russian army. That is a thing not often done. Kuroki , inarching from his bridges across the Taitze , had twice as far to go to reach the railroad above Liao yang as Kouropatkin , who was in Liaoyang and on the railroa'd. In ad dition , Kouropatkin has steam to in crease his mobility , while Kuroki must plow his men and transports over wretched , muddy footpaths. Small forces in good positions could delay Kuroki ; there were no forces on the railroad to check Kouropatkin. In every war of history a victory such as Oyama won has been called "sweeping. " He forced the Russians out of a strongly fortified place , chased them to Mukden , forty miles northward , and it is reported that they are still going , and propose to make for Tieling , forty miles north of Muk den. This retreat is directly away from Port Arthur. The Port Arthur situation remains obscure. There has been some hea > y fighting. The Japs gained a few ad vantages , though probably at a heavy cost The Russians are now forced to distill sea water because the Japan ese have cut off the last remaining fresh water spring of the Russians , which was at Fort Etse. Etse and the adjoining forts are not occupied by either side , since these positions nre dominated by batteries of both sides. War News in Brief. Russian officials state that the loss to Kuropatkin's army at Liaoyang was less than 17,000 men , 4,500 being killed. The Japanese are said to be levying taxes in Manchuria and to have taken entire control of finances and customs in captured territory. Much bushwhacking is going on upon the road south of Mukden , and many Russian soldiers have been killed from the fields of Chinese corn. Oyama reports that a large Russian force faces him south of Mukden and that the Russians are fortifying both banks of the Liao river at Tie Pass. Chinese bandits again are active , fre quently attacking the Russian railroad line north of Mukden. Bushwhacking causes constant losses to the Russians. Information coming froman authorita tive source in St. Petersburg is that the Russians will winter at Harbin , but the fact that there probably will be two months of good weather for military op erations before extreme cold weather seta in leaves room for a revision of this pur pose in ths light of events that may transpire. SPEAKS ON THE1SSUES ROOSEVELT'S FORMAL LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. President in a Twelve Thousand Word Document Defends His Administra tion of the Affairs of the Nation De clares Protection Necessary. President Roosevelt's formal letter ac cepting the presidential nomination of the Republican party has been given out. It is 12,200 words long. President Roosevelt defends the last seven years of Republican control. He declares that the Democrats attack Re publican policies and acts of the last seven years by misrepresenting what has been done. He then proceeds to review those acts in detail , and scatters through his 12,000-word letter scores of interro gation points , asking the Democrats what they are going to do different , or what different they would attempt if charged with power. As to Panama , he says he would be derelict in his duty if he used a false construction of the con stitution as a "shield for weakness and timidity , or as an excuse for govern mental impotence. " The letter charges the Democrats with insincerity in and conflict of criticisms ( iu matters such as the settlement of the coal strike find the prosecution of the merger suit that shows no chance for co herent action or constructive legislation if they are given power. As to the money question he declares the only real way to keep the question from becoming un- settled is to keep the Republican party in power. In defense of the protective tariff poi icy the President says that some Demo crats seem anxious to prove that it is safe to give them partial power , as they could do no mischief then. In connec tion Avith the tariff he discusses the trusts , and says the evils connected with them can be reached only by rational effort , along the lines taken by Congress and the executive during the last three years. The tariff is made the leading feature of the letter. It is set forth that the present execu tive thinks the present regular army is no larger than the country requires , and as to the Philippines he says that to retrace our steps Avould he to give "proof of an infirm and unstable national purpose. " Points from tlie Letter. Following are leading paragraphs from the President's letter : It is difficult to find out from the utter ances of our opponents what are the real issues upon which they propose to wage this campaign. It is not unfair to say that , having abandoned most of the prin ciples upon which they have insisted dur ing the last eight years , they now seem at a loss , both as to what it is that they real ly believe and as to how lirmly they shall assert their belief in anything. In fact , It is doubtful if they venture resolutely to press a single issue ; as soon as they raise one they shrink from it and seek to explain It away. Such an attitude is the probably inevitable result of the effort to improvise convictions ; for when thus improvised it la natural that they should be held in a ten tative manner. There is not a policy , foreign or domes tic , which we are now carrying ont which it would not be disastrous to icverse or abandon. We base our appeal upon what we have done and are doing , upon our record of ad ministration and legislation during the last seven years , in which n-e have had com plete control of the government. If continued in power we shall continue our foreign policy and our handling of the navy on exactly the same lines in the fu ture as in the past. The fundamental fact is that in a popu lar government such as ours no policy i3 Irrevocably settled by law unless the peo ple keep in control of the government men who believe in that policj' as a matter of deep-rooted conviction. On some of the vital questions that have confronted the American people in the last decade our opponents take the position that silence is the best possible way to con vey thL'ir views. To say that action against trusts and monopolies should be limited to the appli cation of the common law is equivalent to Baying that the national government should take no action whatever to regulate them. Undoubtedly it would be possible at the present time to prevent any of the trusts from remaining prosperous by the simple expedient of making such a sweeping change In the tariff as to paralyze t ie In dustries of the country. The trusts would cease to prosper , but their smaller com petitors would be ruined and thevage - workers would starve , while it would not pay the farmer to haul his produce to mar ket. ket.The The expenditures of the nation hnvc been managed iu a spirit of economy as far re moved from waste as from niggardliness , and in the future every effort will be con tinued to secure an economy as strict as ! consistent with em'ciencj- . So far from having "sapped the founda " tions" of free popular government at home by the course taken in the Philippines , we have been spreading its knowledge and teaching its practice among the pooples'to whom It had never before been more than an empty name. At no time in the history of this or anj other country has there been an era so pro ductive of material benefit alike to work- ingmen and employer , as during the seven years that have just passed. THE TRENT CANAL. Shortens Distance Between Canada' * "Wheat Fields aud Liverpool. The Trent Valley canal in Canada is nearing completion. It will unite Geor gian Bay with Lake Ontario , via Lake Simcoe , the Kawartha lakes and the Ontonahee and Trent rivers. The canal proper will be only twenty miles in length and will cost 910,000,000. This uninterrupted water course from Lake Superior to England will make the dis tance between Canada's western wheat fields and Liverpool 700 miles less than the present course via the great lakes and the Erie canal. The boats will have a capacity of SOO tons while those on the Erie average about 240 tons. These advantages would speedily take away much of the Erie's business. But the voters of New York State , to forestall this competition , have emphatically de cided to expend $100,000,000 in enlarg ing the Erie so that it can accommodate barges of 1,000 tons' capacity. From Far end Near. Senor Eusebio Santos , a Spaniard liv ing in Brooklyn , thrives on a diet of ? rass. John F. Finerty of Chicago was elect- id president of the United Irish League it New York A parcels post convention has been : oncluded between the United States and Sfonvay , to take effect Oct. 1 nert. The large packing plant of Street & Ikrcoran at Buffalo , N. Y. , was destroy ed by fire , the loss being estimated at ? 125,000. CHICAGO TRAIN HELD UP. Eanclita Blow Safe on the lioclc Island Near Letts , lov/u. Five bandits robbed tlie Chicago- Kansas City limited train on the Rock Island Roadshortly after midnight Tuesday morning at a place known as Whisky Hollow , about six miles ouz of Muscatine , and near Fruitlaud , Iowa. The train , known as No. 11 , Is a through train to Texas , and the rob bery was committed at the end of a sharp curve , and exactly where a sim ilar hold-up was plotted two years ago by the Chicago car barn bandits. The statements of express officials are that the bandits obtained no mon ey , though the safe was blown open and the contents were taken. It Is asserted that the safe contained mer chandise of some value and company papers in transit , etc. , but no cash. As the train rounded a curve the engineer saw a red lantern on , the track , and immediately stopped. The engine , the express car and the bag gage car were boarded by the robbers , apparently five in number. A fusillade was fired along the sides of the train to prevent interference by passengers. The messenger of tlie express car was compelled to open the door. The car safe was dynamited and the contents itaken , after which the engine crew was compelled to return to the pas senger coaches , the engine was cut olt and the robbers ran it west through Letts to within two miles of Colum bus Junction , where it was left stand ing on the track. MAY STAY SIX WEEKS , Russia . Transport Lena Given Time to Make Itcpairs. The Russian transport Lena has been allowed six weeks to make necessary re pairs to her boilers , and at the end of that time she must depart from the port of San Francisco unless , in the opinion of the fleet engineer of the Pacific squad- ion , stationed at San Francisco , her re pairs absolutelj" require more time than 'has ' bsen allowed to put her into a sea worthy condition. This decision , though subject to revision , disposes of the case for the present , although the Japanese consul general at San Francisco is not satisfied with it , insisting that the Lena should leave port immediately , on the ground that she is at San Francisco to spy on transpacific ships. Within the bay and close to shore numerous Japanese residents watch the vessel through field glasses. Aside from the diplomatic situation is the danger , it is said , of a. second Maine disaster. Reports are heard of threats that a well-manned boat may put out under cover of darkness , with explosives enough to sink the cruiser and kill her men oOO in all. A counter-plot of Rus sians is also suspected. Watch is be ing made by a force of marines under Midshipman Davis for quantities of arms or ammunition which might be smuggled to the Lena from secret agents of the Czar. Not a pound of coal will be al lowed her until the government acts on the case. Lieutenant Commander W. C , Her bert , engineer in charge of the Pacific squadron , found that the Lena's boilers are in bad condition , after an inspec tion. They had been overtaxed in the long and hurried trip across the Pacific , although even this trip is as yet unex plained. MAINE GIVES 31,000. Republicans Say Plurality Io Larger Than Expected. After one of the most exciting cam paigns for nearly a quarter of a century the Republicans of Maine have elected their candidate for Governor , William T. Cobb of Rockland , by a plurality over his Democratic opponent , Cyrus W. Da vis of Waterville , estimated at 31,000. The vote was the largest ever polled. The returns show a Republican gain over 1900 of 15 per cent and a Democratic gain of 31 per cent , on which basis the Republican plurality for Governor is es timated at about 31.000. In 1900 it was 34,132. The Republicans carried every county with the exception of two. They elected the four members of Congress Allec , Littlefield , Burleigh and Powers. Burleigh ran ahead of his vote of two years ago and Powers 2,300 behind. In Androscoggin county , the home county of Senator Frye , the Democrats succeeded in winning for the first time in many years , electing all the county officers. The present sheriff , the Rev. C. S. Cummings , a Methodist preachf , who was elected sheriff on the Republi can ticket , and who since his election has rigidly enforced the prohibitory liquor law , was defeated with the rest. In Portland the present Democratic sher iff was re-elected , receiving a larger plu rality than two years ago. Republican pluralities in the Maine September elections in the most recent presidential years are as follows : 190i 31,000 1S92 12,503 1900 34,132 1883 18,053 1S9G 48,246 1SS4 19,815 WHEAT AGAIN CLIMBS. Rise in Price Causes Excitement on Chicago Board of Trade. Excitement such as has not been wit nessed on the Chicago Board of Trade hi years developed Tuesday when May wheat touched $1.18 and the 'heavy ' hold ers refused to sell even at that figure. The wheat pit was a pandemonium , crazy brokers and their clerks fighting with the desperation and abandon of a street mob , as the price went up from the opening of $1.15 % . It was the wild est day the board has seen , not only during the bull movement , which has been on for weeks , but since the days of the Leiter "corner. " The excitement spread to the galleries and men and women stood excitedly watching the juggling of fortunes in the pit below them. Millions upon millions of bushels were sold , but the selling was done by holders who wanted to take profits , and the wheat was snapped up by shorts anxious to cover. Killing frosts reported from the North west in districts where the wheat is still tmcut were principally responsible fon the upward rush in prices , although for eign markets were also up on the open ing. One Hundred Years Ago. A complete change took place in the government of the Batavian republic. The cotton crop of Georgia was ruin ed by caterpillars. The American squadron captured near Tripoli two vessels laden with wheat for that city. The Governor of New Brunswick was forced to order out the troops to quell a riot among oyster strikers at Ainboy. Seventy-five Years Ago. The Spanish army , under General Barrados , surrendered to the Mexicans under Santa Anna at Tanipico. An exciting debate took place in the French Chamber of Deputies on the subject of the slave trade. The anniversary of Perry's victory on Lake Erie was celebrated by a pub lic ball and parade at Newport , R. I. The peace of Adrianople was de clared. Turkey agreed to recognize the independence of Greece and relinquish to Russia the northeast coast land oC the Black Sea. Fifty Years Ago. The People's Provident Assurance Society of England was established. The allied French and English forces were suffering much from disease and insufficient accommodations. "Sevastopol , " Count Tolstoi's first book , was issued. Fifteen hundred deaths occurred of cholera in London. Commodore Perry sailed from Hong kong for tlie United States. English and French forces were landed in the Crimea. Forty Years Ago. In accepting the Democratic nomina tion for the Presidency of the United States General George B. McClellan said anent the "peace platform" of tho party that "the re-establishment of the union in all its integrity was an indis pensable factor of settlement. " General Sherman ordered all civili ans to leave Atlanta and offered them transportation. General Grant , from Virginia , and General Sherman , from Atlanta , wrote open letters urging the North to "fill the quota of volunteers called for. Secretary Stanton announced that a draft would be put into effect in all States and districts in which the quota had not been filled. Thirty Years Ago. Colorado for the first time went Democratic , the territory sending a delegate of that party to Congress. A call was issued for a convention of the Republicans of the reconstruct ed States to be held at Chattanooga , Tenn. Twenty persons were killed and fifty injured in a wreck on the Great East ern Railway , near Nor\vlch , _ England. Twenty persons were killed and half a hundred wounded in a fight between the New Orleans police and a mob that was clamoring for the abdication o Governor Kellogg. Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot , eminent French statesman and writer , died In Paris. Seventy-four cotton mills in England were closed by a strike of 13,000 en > ployes. Twenty Years Ago. Parisians were excitedly demanding that the government declare war on China. The resignation of the Marquis of Ripon as Viceroy of India and the pro motion of the Earl of Dufferin to the post were announced by the British government. A number of lives were lost and much property was destroyed by floods on the Chippewa and tributary rivers in Wisconsin. The Illinois State fair closed at Chi cago with a deficit of $10,000 for the week. Antagonism between clericals and liberals in Belgium threatened to re sult in civil war. Tammany Hall , in an exciting meet ing , indorsed the nomination of Gro- ver Cleveland , Democratic candidate for President Ten Years Ago. The Republicans carried the Maine State election by a plurality of 38,000. A fatal wreck on the Chicago and Northwestern line near Barrington , 111. , was caused by a cyclone blowing freight cars into the main line , ovec which a passenger train was passing. At a fruit celebration at Grand Junction , Colo. , the 8,000 participants were declared to have eaten fifteen. tonB of fruit
