WAR FEVER IN JAPAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12935, 30 March 1904, Page 5

WAR FEVER IN JAPAN

PAT iiIOIIC IiIfIIONSTRATIOXS. PLEDGED FOB I'r.S'DS, Bi Our. SrEQiAt ConnEsroxrmNr. TOKIO, February 21 Every day tlift coi-rcspondcnt} plead like tstippi.ian.t.s upon the Steps of the- War i)IT:o\ and' Overy day ihe-y e.oiho empty away. T'no .lapaiic-io Government lias a wcli-ik-fuied: pliiii of .campaign, which it believes raipht lib interfere*! with if ah army of were allowed to spread itself over tho scen.p of operation,;. Tho tfovornmoni; i!neici;od tint tlio l;eV to success \va.s the coninianjl of tlio eastern sdn. P'oiispisinn of that..key Was sccurcd' by tlio blows etiiiok at pliam'ulpo- iiiid at l'ort Arthur, and, tliarife to tlio masterly mantier in which Admirals Ur.iii and Togo took advantage of tlio division oi tiuS Itiissiaii naval forcw at. .Port Arthur ami Yhulivostock and' Chemulpo, supp.lcniiMit'ed by tlio fpkndid dnsli into Port Arthur by tli.e torpixlorbcat destroyers on tiro 14th i'nst., tlie Rising Syn Jlaj floats in .mutispiitixl sway over the waterways, A neccssary consequenco of obtaining- tho command of the sea.' was the power placed .in tho> hands of Japan to swiftly ami eafely transport lier army division? to. Eorea aiid Manchuria. As sooii .-is tho news or the defeat of tho Russian navy. \vas Confirmed tlio work of traiisportins;: tho troops,, which Lad boon mobilispd all over the empire, to tli.c co.ut Was opnimc-n'ced'. THE GALL TO DUTY. The trains for tho past week, or more hayo. been carrying hundreds of troops to Shunono.sek'.i aiid otho'r_ ports of debarkatiori. All along 1 Km railway rente both sides of. the. line have been festooned With brings of bunting, chiefly, (if .ceui'se, Japanese, but ever and anon with the lliij of Kn;;liin,d gleaming proudly among' fheiii, and hr'nejfh tho Jtaps all day 10113 stand .gi'oup-: of patriotic '.lapn'nese, shout im; ''Bai.l7.ai" a.u eaeli train, speeds past, T'lie Administration. has not adopted (lie system, of calling out the first line. of. reserves only.. 011 tho. eontrary,. the first, second, and third reserves ill comc districts have been pent to tho [rout, probably as. a pretty plain hint to {ho nation that tbh is regarded as a war ill which cyery lr.au may expect lii have to fight. The call to duty has lk;en magtiiii.eently responded to,. 'From tho quarry itud

aliop. and -from factory and the fields re- | scrvisto have hastened, proud and giato at I tho thought t)i«t they arc among ilit, first ■ to bo permitted U> :--triko a blow at the natiaiial enemy. Tens of tlicii.iaini; of ti'oopa are even now cros.-inj tho Korean yti-aih; and laudinij at l'u»an, Ci.lO!fittf|lQ, aiidj it is heb't'Vcd, still fiirthcr nort-li, Tlio. gcncr.il staff will leave in -a few' (tuy.s. and. it the War O.irieo agioes the for-eigu oorrespOndtMits \yiil accoinoaßy it. When sullicient troops havo been lair-led 'Port. Arthur wilt lie invcß'ted by laud- and S«i. and H wou'd j|)pca'r as if no human power could prevent; its downfall. V.'.i, 11■ n:!v Admir.al AlcxeielF hi.niiolf aha.vcg tjiie frarv as he has shifted his headquarters to Harbin, in Maschuria. It i's .finite pn»--ii)!e (lia-t ! jic Japanese early in the lanil cstn])ai;;n will get possession of tlvj ilistmn Oliina railway; in fact,, already the line Iras 'bent rcjiderrd ljTa.eticai.ly iv.x'less ,by .Mi'.itehnr.uin bandits, who undoubtedly have been w<'.rl;ii:s at ,th-3 ilistitjatiou of Japanese engineers, w-ho , weeks before tho war were to j Maacliii.ria to discover tho vulnerable l point-J |cf flic railways. The lilies of coinmuuio'i. tio!i bhtwoea I'ort Arthur and VladivO>tock 4iul tho WCi't will lift r.nt, nii.il the military jiroposition which the Joiianose will havo to solve will ho comparatively r>imnlc. It would not cause much turpreo if both P.w.sia's iniport-ant- eastern lior-U fell wJl'iiu. the next fo\r mfiitlw, ar.d tlie ro'nrmi.s of her fleet into the por.sofjion pf Japan. I GENOA. CmiISKUS WICLCO.MED. Tlio Mayor of Tokio last Fri(l;iy aslf'd all iho eorrespoJiilcnts to attend at a Rrand recentio.il to the .oiThKts and erews of. the Xisslii.n and TCeSiiga., lite Genoa cruisers. Natnt.'dly iho Japans? are irotnensely delighted tliaf this material addition 10 tlvar fighting foie.e has Safely arrived. It ?cf inr-il II ill it o possible that they would have been. [ snapped up by the PuWian?. and now I have' had the privilege, of seeh.it; tho crov.'S ' I am more than astonished that Captains I li.ee. and I'ayn'.cr managed to (;ct th-< i-cs'sels safely to Y'odcsuka, (illieer? who wore On : board tell mo that the discipline was un- ! fortunately very lax. At Yodosuka. Yoko- |- hania, and Tokio mafiiiliccnt eiHortain, l/i.cnis were devisf.d in. ih*"ir liononr. Tiiat at Tokio was held in -the Ilihiya i'c.rk. All foiir wern tendered with .Jaoaiiefe lanterns', with iho national colour.';, and above them il.ew strings cf British, a.nd Italian. Inside the grounds. • pavilions had been c-rcctcd. and a [ tremendous., arch of gnuwry, with the word t " Welcome" pieked out in wi;itc, /.owned the I entrance the ti'-X 1 -". t : he line 'of match and In tht> lirrlc itself there wero iiiin.dreds of miles of b,;r,ti'.>','. Most of the business places h.ad also blossomed out Wlt.ilbi)iiiiejs,. and the gcviera-l cffcct was rfinarknblcs Ail Tokio lumed ui.i.t to see. the spectacle. Addresses, of w:clcoine were read and I Mspondwl to, r.isuranecs wore given that ' Japan and and Italy were all jolly . good fellows, and all settled down to watch an exhibition of Jajia-nese wrestling. Tho marquee held about 2.000 persons, the flower of file nobility and fvn of mark in the pro.fjssion. Here one could ace a uolje di-cssed ill the latest Piccadilly fashion to snot-hoi' aristocrat, who- still din;.;' to tho inlinitely more artistic national b.abiii|n?nis. "Top" hats canjo olf with ft SV.'Cop to acknowledge the profound lit-nv of ono dressed iii the fashion of the past period, -and tlio old and the . new Japan, were '''ni.ingled in nia'nner which was as pfi'as it w;as pielyirqsqiic. ! In tho evetiiiiij !.h/j J.fay.o:' entertained the | ofneerS of the Xissiiin anil Kan.isa ist.id the : war c(irrc.s;)o;ideiits at (litiuur. Gazing round the laiile one could easily think Ire was in a. British community, Kvcrypne was in evening drrss exrent tl.ic ti'ivtll add military ojl/c'.'H. I had for ncur'hbfHiVs Itear-A-dinirai Miyahai-ji- and Mr Xakr.jiina, chief j engineer cf Iho city of Ttkio. .Mwt in- } tercstinc! companions they proved to be, ' with an accurate knowledge Of Australia, ai'tliotiyh. neither of thini had ever visited it. then the oliiqers of the eniisers havo hern feted (everywhere, : and dukes itnd. viscamils anil barons and all the other illustrious j.orsonagcs who form i'he lionse of I'eerJ vie With oaeh other in entertaining them. HKi.l'iM! TiSK WAR FUND. Th a previous letter I mentioned tho aiithtisiasm with wl'.iob the neoyle were subfcribiuj foe the war tionds. A lnovcm.ciit set on. foot hy oni' of ilih grcr.t b.iiikeis ha.i, " caught cn" wor-derftllly. jie sugifesfcd that everyone with jewellery, pold or silver artie'es of value, should hand them over to the batik to form a- re : crvc : , The Krnperor hinriself has shown his approval of the ; scheme bv foiiilluw the almost invaluable .treasures of the palace to the lir-nk. and splendid oiiniiaiion is bcintf shown by till .-classes of society in the dife-etioii of buiid- , i'.iif up tha largest aggrcjato to this ■ truly patriotic fund. One hen rs, I or, itl t round of fiimiliCs giving u'o Mm;; luxury, so that the weekly amount savcl nniy swell tho iKV.t'irmai reso-'trcc;:. I'lificy trivi his the foreign residents froin t-akiitg part .in iliis niovemehl, luit the strong sympathy with Japaiij whi'.e'n rernioates nda.rly tlie wholp. of the foreign cO(n.in.u.ui.t.y, is tin ding useful expression in the collection of funds ior the l.tetl Cross LciigUe iind siiii'ilar institu- , lions. I Till', CENSOR. I A word &3 to the censorship. When I arrived ,z fortnight ago it was strict enough in all-conscienc-e, but now it- is a thousandfold worse. Not; a wore! iii allowed to apl'ear in the vcrnaciihir of tlio foreign pi'OM in. regard to the movements pf troops or warships, and tlie telegrams of the ciiblin/r ! (iorrffipOndcnts .aro censored iernor-sclessty. The local iljnsl rated prese are not to bo . deterred, anti have published vividly j'e.ali.stic

. ircwjroa, -Mti nave putinsncd vtviuty realistic pictures of the gwat nrtVit] fi;ihls< liven the. "'cutfst" .censor is bafllpd by the imagiuativo pencil of the native war artist, wlra sks at his case, in iiio Giza. the Ooliin-i street of Tnltio, and dfpic!.? Russian warships petlinj; u particuhr-ly bad tinio. ITirlcss tho , ccißors .mend tiicir ways (lift .< orresppndents 'will not Im> allowed to sent! imvlning from liio seat of w,ar whon they get there. T!i.\l)K DI'EXiNBS, ' Two or three evefringji ago I mot Mr ' Suitor, tho New South Wales eompiereial airer.t. lit- expresses hiins.i]f ;i.; vooy liopt | ftil of up a considerable trade ; between tins country and Australasia. if pro- | (timers on your siti-p will assist liiiri by send, ,! iiijf sanijjlct-. The Japanese. v.'ill do no trade i n'ilo.Js lliey spe samples, and luwiclrcds oi* tlionsands of pounds' worth ot business iv.hiiih should have flowed in your direction. ' in.'ild appear to have bc.Cn lent, pimply cause of tho failure of tl.io Australasian flrn'B •. to send out EpfeiniiMls of their produce. A' tile time ec'inpiTsSi'd fodder would I lv purchased iii immense (lu.autities, .and j there are other lines which Japdsi cannot ' | -supply herself at ail lihiioniiiil Mich ■;'as- this. Mr Suitor pays a very Irish com- ■' plimen.t. to the riieri»y lind interest displayed [ | by Sir Claude Mncljoiuilil in assist in," him to ffi-t. ill touch v.ith the ri' n 'ht people hero. | Just as I was übout to dose this letter word '; csjno in that tho \V»r Gllic.c \v:ir> goiiig to | pivo us inarching orders tlie day after to* iuorrow. WHEN THE Amn'ES MEET. TOIvIO. February 28. Three days hko it looked cdiln op our Set ling away in a few hour--. Xmr he would 1:6 reckless who dared to fix a«iy ■ period to qui' stay litre. The faet is the ■ L iiovernmeiit does not want us to to the front, partly perhaps because, as fa.r sis tho laiicl part of tho iiiimv is eniiceritod, there is no front. S!ow|y anil liiothpdieally .Japan i m traiispovt.ini; fcer army to Eorta. Shu is ' n-mlin!.' i;iTfe.'tly-e()iii.ppeil eOmniis.-nri/a .mi! hospital spi'dee*. As Was the ease dur-C.y tho lkixer troivMp tllrco yoai'.-i ago, tlie i .Japanese are fo teach the world s lc<i- ■ sou .in. provi.sioiiinii their ofmy, to m tho ! north of Korea, noflii-wnsl fi'<Jm Seoul, liio 1 ' eo.lintrv is reiuoiv liioni!; ahiot'.i. and . roiM iai!y eriHiittunis iiudie it iiuni'acl'iea;hl.e., at this.' pi'vifid ot the year. ti> move largO bodies of troons. and supplies. It is jmu--tiealh- i".'rlai'n,*thei'pfore. llmt. e.Wl'pt thc'H« . nay he a few isnlpitet ::l.i.rmic-hes, tlitie will be'lio trial of strciiCil.h until April benvewi I'm hind forces of Hnwia and J.apitn. Thoughtless persons iire still to be loujid ; wtu) arßue that this deJay will, bp nsetul \ to Russia, bitt obviously tluit position is mrtenablo. Kussii has. only Mic irans Silwriaii - railway to relv lipoil to set her troops to ; the front, and eniiliont, .lajian .--i; eu;,'ine.e.V3 eiifidi'sp the o]iini<>fi .e;;iii:es-gd by every Kii"iiih v,riter of note v,;ho .has sfriou'ily

' considered, the question that tho railway will break, down within a week when it has ti> sustain tho strain of' continuous war , traffic. A tingle light- lino, some thousands ot v.orsfs long, liurripclly and poorly put together, is fjf lit'tlp ViUuo in comparison with Japan's magnificent facilities for , speedy and safo. transport by sea; consequently tiio. cMay ia all in favour of Japan. TREATY V/iTII KOREA. Tou will have hoard by oablo that fcaero . 'tYas a. Japancso reproduction the othor du.v of the iholpdramafie sinking of the Jlerriniao at Sintiaijo liay, The plan was daring, and had it iiecn successful the downfall of Tort Arthiir would havo bpen hastened. It is illustrative of the splendid courage of the Japaneja naval officers- iind bluojnckots that, wlioii voiuiiteo.ra were asked for to rim _tho Japanese. steamer:;, Iruleii with stone, under the gmm of the. forts, so many wished' to faeo almost certain death that the selectors wore lis eihlKirrasscd a-J were those who were picked. I'ortinacit.y is the st-ron(? point of the Japanese, and unless the Russian fleet dales to put it to Iho touch, and win or tee, it is almost certain that it will bo bnttlci tip. So far ltu*?ia has aict shown any desire to put anything to the toitiih, rttjd tho only plan pE campaign which Admiral Ale-xcieff sc-onn to have framed iis to avoid iviicnevor practicable. Japan up to date lias not only worsted the toe at sea, hut in tho diplomatic arena, she lias conic, o:ut easily top." Perhaps modem history r-iipplies no batter illustration of :iti iliip.l'i'spivo find paralysing roup than the di'-feiiiilvo .treaty- with Koicj. which Mi" Jiaya.-lii has 'recently completed. Just before tlio out lire a?; of Inutilities, as yen will rHiicmbc-r, the- llnss'ian intluonce at the Korean Court. was r-tfoiitj enough to induce tile miKai'ch of thai seriocomickingdom to declare that t.lic- ini.'vi.t. of his lmrlwipie ajmy would not: h.\ eiifelcil on tho 0110 fide or (ho other, Rirely iVad the laughter over this inc¥oiiii!'(|ur-nlial apd ludicrous announcement- Mib.-iilod ffinn (he really important notification wa-< .m.sde. that Korea had become an ally of Japan-. This, defensive treaty may have eciiseipicr.ees which will, perhaps, after the whole aspect of tho war. illiliorto. by certain overt- aeis ngainet Russia, within- Korean, territorial Imuuds. notably at H"otl! a-iid Chemulpo, and alio by lior action in landing laud forces in the peninsula, .lapai'i has 1 admittedly sailed very close to viol-Hjii'/ Ilia law of nation?. Now, however, Willi li.itlo. Korea cringini; convulsively to her Kimon.o. Japan can play at bailiiitr the llns.siy.n bear in the Korean bark-vard to the top of her Ixnt. As a result of fli!- siipccss which ha? crowned Japan'? maritime eiit-erprfe'i np to t ho present., it vei-y erobahlo that the Nippon-Yusi-n Kaiiha'sfcrvice to Australia will 1» lesumcd iilnio'it immediately. As soon as ih.f., bulk of her nrniy lias been lauded in Korea a fait?? number of tho transports wllj bp re-tensed from Government service, 3 i,fl .bp?n's w'ate.nvi'se, trafiic east of Suez Will bo proceeded- with as usual.