Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SOIS OF IO LEI LOOSE. I ijtaiic Belate Between Rus sia and Japan Broken. \ % . Japan Calls the Game, Being Worn Out by Russia's Delay and Evasons of a Definite Reply to Her Demands. ? Tgf?p^ Feb. 7c-The* severance of diplomatic relations between Russia and Japan appears to be only a step -towards war, although wheo the min? isters of Russia and Japan withdraw from their respective pests, quick and decisive action ie expected. When Minister of Foreign Affairs Komnra, on Saturdays noticed Baron de Rosen, the Russian minister, of Japaan's determination to sever diplomatic re? lations, he is reported to have declared to him that Japan is tired of Russia's delays, evasions and insincerity, and has decided to take independent action for the conservation of Japan's Oriental interests. During the final negotiations Japan's repeated requests for an answer were treated in a most unsatisfactory ' manner. Japan waited until convinced that it was useless to wait longer, and'"has now ended the discussion. Indications are that there wi!! be no formal declaration of wan Japan will publicly define its posi? tion and purposes, and the foreign office has prepared a new statement, which will probably be announced to? night. On Monday Japan will un? questionably sieze Corea, and although Russia has previously intimated that it would not interfere in view of that country's present attitude develop* . niants are eagerly waited.' London, Feb 8.-The Japanese minister today stated that Japan would tomorrow publish the entire correspondence which led to the breaking off . of diplomatic relations with Russia. The Russian minister has been re? quested by Japanese government to leave Tokio at once. ' JAPAN SCORES FIRST POINT. London. Feb. 8.-A special dispatch from Berlin says a strong Japanese fieet of warships, reported to be on the way to Chemulpo, Korea, has seized be Yeral Russian trading steamers. . WAR NA? BEEN DECLARED. Washington, Feb. 8., 1.25 p. m.-An extra edition of th*e Star says : War has been declared between Japan and Russia and hostilities are now in progresa Port Arthur, via St Petersburg, Feb. 9th.-The first victory has been won by Japan. The Japanese torpedo boat flotilla attacked the Russian fieet during the night and three Russian battleships were badly damaged, while nene of. the Japanese torpedo boats suffered in the least. Japan has thus rared the first success of the war by a bold and sudden dash .and has escaped undamaged. LAST NIGHT'S WAR NEWS. St. Petersburg, Feh? 8.-An advance detachment of Russian cavalry is leav? ing Mukden for Corea. The telegram from Mukden announc? ing the departure of the cavalry, adds : "Russia's love of peace has been ex? hausted by Japan's demands. - Troops, . therefore, have been concentrated at vibe Yalu river. "The Russian troops are in the best of spirits. The Japanese everywhere are hurrying homewards." The Mukden dispatch repeats the rumor that a Japanese squadron is off Wei-Hal We, on the north coast of the Shan Tung peninsular, with the ob? jecting of intercepting the Russian ships coming from Europe. JAPANESE OCCUPY COREA. London, Feb. 9 -The Cbefoo cor? respondent of the Daily Mail cables that sixty Japanese transports are landing troops at various ports in Corea, from Masampho and Fusan on the south, to Kunsan, Mokpho and Chemulpo on the west. Seoul is to be occupied, and the landing is being covered by the torpedo division. The main body of the Japanese fleet, the correspondent con? cludes, will sail in the direction of Port Arthur. RUSSIA'S ACT OF WAR. London, Feb. 9.-In a dispatch dated Nagasaki, Saturday, February 6, and which was delayed by the censor, a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph asserts that Russia deliberately preci? pitated the crisis by secretly dispatch- j ing a few days ago from Port Arthur transports loaded with a full division of troops and escorted by a fieet and landing them near the Yalu river, thus occupying Northern Corea. "Japanese patience became exhaust? ed, and today Japan moved her ships and took unresisted possession of cer? tain merchant vessels, including the Shi 1 ka and Manchuria," the corres? pondent continues. Two other Rus? sian vessels were seized and escorted to Sase bo, Japan. The Daily Telegraph says it supposes the foregoing seizures occurred at Masampho, but that the censor sup? pressed the location. SAILING OF A JAPANESE FLEET. Washington. Feb. 8.-Secretary Moody has received a cablegram from I Lieutenant Commander Marsh, the American, naval attached at Tokio, announcing the departure of a naval diHsion from Japanese waters for Cnemulpo, Corea. JAPANESE FLEET AT MASAM? PHO. Washington, Feb. 8.-The State department has received a cablegram from the American legation at Seoul to the effect that it is reported that Japanese war ships have arrived off Masampho, but that telegraphic com? munication has been cut off and it is impossible to confirm the report. The street hands under the direction of Street Superintendent White have improved the sidewalks on West avenue. TAFT OH THE PHILIPPINES. Giving His Views of the Conditions in Our Island Rossassions, Washington, Feb. 6.-Governor Taft, returned from the Philippines to be Secretary of War, is a godsend to Washington correspondents. It isn't every public man who ;is so accessible. It is not always easy ibo get a frank expression of opinion from Secretary Hitchcock, Attorney-General Knox, or Postmaster-General Payne; from Senators Lodge, Beveridge or Bailey. Some of them are always in toa much harry and some have a stand-off man? ner intimidating to an interviewer. The oew Secretary is easily accessible, frankly responsive, and his head has not undergone any material enlarge? ment on account of accumulated honors. I found him at his desk yesterday and had a good talk with him. "They say yon are in favor of Independence for the Filipinos," said your corres? pondent "Protection-protection, they are not fit for independence it present," he replied. He was reminded that anti-imperial? ists insist that self-government is a natara! right, like personal freedom, and that any people? for instance the Kaffirs and Hottentots of South Africa, know their own wants and can govern themselves better than even the wisest nation can govern them. "Yes, I know," he said, "the anti imperialists are all at sea about that. The English and Germans can teach the savages that civilization is both profitable and agreeable." "Then you hold, of coarse, that Daniel Webster was wrong in opposing th? Mexican War, a war of conquest. He was nick named 'the Mexican' for it by those who know that Califor? nia was a vaiaable asset, and insisted that we had a right to steal it." "Yes, Webster was mistaken in some things, that he said," rejoined the Secretary. Your persevering corres? pondent produced some memoranda. "Froude'8 declaration that "a free country cannot govern sabject pro? vinces:" Lincoln's, tnat?"no rnau was ever good enough to' govern another man without that man's consent;" and sundry morsels from the Declaration of Independence. The Secretary said, "I cannot enter upon a polemical dis? cussion concerning the proper basis of government and the principles which should control a nation ; even if you and I could settle it," he continued with a laugh, "I have hardly time to go into it." Your correspondent explained that bis reason for bringing up such ques? tions was that Governor Taft bad op? posed the acquisition of the Philip? pines in the beginning. "But now," said the Secretary," we face the status qao, the prevailing con? ditions, and it is only with them that I can deal. 1 have disengaged myself from many merchants, promoters, and editors in the Philippines, who believ? ed that affairs there should be admin? istered primarily for the profit of Americana, and now come home and find myself confronted with the anti imperialists. Is this fair?" Your correspondent .inquired how far the hostility of these promoters went in opposition to his humane shib boletb, "The Philippines for the Fili? pinos." "They delay the triumph of pros I perity and justice in the Philippines," he answered. "They want to get rich immediately. Some of them insist that, as the archipelago belongs to the Americans, the feelings, ambitions, and wishes of the natives should not be at all regarded ,or respected. They despise them, . and frequently insult i and abase them. Unless their rancor can be allayed, and the hostility of commercial adventurers in the United States diminished, the solution of the problem will be long delayed. The doctrine which we have announced and striven to realize was McKinley's; it involves a high moral principle which this nation is bound to enforce in spite of all obstacles. Every law and every measure must be construed in the light of it. If it will?help the Filipinos, it must be adopted and ex? ecuted ; if it tends to the injury bf the Filipinos, it mest be discarded and defeated, whomsoever else it profits. You have called this a humane policy. It is much more than that. It is a commercially wise policy. We will never get much profit out of those rich dependencies unless we make our- ! selves the-friends of their people and abide by the principles of justice. Avarice without justice will be oar ruin, and if we are not just, oar ad? ministration in those islands will be a failure. Bat I do not expect this. I expect that, under Governor Luke Wright all schemes for loot will be abandoned and justice will be so firm? ly established and dispensed that the people willi unanimously request our continued protection and prefer oar government to their own. "Yon ask aoout sanitary conditions: I am a living testimonial to the health? fulness of the Philippines.5' With ai comprehensive gesture he displayed his three hundred pounds of avoir? dupois. "Manila is the healthiest city ! in all the tropics. An American who I respects the laws of hygiene, does not persist in hard labor too many hours in a day, lets hot liquors alone, exer? cises enough to keep his liver active, and generally takes care of himself, may live there as comfortably as here. | The death rate of Manila has been J reduced one-quarter under American occupation, lt has not yet a sewer age system, but there are laws for the disposal of garbage which are rigidly enforced, insanitary quarters are burn? ed or otherwise destroyed, the medical methods of civilized nations are being introduced, and we are justified in high expectations of futare improve- J ment. Between forty and fifty per j cent of all the deaths in the Philippine I Islands are of babes under one year j old. This results from profound ignor- j ance of obstetrical expedients. Thc j poor people do not know how to ! manage, and the way infants die and \ mothers suffer is very pathetic- Bat 1 j look confidently for constant and rapid j betterment. "No, the Americans in the Philip- ; pines are not suffering what can pro- j perly be called hard times. But they ! are active and ambitious and they ! want to get rich quick and come home. I suppose they make less money than j they did when the army there was five times as large as it is now. Some of them are mere adventurers and camp followers ; some of the worst allow themselves to be supported from the meagre earnings of the native women. Of course such people will always be malcontents and marplots. _ There is a great chance for enterprising men to make money there without looting the islands or despoiling the natives in any way. What is sorely needed there-needed more than any other thing-is an influx of American capital to develop the vast resources of the archipelago by legitimate means, and of the right sort of American men, honest, courteous, and just, to show by the example of their lives and be? haviour how men should live to enoy free government." JAPAN MASTER OF THE SITUATION. Russian Fleet se Badly Crippled that it Gannet Cope with Japs. Five Russian Warships Disabled and Two Reported Captured. Japanese Landing Troops in Corea Prac? tically Unhindered. Che Ftfo, Feb .9.-The steamer Co? lumbia lias arrived from Port Arthur with additional news of the attackjby the Japanese fleet upon the Russian fleet ih the roads outside of the har? bor of Port Arthur. The Columbia was in the roads at the time and felt the first shock of a torpedo explosion at ll o'clock on ??onday night. The attack continued all night and at day? light this morning the two Russian battleships and one first class cruiser was seen to have been disabled and beached at the entrance of the harbor. 'The cruiser was badly listed to one side. This morning the Rusisan forts opened fire on the Japanese fleet which was about three miles distant. The Japanese vessels returned the fire, hit? ting several of the Russian ships, but doing little damage. The Russian cruisers then went out and the Japa? nese vessels disappered. They were seen later going in the direction of Dalny, apparently undamaged. The two battleships disabled are the Poltava and the Czarevich. The disa? bled armoured cruiser Boyarim and the grounded battleships block the en? trance to the harbor, preventing gun? boats from going out and battleships and cruisers from going in and get? ting coal. Besides this Japan has the Russian gunboats Varyg and Korietz caught at Chemulpo. They were bound for Vla divostock. The Japanese fleet was under the command of Vice Admiral Togo and consisted of six fast cruisers, the Chito, Kasage, Tofago and Yashima, which circled outisde, drawing the fire of the Russians. They then join? ed the main fleet and all went in to attack the armored . cruisers. In the Japanese fleet, which consisted of two divisions were the Kikasa, the flag? ship, the first class battleships Ashi, Fuji, Shikishima, Hatsuse and the dispatch boat Tatsuma. The second division of the fleet under command of Admiral Kn mi mu ra on the flag? ship Ijdsumo, consisted of the armor? ed crosiers Yakuma, Iwat and Asama. "When seen by the steamer Foo Chow Tuesday morning, the fast cruisers were circling in & radius of six miles. No torpedo boats were seen and it is probable that they left the vicinity after^ the torpedo attack of Monday night. The Russian fleet outside of the harbor consisted of the battleships Petropaulovsk, flagship : Perewset, sub-flagship; Pobieda, Poltava, Czare witch, Retvizan and "Sebastopol, and the cruisers Novik, Boyar?n, Baya ru, Diann Palada, Askold and Angara. The disabled battleships are inside forts Huan Ching Shan and Chi Kwan-Shan. The cruiser is outside, but within range of the forts. AX OFFICIAL RUSSIAN REPORT. St. Petersburg, Feb. 10.-1 a. m. The following bulletin has just been issued in the form of a telegram from Viceroy Alexieff's chief of staff, dated Feb. 9: "By order of the viceroy, I beg to report this, that at about ll o'clock in the morning, a Japanese squadron consisting of about 15 battleships and cruisers approached Port Arthur and opened fire. The enemy was received with a cannonade from the shore bat? tery and the guns of our squadron which also participated in the engage? ment. At about midday the Japanese .squadron ceased its fire and left, pro? ceeding south. i4Ourlos8es in the fleet were two officers wounded^, nine men killed, and 41 men wounded. On the shore batteries one man was killed and three wounded. The battleship Pol? tava and the cruiser Novik each hud a hole knocked in her side below the water line. The forts were slightly damaged. . Signed) "Major (ion. Flug." JAPANESE TROOPS LANI). Pekin, Feb. 9.-About 1.000 Jap-* anese troops disembarked at Chemul? po, Corea, yesterday, notwithstanding' the presenc i there of two Russian warships. ANOTHER RUSSIAN DEFEAT. Tokio, Feb. 9.-lt is reported here that the Japanese fleet engaged and j defeated two Russian warships whose names have not yet been learned at Chemulpo. It is said the engagement began at ll a. m., and continued until 3 p. m. The smaller Russian vessel is reported to have been sunk and the larger one fired and hopelessly dis? abled. A part of the crew is reported to have escaped to the shore and to have been captured. The Japanese ships are reported to be slightly dam? aged. Official confirmation of the report is unobtainable. It was report? ed yesterday that the Russian cruisers Eorietz and Varyg were lying at Chemulpo and it is possible that they were the vessels reported to have been engaged. RUSSIAN MAIL STEAMER CAP? TURED. London, Feb. 9.-A dispatch to Renter's Telegram company from Shanghai says it ;:~ credibly reported that the Russian ifciil steamer Mongo? lia, which left Shanghai Sunday, has been captured by the Japanese off Shan Tung peninsula. The Big Boss of Republican Party Succumbs to Typhoid Fever. End Came Suddenly and Unexpect? edly. Special by Ware & Leland's ^Private Wire. Washington, Feb. 10, ll a. m. Senator M. A. Hanna, senior Senator from the State of Ohio died shortly after 10 o'clock this morning. His condition has been regarded as quite serious since yesterday and during the night there was a turn for the worse. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Claims for Damages for Animals Killed by State Veterinarian Rejected. Bili to Give Five Thousand Dollars a Year to Aid in Establishing Rirai Libra? ries Passed.. Columbia, Feb. 8.-The House to? day devoted the greater portion of its time to the rejection of the claims for stock killed by the State veterinarian. The claims in themselves amount to but little, but it is the precedent and principle that is involved. Much time was spent in the discus? sion of the bill which sought to give ten dollars' worth of encouragement to the establishment of rural libraries, This money will come from the State treasury and was to be limited to 85,000 each year. For a great many years there have been various propositions looking to? ward the recording of marriages. To? day, for the first time, the House passed a bill proposed by Mr. Ford, of Fairfield. It is a very simple and plain bill, and is distinctly a step in the right direction, as there can be no possible connection between a sim? ple recording of marriages without a fee and a tendency toward ,a divorce law. Mr. Stackhouse's bill, to guard against the introduction of the boll weevil into this State, was passed with an amendment looking to the ex? clusion of hay, oats and cotton seed from Texas. Mr. Haskell secured the passage to a second readig of his bill to amend the law as to homesteads so as to make the statute law the same as the constitutional provision as to home? stead exemptions. No new bills were introduced today, as the House has decided that it will receive no new measures except through committees. There were 48 bills on he Senate Calendar for a third reading. Of these 35 were of only local concern and were passed. A great majority of them related to schools and the voting of bonds for them. Among other bills read thc third time was the one to require private banking institutions receiving depos? its to make quarterly reports; to ap? propriate $1,500 to Col. Tribble for compiling Confederate records: to provide punishment for safe crackers: granting the United States jurisdic? tion over certain lands in Florence for the purpose of erecting a building. Senator Aldrich, chairman of the committee to consider the report of the commission on the completion of the Stat?1 House, presented the report. It declares that the work on the State House has been very defective, and it charges various wrong-doings against those who had charge ol' the work. After some discussion, the report was ordered to be printed in the permanent reports and resolutions. mm - Under authority of Council the Po? lice Comimttee has purchased a saddle horse for the use of the Chief in the discharge of his duties. The fines and penalties collected by the city during the year 1903 amount? ed to ?1,384.77. In 1902 the receipts from the same source were 11,095.21. French Cambric-the fashionable correspondence paper. Big lot, special price, 25 cents a pound. Osteeu's Book Store. % Why Use Many Words to Tefl You That 1 \ The Best j ? FERTILIZER* % % On Earth % t * ft - ARE MADE BY J$ J The Virginia-Carolina ? ff Chemical Co. * I i ^ ti: li They bave the Best Facilities, use the Best Materials. '?? ^ as? maintain the highest reputation for the jt.; If evenness and raine of their Fertilizers. ^ ? - ? S S56? Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. jj ^ CHARLESTON, S. C. ? We have another Car Horses and Mules. We are also selling BUGGIES, WAGONS and HARNESS almost .A.T COST. The usual stock of Lime, Cement, Fire Brick, Flue Pipe and Builders' Supplies generally. DIXIE STALK CUTTERS. We have secured the agency for these cutters in Sumter county. BOOTH LIVE STOCK (0. GENUINE PERUVIAN GUANO, NITRATE OF SODA, flURIATE OF POTASH. HARB7 & Are Headquarters. WHOA, MULE ! GEE, I SAY ! Turn Right and go to A. lie has just received the finest bunch of mules of the season and has another load of the same kind to ar? rive about Feb. 13. Also some nice driVers and good, substantial work horses. Give him a call. Terms and prices right. WHISKEY I MORPHINE] CIGARETTE i ALL DEUC AND TOBACCO HABIT. I HABIT. ,' HABIT. I HABITS. Cured by Keeley Institute of S. G. 1328! Lady St, (or P.O. Box 75) Columbia, S, C. Confidential corres]