1 5,400
the Circulation of the journal yesterday was
5,00
.'ft
ft
G
OOD EVENING.
ODAYS News Today!
' That is what la making The Journal
the, Uvest newspaper proposition in .
Portland.
, Ths WMthm , ,
. Tonight, occasional rain; Satur
day, shower; high southerly windev
VOL. II. NO. 303.
PORTLAND, OREGON, FRIDAY EVENING, . FEBRUARY 26. 1904.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
CHINA STANDS READY
CREATE A
England Receives the Startling News
That Celestials Will Abandon Prom
ise and Fight Against ; Russia.
France Aroused Over News of Aid to Japan and
Fear Is Openly Expressed That Russia Must
' Be Helped Activity Everywhere.
(Journal Special Service.) - '
London, Feb. tt. A dispatch containing advices of the greatest im
portance was received at the foreign office from Peking today. Min
ister Lansdowne has Issued orders that the contents will not be' given
out in detail, but so much has been secured by the press that the
public Is apprised of the fact that China has practically abandoned her
policy of neutrality and openly Intimates to the powers that her forces
will be held In readiness to assist Japan,, or. In more pertinent
words, '"to become the mikado's ally."
It has been the opinion here that China would not enter the strug
gle only by desultory action In Manchuria, but it Is now assured that
the, myriads of Chinese stand ready to do battle with RUBsia7"whIcb7
power they consider "the black foreign devil of them all." ' t '
A dispatch from 'Paris says that the foreign office there has re
ceived very serious advices from Peking, and further, Intimates that
France may soon be called into action. 'A mercenary motive as well
as treatyduty compel the French government to; aid Russia, This, it '
is said In the dispatch, may be- understood when facts reveal that Rus- 4
slan securities are. held. by the. French people and their commercial In ,
stltutlons to the vast amount of ? nearly f tOpO.OO.OOO '
' " '"tn View' of these late dispatches excitement runs higher in this
kingdom than at any time since the Boer war. England is for Japan,
. and the Integrity of China, and the British people cannot at this time
ace the end of a strife which, it begun, may change the map of the
worid"k'S'd "Urt". new-epoch U th world'. history. , .-
v 4 4 4 4 4
;- (Journal BpecUl Service.) - , -Wash
ington,. Feb. 26.- From advices
received from Peking today it is be
lieved that the Chinese have decided to
engage in the present war and take
lsKuai with Japan. No news will be
given out at the state department, al
though It is known that constant com
munication Is in progress with England
regarding the growing seriousness of the
far eastern question.
At th. wsr department there is un-
miiil ntH vltv and it ia known that
orders have been given to recruit' the
army up to its full strength.
Any official questioned fights shy of
the Russo-Japanese war subject and
alludes to the trouble on the Isthmus of
Panama. This evasion is believed to be
part of their instructions from the
cabinet.
BTJSSIAJTS BAD 0 VIOTOBT.
Official Statement of Xst Bngafememt
at Port Arthur Is Made. ,
(Journal Bpcclal Service.)
London, Feb. 26. The Japanese em
bassy this morning Issued an official
statement as follows: "Early on the
morning of February 24 four old ves
sels were escorted by Japanese torpedo
boats to DiocKaae me mourn or mi Har
bor at Port Arthur. The object of sink-'
lng these vessels was attained. All of
ficers and members of the crews re
turned In safety. Although there. ia no
report regarding our fleet direct from
Admiral Togo, no doubt can be enter
tained regarding its safety."
musfXA oonrumra.
Bays Americans railed to Assist Drown
ing Sailors.
-(Journal Special Service.)
- Washington, Feb. 26. Russia today
called the attention of the state de-
. inment ia tne aiiegeq acnon ot com
mander Marshall of the Vicksburg, who
Is charged with having failed to rescue
drowning Russian sailors In the engage
ment oft Chemulpo. Seoretary Bay re
ported the matter to the navy depart
ment and was Informed of the receipt
of a dispatch this afternoon from Mar
shall. In which he states he was the first
of the foreign commanders to go to
the assistance of the Russians. It Is
believed the animus of the Russian com
plaint la leveled against Marshall's re
fusal to take joint action with other for
eign , vessels in protesting against the
supposed violation, of international, law,
when Admiral Drlu demanded that Rus
sian battleships leave the harbor of
Chemulpo. In this Marshall was en
tirely Justified as he Is forbidden under
American naval regulations from Join
ing representatives of other nations In
such acts. -'',- 1
CKAB BLESSES KX8 - A3UCT.
Issues Imperial Proclamation Through
General Kuropatkin. ,
(Journal Special Service.)
' St Petersburg, Feb. 26. The czar issued
; a proclamation to the army through
General Kuropatkin, who was a few
days ago relieved of the war portfolio
and put In-chief command of all land
forces. He lauds the past services of
Kuropatkin and confers on him , the
order of Alexander Nevsky. He trans
mlts to the army the imperial greeting
and blessing. " ; C .
EOLD1 UP BWaiJSX YESSEI
London, Feb. ,26. A Russian torpedo
bout fired a shot across1 the bows of the
British India liner Mombassa In the Red
sfta Monday Ind then boarded and ex
(unfiled hof pnpers. The vessel-VMS
, (Hearst Special Service.)
San Francisco, Feb. 26. Edwin H.
Clough, the well-known special writer
for the Hearst service., writes from To
kio of Japan's preparedness for war.
Mr. Clough's letter was received last
night by mall and was written two days
before actual hostilities commenced. He
tlearly outlines the, pending situation
and deals with the Russian policy of
diplomatic time-wasting. The letter
follows: - . . : ' . '
Tokio, Feb. 6. Japan has been pre
pared for war since last October. ' Pre
vious to that time the Japanese had
been merely making ready. It was
Minister Conger of the United States
who sent the first note to Russia in
forming that power that the continued
occupation of Manchuria was subver
sive to the peace and dignity of1 the Or
ient This message was In the form of
a verbal announcement to Prince Ching
that, as by the terms of the Manchurian
convention, the final evacuation of Man
churia by the Russians had been fixed
for October I, 1908, It would be pre
sumed that when that data arrived the
terms of the agreement would have been
fulfilled and that the ports of Mukden
and Ta Tung Kau would be open to the
commerce of the world under a pre
vious treaty Just concluded between the
United States and China.
A Similar, Treaty.
About the 'same time a similar treaty
had been arranged between Japan and
China adding the Talu port of An Tung
Helen to those named In . the treaty.
The ink was scarcely dry on these treat-
(Continued on Page Two.)
WORLD'S
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' - ;-
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il Iv' , t ,
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jV Il v
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Hr 'A i " . t 1
t ' ' ' ' ' -4 '
vVf Y ...' .; r -1 I
PRINCE LOUIS NAPOIiEON WHO WILL .COMMAND RUSSIAN CAVALRY.
The Picture Shows', the Nephew of Napoleon III- with General .'Wlrbalien at a
' .. Railroad fetation in Russia.- The; Prince Has Long Been an Officer of the
' ' Russian Araay In Manchuria.1 j: j ; . . K , ,st
SIBERIAN RAILWAY
RUSSIA'S DEPENDENCE
Without the Trans-Siberian railroad.
Russia would be practically 'helpless In
the war - with .Japan. 1 It is the - mighty,
artery through which 1 pour - the sup
plies, " the ' munitions, . and : the troops
with which the government- of the czar
carries-forward' the conflict;? Nearly
one-fourth of the earth's circumference
separates . the .Russian capital from the
seat of war, and without railway com
munication it -would be Impossible - to
offer, any, prolonged or effective resis
tance to the forces of Japan.
The Trans-Siberian) railroad is the
longest In the; world. From 'Moscow It
stretches through European Russia, over
the 'Ural mountains, across the - snow
covered plains of Siberia,- and through
Manchuria to the Sea of Japan. . Its
THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY,
.'2iC'i' t L tf;Y) V-u T0 and from europeto Okhotsk f
SliJ ' r W ' ChlA. JAPAN AND AU5TR ALIA? , ,
TO flRE
LWAR : ;
eastern - termini are (Vladivostok, Rus
sia's chief naval base in the Orient and
Port . Arthur,; the. principal scene of hos
tilities' since the war began. From Mos
cow to. -Vladivietok is a distance of
6,307 miles, and. nearly three weeks are
consumed in - the. Journey, - Giant rivers
and-mighty mountain, ranges -are trav
ersed by the railroad, and broad frozen
lakes are crossed on . ferry boats,
equipped with . powerful . machinery to
break a passage through the Ice. Much
of the scenery along the route is mag
nificent and Impressive beyond descrip
tion. . , .
The Japanese have been, quick to ap
preciate the vital Importance to Russia
(Continued on Page Two.)
OVER WHICH RUSSIA IS
By courUty of A. J, Charlton, Mlatat fnrU
FIEND THREATENS
TO
DESTROY
.
4 Rochester la one of the most,
prosperous cities In the' Empire
e state. It is-the capital of Mon- 4
t roe county, situated, on the Gen-
esee river, seven miles from
Lake Ontario. It is an lmpor-
$ tant railroad point on the four-
t track New York Central, and 4,
e the Erie canal runs through the
e business section of the city.
The federal census of 1900
gave Rochester the population of . 4
f. 13,608, but it la estimated that
f during the last three years and $
t a half more than '40,000 lnhabl-
tants have been added. 4
S It Is becoming one of the lead-
lng manufacturing cities In the
t east, and probably leads in man-
ufacturing of ready-made cloth-
e lng and boots and shoes, with
two or three exceptions. Flour, t)
t beer, tobacco, carriage and fur-
$ nlture manufacturing and trade, $
e has made the city prominent dur-
a lng the last decade.
The city contains the Unlver- g
t slty of Rochester, a Baptist In- 4
stitutlon founded In 1850; the 4
Baptist Theological seminary, t)
the Rochester observatory, and
S many charitable Institutions. A g
4 reformatory and the Monroe pen-
itentlary are other Institutions. 4
4 The place was settled in 1812 4
f and ' named after Nathaniel 4
$ Rochester. It was Incorporated 4
t ii a city in 1834. 4
4 Probably- no city occupies a 4
more picturesque site, or one
4 more favorable to growth. It
$ is surrounded by the richest ag- 4
4 rlcultural .country . in . the state, 4
4 and it :Jn tOuclLjrith commerce 4
4 on the great lakes. Within its 4
4 limits are the celebrated' Gen-. 4
4 esee falls. ' 4
" '
4-4
-r
Small Tornado Accom
panies Hail Storm in
Center Addition.
A small tornado accompanied the hall
storm which began at 10:30 o'clock this
morning.
Injured in the cyclone were Amos
Seybold. T. H. Stsrbuck and Mrs. Sheen.
Houses blown down-ere those of T.
H. Starbuck, Messrs, Haleck, Edward
Sheen. Schoner, E. A. Fearing, C. II.
Thompson, J. E. Thomas and- C. ' W.
Davis. -
The residence of the Starbuck family
Was picked up bodily by the force of
the storm and dropped down, a mass of
ruins. Mr. Starbuck was In the bath
room, putting up a shelf. The wind
whirled him around like a top and then
slammed him to the floorseverely cut
ting his wrist. The roof came down,
and would have crushed out his life
but for a heavy Iron bath tub, which
kept It from touching the floor.
(Continued on Page Eleven.)
HURRYING HER HORDES OF SOLDIERS TO THE
pajiaftr oY th Koxthm Pwjlflo
During High Gale
Rages in Business Section of City
Aid Called From the Outside.
After Desperate Fighting
to a Limit-Loss May Reach Ten Millions- ,
" Population Becomes Frantic
. (Journal Special ferric.)
Rochester, N. Y., Feb. 26. At 6
o'clock the people of this city were
awakened by a series of general fire
alarms sent In from a point in the cen
ter ot the business district.
At the time a high gale was blowing
from Lake Ontario, seven miles distant,
nnd grave fear was experienced by the
hurried risers who grasped the situa
tion. Within half an hour 10,000 excited
people had gathered at Main and 8t.
Paul streets, a block from where the
flames were seen roaring 100 feet in the
air above the great building occupied
by the Rochester Dry Goods company. -
Every available fire apparatus in the
city had arrived on the scene and after
battling to stop the progress of the
flames for nearly an hour it - became
apparent to the fire chief and his as
KiBtanta that-the entire city was In dan
ger, of destruction unless additional aid
was given. : .'
The wind, which Tiad been high dur
lng the night, seemed to increase in
vigor as the fire spread.
Spread Bapldly.
Ten minutes after the alarm sounded
the six-story building ot the dry goods
hiwrgei w- 4n. a mass of names and in
less Hn.:tiHlf 'fin bounthe r.car":woll
fell and the flames spread into the
seven-story fireproof , building of the
Siblcy-Carr 'company. At 1 o'clock!
ufter two hours, fighting, the fire cnief
said he wns powerless to stop the
flames, which by i that time were en
croaching on the wholesale district 'It
was then that Buffalo and Syracuse were
appealed to and special trains . were
given by the railway companies, which
started from- the cities named, carrying
extra lire apparatus.
At 7:30 a aeries of explosions fol
lowed by the breaking out of flames in
the 12-story building at the corner of
St. Paul and Main streets, and within
half an hour were belching through the
roof. - - 1
Intense Excitement.
At 8:15 o'clock the Buffalo and Syra
cuse fire companies arrived.
It seemed at this time as though the
fire would cross Main' street east and
the windows in stores across , that
thoroughfare began to burst out under
the terrific heat
The entire police force were holding
the Immense crowds in check and em
ployes of threatened buildings were al
lowed to 'assist in removing goods. The
streets were piled high' with merchan
dise. The merchants at this time were
panic-stricken, fearing another Balti
more terror. In the SIbley-Carr com
pany alone 1.500 employes, and as many
more in others, were hustling out goods.
They had but small success, as In the
actual fire district the salvage was
small. The Are wall of the Blbley
wholesale building temporarily stopped
the spread of the flames north.
- The inhabitants of several houses on
Mortimer street were removed from
their homes by the police. Shortly after
ward the Sibley wall fell, crushing these
same houses. The west wall dropped
into St. Paul street and this was fol
railroad
Fierce Conflagration
Flames Are Confined
lowed by the explosion of the boilers.
The excitement at this time was ter
rific. The explosions threw the fire into th
granite building whose 12 stories were
soon ablate through the shaft. It had
been regarded absolutely fireproof and
was the finest office building In th .
city. The heat was so great that the
front and rear walls bulged and became
dangerous. 8hortly after 8 o'clock the
front wall of the flve-story marble
building adjoining fell outward Into
Main street, compelling' the firemen to
abandon all fight in that direction. -
Several companies of firemen mounted
the roof of the 1 six-story Jurk-Fltz-slmmons
department store and began
throwing streams, but their, position
was so unsafe that they were ordered
away. Several firemen were carried
from the roof, having been overcome
with the awful heat Three were burned
but not fatally. , .. t , . (T
1 ' : Big Main Bursts.
The Syracuse relief consisted of two
engines and two hose companies and the
same from Buffalo. More were ordered
and will arrive. All streams were con
centrated on the granite building and
its surroundings.
Shortly after 10 o'rtock the big Sfi
Ihch' trtsln burs.-thtw-aiattrinMyli .
mlnishlng- pressure. -,',, '
The burned district Includes that por
tion from is point on Main street, east
Of Midway between Clinton 1 venue, and
St Paul street to St Paul street; thenc
north to Division street; thence half
way to Mortimer street. The fire wall
of the Cox building marked the line of
flames on the north side. . Up Division
street the burned district '.'extends half
a block. The total burned area is at Oils '
time about four acres. The fire Is now
confined within this section, but there
will probably be little relief for firemen
until tomorrow.'
The wind is still high and biting cold
and there is fear that the flames may
yet get beyond control. . . - '
The only accident so far known ia that
of Assistant Chief Jaynes, who fell from
a window and la probably fatally In
jured. The loss at this time Is estimated at
nearly $10,000,000. This includes build
ings and expensive contents. Insurance
on all will probably reach 14,600,000.
At 1 o'clock this afternoon the flames
were smouldering, but the danger is be
lleved to be over. Later estimates ...
make the loss about $7,000,000.
srrjrzTEznr Brnxs tiros btxit.
(Journal Spoolal Service.) -Scranton,
Pa.. Feb. 28. Fire this '
mornina- destrovml 1" hullrilnva In I ha
business section of Nicholson,- town.
20 miles from here. The loss is $75,000.
BIO SAMAOB SUIT.
(Journal Special Service.)
Washington. Feb.. It. Captain George
Broome of a Porto Rlran regiment, to
day entered suit for $250,000 damages
against Mr. ' and Mrs. James Barbour,
stepfather and mother of his wife, for'
alienating his wife's affections.
FRONT.
bound for Calcutta... . - . ...