Show I I i SWAN SONG I General Kuropatkin has issued his farewell address to the army army in Man Manchuria churia The address was issued as a tL matter of fact several months ago but the substance of it has just been made public The general it must be con confessed tossed takes a very Yer manly stand He says In part partAb Above Aboe Ab ve all aU it is I who am to blame I your our commander commana r in chief for foi I have not mown known how to remedy during the th period of actual fighting the material and moral defects of our organization nor to employ to the utmost the in incomparable incomparable incomparable comparable qualities of our troops tro ps Among the defects General Kuropat Kuropatkin kin specifies numerical weakness of mo artillery Insufficiency of high power explosive projectiles dearth of machine guns lack of transportation facilities He also charges and with entire truth that many of his officers were utterly l incompetent competent making thorough drill and the establishment of proper discipline impossible The result Of r this says General Kuropatkin was want of enthusiasm in battle want of desire to distinguish ones onos self and the absence of that essential quality the will to conquer There Thero TI oo is a sharp arraignment of the Russian army by b otto one who is in n a position position tion to know its defects and its good points Opposed to 10 this army was a force that was admirably drilled armed most efficiently officered and an overflowing with patriotism the tho cardinal points the Russians lacked They had no chance of or from the beginning ng It is small wonder that wrecks of Russian reputations strew the plains of Man Manchuria Manchuria churia churla and the waters round Port Ar Arthur Arthur Arthur thur and the he Sea of Japan When hen an army that is fighting for love of f coun country country country try composed of or mOn m n who deem it the greatest possible glory to die in de do defense defense of their flag meets an army that fights because it has to fight that goes into action disorganized and half mutinous mutinous mutinous ous the issue Is decided before the th first shot is fired Kuropatkin feared f ared the th worst before the war began As secretary of war warin warin warin in conjunction with Count Lamsdorff foreign secretary he lie did all he could to avert it The grand dukes though coveted Korean timber concessions and they wanted to rule in Manchuria In their greed they supplanted Kuropat Kuropatkin kin with Alexieff a man they could mold to their will and so the war wr W r was brought on Kuropatkin fought as best he could and of all the Russian com corn commanders commanders manders his reputation is the least tar tarnished tarnished |