Show REPUTATION AND ANDS S LIFE AT STAKE STARE Gen Stoessel Pleads Not Guilty to Charge Preferred Against Him ATTITUDE INIMICAL MANY OFFICERS OF HIGH RANK PRESENT St SL Petersburg Dec Dee 10 Before a brilliant assemblage of his old comrades com comrades comrades rades in arms Lieutenant General Stoessel was today placed on trial to answer with his life lite and reputation for forthe forthe forthe the loss of Port Arthur on the 1st of January 1905 and in firm tones and with quiet manner the general pleaded not guilty to the charge of needlessly surrendering fortress and thereby humiliating the Russian army The trial took place in the auditorium auditorium of the Army and Navy club The room resembled more a social gather gatherIng gatherIng gathering Ing of officers of high rank than the scene of a Among the judges spectators and witnesses were General Kuropatkin General Line Linevitch Linevitch General Vice Ad Admiral Admiral Admiral miral and scores of other prominent prom prominent promInent leaders in the war There were also present officers officers cers and soldiers who had been at Port Arthur and who today were clad In their uniforms with whit stars and decorations Wore His Decorations General Stoessel was alone in civil attire and this made him conspicuous He wore proudly around his neck the cordon of ot the military order of St StGeorge StGeorge StGeorge George which was conferred conf upon him by the emperor during the siege e and andon andon andon on his breast was pinned the cross of George III awarded for conspicuous bravery In frontier fighting The same coveted decoration was worn by many of the witnesses and arid spectators Empty sleeves and crutches especially among the men who had been at Port Arthur showed that many of them had seen hard service during the war warThe warThe warThe The other accused officers Generals Fock Reiss and came to the court clad in their uniforms General who is a bitter enemy of General Stoessel ostentatiously seated himself as far away as possible from the central figure of the proceedings Court Called to Order The court was convoked by Vice Ad Admiral Admiral Admiral miral He declared it to be bethe bethe bethe the duty of the court to proceed with the trial of the four officers charged with the responsibility of surrendering the fortress on terms dishonorable to the garrison and humiliating to the prestige of Russia He then called the I roll of or witnesses Including General Kuropatkin and Vice Admiral Several of the witnesses were absent but the court decided to proceed with the trial The entire afternoon was taken up with the reading of the voluminous vol voluminous voluminous indictment Request Denied One or two incidents showed the at attitude attitude attitude of the court to be unfavorable to Stoessel Stoe sel His personal request that two additional witnesses be called In Jn was dismissed without ceremony One of these witnesses Dr was chief of the Red Cross within the fort fortress fortress fortress ress and at the preliminary hearing testified at the time tim of surrender Gen General General eral Stoessel had men mento mento mento to defend the hundreds of miles mUes of for fortifications fortifications fortifications and the cold winds at the time made It difficult for the soldiers even to hold their rifles General Nadien the other witness excluded Is the author of a deposition similar to that of Dr The general commanded the firing line Une at Port Arthur The correspondent of the Associated Press spoke with witnesses of all ranks They declared the trial to be bean bean bean an Insult to General Stoessel and to his army arm armA A prominent colonel said If Stoessel Is guilty we all aU are arc guilty guilt Soldiers True to Stoessel General Stoessel is in receipt of tel telegrams telegrams telegrams from and Vladivostok from the Siberian regiments formerly under his command declaring their solidarity General Kuropatkin said to General Stoessel today I r trust It will win end well It is generally understood that Stoessel Stoessel Stoessel sel Is In possession of a weapon In the shape of a telegram received by him before the tho surrender of Port Arthur In which the emperor said Dont push the defense to extremities extremities extremitIes ties meaning by this to spare the lives of the Russian soldiers when their power of resistance was exhausted as the emperor feared that the Japanese might t repeat the feat of a former cap ture turo of the fortress when they put to death Chinese |