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Show SHOULD THOSE FLEETS COLLIDE. The Russians are hopeful that if their com. blned fleets in eastern waters meet the Japanese, they will be successful. It is hard to see on what they found their hopes. Certain it is that when the Russians passed England and France on their way out, the crews of the ships were badly demoralized. de-moralized. They may have recovered since, but if they have not, the Japs will hold them at a distance and smash one ship after another until so many are disabled that with their torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers the Japanese can rush in and finish the work. Wo reason merely from what the Japanese did with tho Port Arthur Ar-thur fleet. They disabled one ship after another and all the losses of ships they sustained were through collision with floating mines. The reason was because the Japanese ships wore manned hy men, who, in the first place, were trained ex-Ports ex-Ports in the business, and, second, by men who counted life as nothing when lighting for their ttnperor and their flag. There are plenty of Russians Rus-sians who can flght just as long and just as freely as tho Japanese, but, save a few oiilcers, fear there are not many suoli in the Russian 8hlP8. If they meet, tho incentive to flght will certainly bo great enough on both sides. With the Russians it will be to regain lost ground and Wwtige and td save their ships; with the Japanese Jap-anese it will be to maintain a glorious prestige, Bflj to save their coasts from attack and to compel a H' peace. HHj If the shock comes we do not believe that If B! the battle goes against the Japanese, one single Hj Japanese ship will surrender, but rather that they H will fight to the last and go down with all their Hh colors flying. That is, if Russia wins it will only H be through the annihilation of their enemy, and K such a termination does not seem for a moment Hw probable. B No whale ever yet destroyed a school of Hj sword-fishes. |