The Russian Fleet Approaches Japan
Contrary to expectations, the great Russian fleet is said to be now steaming up the coast of China, with the intention of passing between the peninsula of Korea and Japan on its way to Vladivostok. It was expected that the fleet would pass to the south of the island of Formosa out into the Pacific, and thus seek to avoid the Japanese. Late reports as we go to press indicate that a battle is being fought between the two opposing fleets, but Japanese censorship permits no news of the battle to be sent out to the world. The Russians are rejoicing over a reported victory. Each nation is confident that its fleet will be victorious. It is also reported that the Russians have sunk one American vessel off the Formosan coast. In the vicinity of the two armies in northern Manchuria there are frequent encounters between small bodies of the opposing forces, and it is the general belief that a great battle is rapidly approaching.