The problems with the stay of the Russian armed transport Lena at San Francisco according to the Dutch newspaper Middelburgsche Courant dated 15 September 1904

An item dated Oysterbay 14 September reported that US cabinet decided that the Russian transport Lena (1) had to leave San Francisco within short time or to be disarmed.

An second item date reported that the Japanese consul at San Francisco protested against staying longer as 24 hours. The question world wide was of the Lena should be seized until the end of the war or supplied with enough coal to be able to return to the nearest Russian port? The harbourmaster gave the Japanese consul no permission to go on board while was an affaire between the USA and the Russia and no aid of others was needed. In the meantime anchored the American destroyer Paul Jones and a launch of the American cruiser Marblehead nearby the Lena to guard her and protect the American neutrality.

The newspaper Goessche Courant dated 17 September reported that some excited Japanese proposed their consul to destroy the Lena using dynamite. The consul refused and ordered them to keel calm. In the meantime he seemed to have offered the American navy officer Herbert responsible to investigate the condition of the Lena to support him. Herbert refused and seemed to have said that Americans were no Chinese and quite able to handle with this affair. The newspaper Daily Chronicle reported from San Francisco that she was allowed to stay during six weeks for the necessary repairs especially of the boilers and which were in a worse condition caused as Herbert reported by inadequate personnel. She was now called a cruiser. The repairs were to be done by American labourers and afterwards was she ordered to return directly to Vladivostok. American gunboats protected her the time during. Rumours were that the American government suspected that she was deliberately sent to the USA while she could not be repaired at Vladivostok. A new investigation of the ship was ordered. Was the suspect correct than would she immediately be sent away.

Note

1. Between 8 February 1904 and 5 September 1905 were the Japanese and Russian empires in war and which was disastrous for the latter. Both empires had heavy human losses and the world sighted the destruction of a major European naval power by an Asian empire.

1. An armed transport often described as an auxiliary cruiser.