The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-04-18
The Russians In Asia

independent Tartary," or sT csterr
Turkistan." used to be the name given
Ito vast tract of country in central
| Asia, lying between Russia in-Asia-
Persia and Afghanistan, but with some
what indefinite and constantly hang
\ ing boundaries. 1t consisted, in its
northern part, of great desert and
''steppes," or plains. forming che OF
the most uninviting regions OF the
globe. ---.. -,
| The southern part, however,, is
blessed with fertile valleys, through
which flow two large rivers. Q Anoo--
Darya.-t e ancient Oxus,-and The
Jaxartes, or Syr-Darya.
This great espanse is inhabited by
many different races and tribes. Some
of them are of the Iranian IA e, Ia
which the i'ersians belong. 9th, rs are
Turanians, among VIII, m the modern
Turks are the most conspicuous repre-
sentativss Many of the TurcomaD
tri es are wanderers, who migrate from
place to place in the deserts and STEP
pes. with their ca els and tents
others, in the southern part, are set
tied in In ge, flourishing and pictur--
eSque towns. like Tashkent, SamarcanG
and Bokhara.
For a long series of years the Rus
slams have been steadily adyan ing
t rough this vast rgion, conquering
tri e after tribe, captu ing c ty after
city, and ere :ting everywhere fortr ssesE
and defeDses to protect their onque is
Nearly every year has s, en- he ussiaD
out osts and garrisons extended further
South.
The invad IS have pushed their adj
vance both from he North and West:
and have at last carried their arms far
up the fe tile valleys. and am ng the
Amoo arya. So rapid and thorough
has been the conquest that in a singla
genera ion the native governments OF
Tu kistan hav been almost ami lated.
and wha: little territory still remains
nominallv under their rule, has, for
ten years past, been virtually subject to
Russia.
The news has recentlyscome that the
Russian troo have taken, possession
of Merv. This town, altnough having
but a small population, is a very i'm
pOrtant one, in both commercial aid
military respects, situated as it is in an
oasis in the desert, and not ia from the
nortEe stern frontier of Persia. The
l,ussiaus, t erefors', cannot Advance
much further without infringing on the
frontier of lers q on one side, and Of
Afghanistan, which alone separat
T rkistan from British India, on the
other.
The object of Russia in thus making
conquest OF this part of Central Asia
is robably a three fold one. She de-
sires to command and control the ave-
es of commerce between hina and
Europe; she seeks, it may be. an outlet
into the Asiat;c seas; and she hopes
some time or other, to wrest the mighty
EN- ire of India from its p -esent Eng
lish masters.
Eng and has always looked with
great jeal usy up n this advance of her
ussian ri al and envy across the
steppes and valleys entral asia.
She ears that russia will outStrip her
in the racet obtain and monopolize the
Chinese trade and snll more lest tus-
STA s ould one day cross the ndus,
and in ade her own great Cr.ental de-
pendency.
these suspicious have once more
been aroused by the occupation oil
Merv. England is in no eonditio1 to
90 10 war with Russia; but she knows
the use of Nerv as military post adds
mu h to the strength OF the Russian
position in the East.
There is one good result of the Rus
sian conquest of Iurkistan. As fast and
as far as she has advanced among those
semi-ba bar US tribes, she has intro
du ed order and good government.
she has ven the tribes better laws and
greater protection and hes compelled
them to give up many savage customs
and practices. -
The Russi-n rule in such towns as
Tashkent and Boz hara is vast i'm
p ovement upon that which it has re-
placed.
Everywhere through Central Asa,
Russia has carried and planted higher
and better civilization Trade IS pro-
tected and extend d, the towns are
kept cleaner and NOR healthy, the peo-
pie have become more enterp. NC and
thri ty, and the tie ce tribes no longer
enga e continually in c.uel and Litter
con cs.
On the whole. then. the Russian con-
quests not to be regretted, though,
no doubt, the purp Sc of Russia. IN
ma ing them has been an anb tious anG
selfish one.-YO1th's Compdni0n.