Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-03-14
rNGIn-RuSSIAN WAR

ESGLO-RuSSIAN WAR.
 What there is in the mutterings of
 r.- between England and Rlssis at the --.ssr, time can only be ascertained by
 -.irn- further developments. Eng ..-V- un.,haps Tn the Soudan may cost severely. It is the custom of all r.-,u-.n powers to attack theIr enc .-.ss ulen they can take tLem at dis .iy.u:sSe. This opportunity having -.--.e7,el itself, the whole world Is look --oo ,xps csing to hear of declaration # WAT either by England or Russia. -1- resources of Russia Tn men, ani- -.Is and supplies are great, but
 -s obstacles to overcome in a ra- win England that must be fought -- AfshuiStan or the frontier of north ,r4.,ern India. will be waged in the face s'-ast. If insurmountRble obstacles
 g4i5ra Russia can either send or main ian a large army to the India frontier, A railroad several hundred miles in '--tta across what We would term u f-.er. country, from the steppes of the T-g, mountains far into Turkestan Is ..-a-t an absolute necessity. While the Eg.s.aus have the best men and horses m -fz world for such service 1t Is question: abe whether this sandy and partially rs,r.ei country could be made to sus- fan az army Of any considerable pro- rrr,.aus. even Is they ceuld get into T--S-s-au before the hot weather of the simmer set in, aud this they could not s5fthey were ready to march to-mor- .E. The cause ot the present rupture vs, tLe insult offered by Russia to En
 ..ali m delaying to send her Commis- s.5-sr to l9Iu Sir Peter Sumsben for the ra-9ose ot fixing the boundary between M.lall~'an and TurkestRn. Sir Peter arrived .-t Sept-mOe in Atgh hlnIstaD, E-era be expected tomeet Gen. Zelenay, :he Rlss.au Commissioner, but he has rot ve. made his appearance, and M. ls G.rrs. the Russian Foreign Minister, hos not deemed 1t worth while to even .5.l a p.su-able falseh0od to explain hrs ,..=uc- iu answer to repeated protests by England. h the middle of January M. G5 G.e-- stated hat Gen. Zelenay was Ill, and @ month later M. de Giers curtly answered another inquiry from England b saving that tae delay ih sending the carmlsslouer was unavoidable. Since ;-sl # has bsen ascertained that Gen. Z5lruay has never been or lerel even to l-epare for gong to the frontier. In
 i-e meaLtIme 1t IS said the Russian troops have been steadily pushing
 s-;lva-i and that they have advanced
 I'm Sarakhs in Turkestan, to Peniieh
 ale Afghan boundary. Allowing this
 Co be r1-. tle army they have advanced Ezs: s insignificant in comparison "re importance of the undertaking. --s.ald can much easier move and sup T1rt Gn army on the frontier Of India or e--l n Afghauistan than Russia. She ,--i draw her supplies from tle valley q tae Indus, a large navigsble river gg,tiug down from the Himalaya Noun t4lus, while Russia would be entirely dependent upon the resources of Afgha- l.-tau for supplies as 1t would be utter J impossible to transport supplies for any considerable army across the sandy deserts of Khiya. Considering all things i4irly and without prejudice or bIas, 1t does seem to us that Russia Is engaging IL the most difficult and doubtful cam paiEn Of modern history. There Is an- other thing Tn this possible war that We must not overlook. The Russians are foreign to the natives of India. Their religious beliefs are 80 dld-redt $ to almost RntagOnlze each other, and the moment the Russians ap- proach the frontier of India, the natives wIll eulist by thousands. True, they will not be as good soldiers as the Cos sacks. but with the English and the na- ilvss who have seen servIce, or have teen thoroughly drilled these raw re- crui,s will fill in to good advantage. There Is no danger of the natives turn lug agalnst the English in a war with Els-ia. Tne English will appear their protectors, and will furnish the means c. carry on tine war. It will not require much diplomacy on the part of England to sscure the hearty and united support ot tur natives against any other foreign bower seeking to invade that country.