The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-05-27
ENGLAND AND RUSSIA.
Relations of the San Francisco Press
to the Impending Struggle.
Especial Correspondent P. c. ADVERTISER.

expect to hear than Russian and
British men-O'-war are blazing and
laundering at one another on every
sea, and warfires burning with in
tensity along the Afghan border. At
about the time of your last mail adj
vices, believe, war was, by unani-
nous concurrence, inevitable Since
then it has become evitabIe-such are
the vicissitudes of diplomacy. It
cannot be denied that the feeling in
this country is one of disappOint-
ment: there are few of us who did not
severally hope for the happiness of
distantly assisting at a singularly
lurid spectacle. This hope it would
be unfair to describe as based upon
expectation ofcommercial advantages:
not many of US are engaged in grow
ing wheat, but all of US eat it. Our
interest in the matter was of the
same unselfish sort that animates the
spectators at bull fight. With rare
exceptiOns-and those closely related
to the Irish vote "-American
sympathies, so far as one can judge
by the public and private utterance,
have been
WARMLY IN FAVOR OF ENGLAND.
This, doubtless, is due partly to the
fact that our knowledge of the dis
pute comes mostly through English
channels, but mainly to the circum-
stance that "blood is thicker than
water" Il may venture here to note
an exception to that hoary law. In
San Francisco the water supplied by
the Spring Valley company is con-
siderably thicker than blood, though
not as cheap Our disappointment
in contemplation of the growing
prospect of peace with its horrors is
keener from the fixed conviction that
a struggle between England and
Russia would eventually have
brought on a general European
war "a spectacular extravaganza
well worth seeing and supposed to be
always imminent, though it has
never occurred. 1t is hardly too
much to say that rather than die
without realizing his dream of a
general European war" most
Americans would prefer not to die at
all. We are not an exceptionally
blOOdthirsty nation, though naturally
we find the blood of another people
has finer, fruitier flavor than our
own. We want our general Europ-
can war" for "political effect" 1t
is believed that it would in some
mysterious way demonstrate the es-
sential superiority of republican in
situations, particularly their power to
assure peace Cd earth and good will to
man. I heard this view urged, the
other day. with capital effect on an
audience, although the speakers
gesticulatiOn was somewhat impaired
by the loss of an arm at Gettysburg.
ATTITUDE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO
PRESS.
| It would be ungenerOus TO treat of
this subject without paying a just
de bt of praise to our local newspapers
for the gallant manner in which they
have borne themselves throughout
the whole dispute. Their voice has
been for war all the time. Not once
did they finch from duty, even when
General KOmaroff was laundering at
the gates of Penjdeh and menacing
the approaches to Herat. Every con-
cession made by the British Govern
ment met their stern and instant re-
probation every new demand that
such concessions encouraged Russia
to make was by them cOntemptuOusly
rejected. So noble an example of
manly devotion, firmness and in
trepidity has seldom been witnessed
so far from the field of hostilities by
combatants having so little at stake.
The explanation is to be found ia the
character and pursuits of the men by
whom the destinies - of our press
are guided All or nearly all are
military men-men to whom "the
battle and the breeze are a natural
and cOngenial environment, whose
ears are habituated to the thunder of
great guns Gt requires the thunder of
pretty large gun to fill pair of
them and who find in day-dreams of
carnage blessed distraction from the
petty duties of their peaceful calling.
One of them is even said to have been
a king in his own country. The
leading editorial writer of the Bulletin
| is
! DR.. BARTLETT,
And the proprietor, being himself
deacon, has confided to the Doctor the
whole military conduct of the paper.
1t Is not known that DR.. Bartlett ever
loaded the field of armed strife with
hecatombs of slain, and it is certain
that he passes much of his time in
the harmless occupation of consider
ing the lilies of the valley how they
grow, and promoting the useful early
pea. But his qualification for the
responsible duties of war editor are
apparent, even to the eye of the most
hardened and impenitent civilian: he
wears military cloak hanging grace
fully from one shoulder, the gorgeous
lining conspicuOusIy displayed to
strike terror into the ranks of the