The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-14
RUSSIAN VIEW OF EXPANSION.
America Likely to Profit By European
RivalIies.
NEW York Snnl


A suggestive article by a Russian,
prominent in public life and in close
touch with public opinion of western
Europe, on THE Spanish-American
War and Its Possible Results recent
Iy appeared in the Russkya Viedomosti.
daily paper of wide circulation and
extensive influence not only in the old
capital of Moscow, where it is pub
lished, but all over provincial Russia.
and throughout the more civilized parts
OF Siberia. The article says, in part:
Now that it appears certain that
the United States are bent on taking
hand in the old world affairs, it is
timely and fitting to stop and consider
to which of the old powers would the
Americans be likely to draw by their
own interests: what would be the stand
most likely to be taken toward the
two latest diplomatic groupings of the
old World-the triple alliance and the
F'ranco-Ru alliance-to which is
it drawn by its own interests?
Apart from their recently inaugur-
ated colonial policy, there are four fac
tors that would seem to have a decided
weight with the United States in the
determination of the foreign policy
they are to pursue, and those factors
are the holding of markets for their
crude produce in Europe, the disposal
old world marts, the Importation of the
produce of European manufacturers
into the United States, and the admit
lance to that country Of emigrants
from Europe.
Austria and Italy can just as well be
omitted from consideration, since. on
account of the internal disturbances
in the first country and the hopeless
financial straits of the other. neither
is worth considering either as a po-
litical opponent of ally. France of all
the great powers, is the least likely to
clash in anE way with the interests
of the United States, unless it be on
the subject of the high tariff put on
the French articles of luxury imported
into the United States, the latter coun-
try being still unable to compete with
France in that exclusive field on the
other hand, besides a certain senti-
mental affinity natural between coun-
tries having a common republican form
of government, however dissimilar in
its workings, the United States and
France could be expected to be drawn
together, as time goes by, by the fact
of having enemies in common 1t is a
well established fact that les ennemis
de nos ennemiS sont nos amis
There would be just as little ground
to surmise the possibility of any con-
fiict of interest between the United
States and Russia The most sensitive
spot in their intercourse lies in their
competition in the grain trade with
western Europe. However, if the United
States thanks to the superior organiza-
ton of their grain trade, are enabled to
reap steady profits in that field to the
detriment of Russia, which smarts at
every decline in prices that is no rea-
son for marring their mutual relations.
Neither diplomacy nor the force of
arms can be of any help against such
competition. The only help to Russia
in this chronic disadvantage lies in the
reorganization of her grain trade and
in the increase of prosperity among her
own people, which is bound, when it
does come, to turn a large part of Rus
Sia's present exports towards her home
markets.
THE emigration of Russians proper
into the United States is practically nil;
while the emigration of Russia's sub
jects from her western provinces and
the competition of her manufactured
products with those of the United
States are too utterly Insignificant to
cut any figure in the situation or to af-
feet Russia's politics in any way There
remains, of course, the competition be-
tween Russian and American oil inter-
ests, but even this bids fair to be soon
the worlds markets. 1t is really i'm
possible to conjure up any field in
which Americas material interests
could clash with those of Russia. Mean
time both nations are still bound by