Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1899-09-01
ON THE ALASKA BOUNDARY
SAYS RUSSIA IS INTERFERING
Will DO Most Anything to Keep the
United States and England Apart-she
Sends Out New Ideas-It IL SAID Eng
land Expects to Much.

London, Aug Upon authority of un
doubted reliability a representative of the
Associated Press has ascertained that into
the Alaska dispute there has crept the
craftiness of Russian diplomacy.
Russia, it can be stated, win do every
thing, with every energy, to prevent the
practical cohesion of the two great Eng.
disappearing nations. In all her EN-.
bassies instructions had been received ia
thwart the Anglo-American understand
ing A prominent diplomat, who is init
mately acquainted with the details of the
negotiations of the past few years, said to
reporter of the Associated Press:
"In any arrangement looking to work
ing agreement between England and the
United States, Russia sees the defeat OF
her dearest projects. / believe her intense
activity in China is to no small extent due
to her fear that Anglo-Saxon power, once
realized, will sweep everything before it in
the far east. Dreading the rapid realiza-
ticn of this nightmare she is making hay
while the sun shines, in the meanwhile
intriguing to the utmost to tie the hands
of those who are working to materialize
Anglo-Saxon sentiment.
"The latest evidence of this is in the
Alaska affair. Though, strictly speaking,
it is matter of international politics and
would have been settled long ago if left
solely to Great Britain and the United
States, Russia has managed to suggest
motives never dreamed of by America, by
distorting facts 1t is impossible for me
to divulge exactly how, or to what extent
Russia got her paws into the dispute. But
the attitude of her press, official to the
core, is quite sufficient to show her mo-
tive"
The report that Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the
premier of Canada, and L. H. Davies, min
lister of marine and fisheries, are to come
here in regard to Alaska is thought by the
colonial office to be quite probable, but
nothing is known definitely of the matter
Both there and at the embassy of the
United States it is said the status of ne
gotiations has not changed and is spoken
of rather warily.
The caustic remarks of Sir Charles Tup-
per, formerly Canadian high commissioner,
in an interview with a representative of
the Associated Press, held with him Aug
ust Is, when he said the United States
were purposely delaying the settlement OF
the Alaska dispute on account of the pc
cuniary benefit accruing to miners and
coast cities through the delay and had re-
fused to have the boundary delimited, as
was being done in Venezuela, created con-
siderable dissatisfaction at the United |
States embassy.
Tt was claimed there that Sir Charlaa |
Upper quite misrepresented the facts,
that the dilatoriness was entirely due to
the Canadians. 1t was also said that his
declaration that the commission proposed
by the United States provided for no
umpire, was deliberate evasion as the
fact is the United States proposal includ-
ed an umpire, to be chosen by both sides
from North America. Though this was
not committed to writing, it was thorough
ly understood. The hitch came through
the absolute refusal of the Canadians to
accede, they insisting upon European
umpire.
1t may be said that the impression exists
that Canadian politics are chiefly response
bic for the Alaskan impasse. This is not
only the American idea, but it obtains
among some of the British officials, though
most of the latter are inclined to believe
the United States should make vast con-
cessions, in order to convince the British
of the sincerity of their friendship and as
a return for war services. In other words,
the British are now expecting guild pro
quo, an expression not uncommon in these
days.