The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-10-07
HOW THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE
RECARD. EACH OTHER II. SIBERIA
The Savage Frenzy That SignaIzed the Musco-
vte's Treatment of The Monaghan But
the Natural Sequence.
ton between

cities or sections anywhere.
Speaking one day 10 a prominent Russian
official in Biagovenschensk, of the IN
fer.or quality of the Russian cigars and
the aversion to paying the eSorb!tantiy
high duty charged upon those from out
side the Empire. he quietly remarked he
would see about it, The next morning
before out of ped and ready to welcome
visitors, Il friend OF the Official referred
TO was announced, with the added assur-
ance that no ceremony needed to be OBJ.
served in receiving him. Taking the h,nt,
word was sent 10 come right UP, and into
the room entered about as prepossessng
n specimen Of the Mongo1 IS 10 be met
within a years travel. Tall, broad-shouf-
dercd, simply though richly dressed. the
general carriage was that of a gentleman
to the manor born The closely shaver
face was as handsome as the expression
was genial and attractive, and more
manly man would be difficult to call to
mind Behind HIM was servant with
:. package, seemingly consisting of silks
handkerchief and the Ike. Alone with
the caller, who. by the way, spoke Eng
lis:, with all the fuency Of a. Chicago
drummer, demonstrated that cigars and
not silks We're the objective OF the visit,
and five hundred first-class Manilae there
upon changed hands at most satisfac-
tory figure; one, in fact, approXlmating
some forty per cent. less than would have
been the duty itself. Whatever happened
to be wanted from Tie Chinese SIZE was
obtainable with equal facility and to all
lntents and purposes, the borders or the
two Empires were there merely TO enable
geographers to indicate where the terri
tory of the one left off and that Of the
other begun
Blagovenschensk. lying open and free OF
access upon the bank of the AMOR, was no
more protected than is any of our towns on
the Western rivers. No thought OF Chi
nese outbreak was entertained and no
heed ever given to a precaution against
such a. contingency The nature of the
Chnaman, in SO far as it had been evil
denced in Siberia for decades, was against
such possibility, and the chances are that
very few of the Manchus who had actually
come in contact with the Russians. lived
with or Immediately contiguous to them,
participated in the attacks and terrorism
marking the present summer.
RUSSIANS UNPREPAPED.
AS thunderclaps out of Gear sky they
must have come, and wholly unpp pared
for them as We're the Russians, the Ct
feet could not have 1let n other than mad
dening when finally there came lea ia
ton of all that HAD been injured through
the weeks of frightful suspense.
Just what ensued when the r2talitatory-
measures were launched against the
! iMazIchu resiG nts of B,agovenschensk
and the settlers along the Amoor in its
| vicinity. the dispatches are meagre and
somewhat conflicting in d tai ing. That
notice was given in BlagovenschelGsk. at
least, for an instant hegira of every man.
woman and child to the Chines;4 side Of
the Amoor would appear probable from
the mention of RATS and improvised craft
which proved SO inadequate for tllis i'm
mediate transport. That thousands of the
yellow people wer, Tuthiessly driven into
the river and drowned there seems no
doubt.
The lesson, thus SO appallngly taught
the Manchus, is in line with thu Russian
procedure in dealing with Asiatics
OF General Skobeleff, the American mil
lol7-'7s, wrote: Though he has lived but
thirty-tive years, he has commanded 30
600 men in battle; he has received the
surrender of an entire army OF nearly
10000; he has led more assaults than any
living man but Grant; and in no one of
them has he failed to carry the line he
assaulted. His stupendous military ge-
MUS is such that l firmly believe, that
should he live twenty years more, he will
be commander-in-chief in the next war
about the eastern question, and history
then speak of him as one Of the FIVE
great soldiers of this century, side by
side with Napoleon. Wellington, Grant
and Mollne.
Skobeleff commanded the Russian
forces at the memorable siege Of Cooke
Teppe in Central Asia, 1881, and in the
moment of victory gave the order to
slaughter indiScriminate of condition or
sex of the foe. To the 1900 Turcomans
killed during the siege were added the
5000 slain in the pursuit that followed
the fan of and flight from the fortress.
This ended, the strictest discipline was
enforced orders being issued to the army
to neither modest the natives nor TO
NEEDLE with their property. A soldier
promptly tried by drum-head court-mar
tial and shot. Skobeleff frankly declared
ne held it as a principle that in Asia
the duration of peace was in direct pro-
portion 10 the slaughter inflicted upon
theSpnemy. The. harder said he, that
you hit them the longer Will they be quiet
afterwards. The survivors do not soon
forget the lesson" Referring to the eX-
ecutlons ordered by General Roberts-the
Bobs' Of present South African fame
fonowinS the close of the English sub
lection of the Afghans in 1879, Skobeleff
said: Those executions were a mistake.
strhe, terror into his countrymen, be-
! cause YOU are sure to fail Whatever
punishments You resort to they can never
be so terrible as those inflicted by a
Nasruller any other deSpotic ruler;
and TO these crueler punishments the ma
tTes are so accustomed that your milder
ones produce no effect Then, worse than
| this the execution of Mussuiman by
an intidei provokes hatred l would
sooner the whole country revolted than