Evening star., 1901-04-10
Russia and Rassfa's Critics.

Russia's attitude in the matter of Man
churla is described in this morning dis
patches from three points of view-the Rus
sian. the Japanese, and the German.
First the Russian. This is under a St.
Petersburg date line:
'The Novoe Vremya AYERS that Russia
has no cause for uneasiness regarding Man.
churia. She possesses separate agreements
with the governor of each of the three
provinces, which remain in force. In the
future, If China desires her former posi-
tien restored, she can at any time sign
the treaty in her possession. In the mean
time. the St. Petersburger Zeitung says,
Russia is free to act in Manchuria for the
pi eservation of order as her judgment di-
rects"
This Is frank and to the point 1t Is In
line with what The Star has held from the
first. Russia wanted the Manchurian treaty,
but its failure will not balk her at all in
her policy toward that province. She is
living in Easy street. She has the prov
ince sown with Cossacks, and who Is to
drive them out? 1t Is for her to say how
long they shall remain, and her ambitious
program demands that they remain for
ever. If the other powers know of any rea-
son why she should not remain which is
sufficient to call for an emphatic and direct
protest on their part, now Is the time for
them to speak.
Second comes the Japanese view. This
appears under Yokohama date line:
''The dissatisfaction of Japan with Rus
sia's action Is not in regard to the Man
churian agreement, the leading papers here
affirm, but with Russia's action in Man
churla. Hence Japan declines, according
to an important section of the press, to
consider the abandonment of the agree
ment as final settlement of the Man
churian question 1t is urged that this
question should be brought before a con-
ference of the ministers, like the other
Chinese questions"
Sure enough why should not the Man
churian question be decided along with all
the other Chinese questions? The powers
until very recently did not know there was
any such thing as a Manchurian question,
separately applying. Their idea was that
they had assembled for the purpose Of de-
Gliding as to the future of the whole Chi
nese empire, and were amazed when Rus
sia proposed to except Manchuria from
the operations of the agreement But there
is Manchurian question, and in one sense
it is of greater moment than all the other
Chinese questions combined, and Russia
insists on deciding it all by her own self
This doesn't suit Japan, nor yet any of the
other powers, and China stands aghast
But what are they going to do about it?
Their discomfort is of no moment in it's
present form.
Third comes the German view. The
Freisinnige Zeitung, leading Berlin news
paper, says:
For the moment the situation is eased,
and the conclusion of peace is hastened !;
but, so far as the future is concerned, the
situation Is rendered more complicated, for
as soon as the allied forces are Withdrawn,
the military superiority of Russia will be-
come Overwhelmingly so for China. who
will probably then grant Russia better
terms than now, when she is upheld by
the allies.
This is true to the very letter. AS The
Star stated on Monday, Russia's forces in
Manchuria alone dwarf in numbers the
foI ces of all the other powers elsewhere in
China combined. China is standing out
against the treaty now with the moral
support of the other powers. But when
those powers have withdrawn their troops.
and Russia, with one, two or three hun
dred thousand soldiers remains behind for
a well understood object, what is poor
China to do? Fight Russia singlehanded,
or sign whatever Russia may spread out
in the form OF treaty before her? The
question answers itself