Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-15
CLEVER RUSSIANS
WILL TAKE CHINESE TERRITORY
INSTEAD OF MONEY.
POSE AS PHILANTHROPISTS.
United States Will Have Hard Work
to Prevent General Land
Grab.

New York. Jan. 1o.-A special to the
Journal of Commerce from Washington
says:
The instructions to Minister Conser at
fekln, IN regard to the attitude of the
United states in the settlement of the
commercial privileges to be accorded to
To- elgners in China in the future. have
not yet been perfected in detail. Mr.
Cnnger has been advised from time to
time. of the desire of this country to
secure the broadcast possible privileges
and to have them equal between all ma
tions. but an effort thus far has been
directed chiefly to the latter point and
TO restraining the hunger of some of the
powers for excessive indemnties rather
than to definitions of what the new priv
ieges shall be. Mr. Conger himself
showed sense of the Importance and
complications of the problem by his re-
quest that negotiations regarding COM
merce and indemnities be transferred
from Pekin to some other capital. Some
regret is felt at the department of state
that this proposal was not more cordially
welcomed by the powers. but in the ma
ture of the case-it was not a proposition
upon which the United States could we'll
Nothing is known at the state depart
ment regarding the r>asons Why the pro-
posal was rejected by several of the pow
erS. beyond the reasons assigned in one
case that more exact knowledge of the
situation would prevail at Pekin. That
this argument has some force is frankly
admitted. but it is felt that it would
be desirable on some grounds to get the
of he
of the ministers who suffered so much
during the siege of the legations. AS
matters stand. the United States will
probably strengthen Minister Conger by
one or two experts in commercial and fl
nancial policies before the negotiations
are completed.
The signing of the protocol by the Chin
esa ENJOYS is regarded at the state de-
parrtment as only the beginning of SER
ious negotiations. Several matters fully
covered by the protocol can be adjusted
in a short time through the action of the
military officers in China. Among these
matters are the establishment of mill
tary posts on the route to Pekin and the
distribution of the legation guards here
after to be kept at the Chinese capital.
Even these subjects. simple a they may
appear are not to be free from friction
between the powers themselves and be-
tween the civilized powers on one side
and the Chinese government. on the other.
Then will come the settlement of the In
demnity and the framing of new COM
mercial treaties, which shall do justice
equally we'll to the citizens and subjects
of all the powers. The two subjects-the
indemnities and the trea ties, Will be more
or less involved in each other.
The Russian government has executed
clever flank movement, if the report is
true that Russia will offer to accept te&.
ritorial compensation in Manchuria in
lieu of money which has been urged from
the beginning by the United States The
proposition that China shall surrender
territory is of a different character but
will enable Russia to pose in the attitude
of generous forbearance and friendship
to this country attributed t. her in the
recent interview with NJ. De Witta that
by her apparent compliance with our sug-
gestion, that She waived the demand for
excessive payment in money Much of
the skill and diplomacy which has been
required thus far the part of the
United States and the other liberal pow
ers, will continue to be demanded in or
der to carry out firmly to the end the
policy of the territorial integ 4ity of China
and her protection from demands which
1t is believed at the state department.. are
unreaSOnable
Much care will be given to the instruc-
tions to Minister Conger in regard to the
commercial treaties. So many questions
are likely to arise which will depend 81
much upon conditions on the ground that
ii may not be possible to set forth in
detail just what the minister shall insist
upon. These instructions will set forth
at length, however, some things which
We're considered desirable for the future
development of China by the aid of citi-
zens and subjects of the civilized coun-
tries. Whether there is to be direct in