New-York tribune., 1902-08-07
is therefore likely to prove his stupidest ana
costlfest with the intelligent sentiment OF the
Palmetto State.
vI-sc0VF CONTRA MUNDUM.

VTsCOVY CONTRA MUNDUM.
= is scarcelv credible that NJ. de Witte or the
-,I,o1o R1ssian Government seriously desires or
;. r,,o,orod 70 have Russia assume the ira
I;+ioraI a+titude of Athanasius- Yet such. dl-
,-os+ad of IinIomatic periphrasis. is the pfact-
oI nurnort of the recent ANTITRUST note anu
of tho Russian Governments exposition thereof
Tho nronosition is twofod. Russia proposes
o. s+ond against the world in opinion, ana IL
the world does not speedily come over 10 het
side then she will also stand against II III li't
and in act That is to say, Russla lisio'e 'l"1
sbo * not paving anything like an export
bounty on her sugar. All the otner ha'toi -
hold that she is She demands thaI tneS So 10,
take her word for it against thel own No.
cance and Judgment, and threatens tha' IL 'n'
= - 40 so she will declare industrial ana
ao,,,,,erciaI war against them. Indeed she mas
actually begun that process against the me-
States in way which we can Scarcely
os reasonable AS We have sald, the o'iei la
tions regard the Russian system as tan'"'houn1 -
to an export bounty. SO long as we res"iu IL
as sucb and treat Russia and the olnel ooon
having countries alike, all Is We'll Du' Il
ShouId cease to regard and to treat hueeih ~
bounty paying country we shoulo nav - ~a+ ~
,;,-o,,,ise Nth the others, even with the most
]
no shouId involve ourselves in commercial dlnl-
,.s tel +bou Russia's demand OF US
therefore. practically is that we shall eltner
/ ro,o in dinIomatic and commercial war Win
oil tbe rest of Continental Europe or incur her
1;,,oosrro on alternative which does not pre-
scribe much hesitation.
NJ do wi+te's Drofuse-not to say diHuse-
+o1l- about the evils of trusts, syndlcates anu
| cartels seems TO be chiefly designed 10 cohce'i
or IN confuse the real gist of the Whole hdt'ei'
which is the fact that Russia does pracllc"ii'
nav an export bounty on sugar lhere 10 ~
! such talk. moreover certain suspleoh' hot VI
! insinceritv-it would be discourteouS ID say
/ tbat-but of ground for fear that III ah am
trust conference Russia might be as AthdhdoIu'
like as she is in the dispute over the practic'ii
effect of her remission of taxes on eApor'eu
sugar. For Russia herself is as was once sdlu
of another land, "plastered all over Win
/ trusts" and with trusts largely orGanlZeu Pro-
! NOTED and cherished by the government
/ She has a large iron trust ana 'o"i
| trust She has a Stupendous petroleum uus.'
| cutie comnarable with our own Standard on,
! created by the government ltseit III 1910 sue
hiss = sugar trust. more complete in its monop-
! DIV than our own. and it, too. was orgahizeu
| hv the government in 1895. 1t does not seem be-
/
! ability. that in an international antitrust con-
| ference she might decline TO admit that these
! ,pare trusts while insisting that all similar
| combinations in other lands were fully branded
| with the octopedan mark. IN such case the
| conference could scarcely promote that univer-
! sal peace and good viii which Russia processes
! to have supremely at heart
| This Muscovy contra Mundum attitude IS
however. no new thing. 1t is really part ana
an essential part Of that Russian system
which is so vague in definition but so definite
| IN it's effects The famous will" Of Peter the
! Great which has for many generations been
! the charter of Russian despotism, enjolned
upon the Russian people or upon the ruling
! classes of Russia, above all else, that they
should not be conformed to the rest OF the
world. but should conquer it and make 1t con
form 10 their ways and will. That was the
I keynote of Peters policy. and it has been the
KEYNOTE Of the consistent policy Of his sue
! cessors. True Peter himself learned shiphuld-
! ing in the Low Countries and he and his sue
/ cessors adopted many of the ways ana means
| of Western civilization. But they have done so
not to bring Russia in line with Western civii-
zation, but merely TO acquire the resources Of
that civilization for Strengthening Russia in the
traditional Russian attitude and status, For
| two centuries It has been Muscovy contra
Mundum, and it will probably continue to be so
| until Russia learns that her own best welfare
! lies not in trying TO Russianize the world but
| in bringing Russia herself into harmony with
| the best civilization and enlightenment of the
world.