The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1902-10-23
ENGLAND HAS 4 NEW VAR
From Far-off Samollland Come
Mutterings Of an 0mInous Strug-
gle for the Kings Armies.
RUSSIA BACKIE6 THE MAD MULlAH.
Lord kitchener's Hssty Departure for East
Africa Indicates Friction over Afghan
istsn-A Halt wnl he Called Ia Rus
sia's Policy TO Override In the Far East
the Rights of Other European Powers.

London, Oct. 2l.-England's hands
are never free. From one great
crisis her men of action are called
To another. The Boer war, which
taxed Great Britian's resources for
land fighting, is ended, but ii seems
that for the kings armies there is
no peace. From far-oif Samoliland
come ominous mutterings which give
warning of another struggle which
way prove the most severe test of
Britian's power ON land and ON sea.
Russia's hand is disclosed in the oppo-
sition which the Mad Mullah is so
successfully making to the punitive
expedition headed by Col. Swayne,
and what. was supposed by Britons
and the world to be little more than
an effort 10 promote trade may soon
develop international complications of
the greatest magnitude. That the
war office is preparing for a strug-
gle is apparent to the close observer
of recent events.
a few days ago a news item of five
or six lines announced that Lord
Kitchener had gone to India to as.
sumo command of the army. Two
days after his departure came the
news that the British troops COM
prising the expedition against the
Mad Mullah had suffered a disastrous
defeat. That the situation is grave
cannot be denied. That the war Of
flee and the foreign Office realized
this is apparent, and that the hasty
departure of Lord Kitchener to the
far east in anticipation of serious
trouble in East Africa Is apparent
Recent negotiations between Russia
and Great Britain regarding relations
toward Afghanistan clearly point to
friction over this old bone of con-
tention. 1t becomes more and more
apparent that England, now that the
opportunity for aggressive action has
come, that her hands are practically
free elsewhere, and that no very Sc
rious alliances prevent to at last
demonstrate TO Russia that the hour
has come when halt must be called
in the policy of the ear to override
in the far east the rights of other
European powers.
A letter from an officer belonging
to the Somaliland expedition, received
here, shows that the British force is
even in a more precarious position
than has been indicated in the Of
fetal dispatches. The writer says:
mo one will appreciate this bust
ness until it is too late. We are in
a regular trap and how we are GO
ing to get out, we do not know. We
have had stiffish fights and have lost
many men.-The wcrst-is-t hat-our
blacks are funking and our camels
have nearly all been killed or cap
tuIed. We -haye-Hext 10 no water
and we are miles from any wells. We
have no supplies and nearly no am
They have captured two of
our MaNims. | do not suppose they
care at home what happens to us.
II Is brutal shame to send us blind
into an ambush like this. hear fresh
troops are coming up and only hope
they will come from India" The
writer refers incidentally to some
brisk fighting which he apparently
presumes was already known of here
and adds: "Thirty-three of us es-
capped. BY Jove, that was a pretty
affair. We whites stood out. but
Oh, well. we have too many Blacks"