Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-08-05

with splendid water and removed from
the distracting noises Of the town.
NOT AFRAID OF RUSSIA.
Japs Believe They Can Lick the Big
Bear.
Gustavus T. Kirby. q lawyer and the
son of Thomas E. Kirby Of the Ameri-
can Art association, says the New York
Sun, has just returned from a trip
through the Orient. Mr.. Kirby made
some observations Of the state Of mind
of the Japanese, the Chinese and the
Russians toward one another which
have greatly interested the friends with
whom he has talked since his return,
in view of the critical state of interna-
tional politics in the far east.
Japan" said Mr.. Kirby yesterday,
"is spelling ftr a fight. The jingo spir-
it, the desire to show aggressive patri-
otism, permeates the atmosphere. The
whole country Is up on its toes. The
coolies in the streets share the feeling
with the aristocrats and with the
statesmen Of the Diet. They are In
perfect fighting trim. They have the
utmost confidence in their ability to
win. They want to prove it and they
hate Russia. It has seemed good to
Russia, apparently, to let that feeling
be intensified by the utterances Of her
own high officials. The Russian min
lister Of war, for instance, has been
quoted as volunteering the comment
that Japan Is no good 1t Is rather
remarkable to me that the mere state
ment, coming from such high source,
has not been enough to start war.
1T took no particular acuteness of
observation to see the state of mind
of the Japanese. To shout Long live
great Japan!' in the street was enough
to start hurrah and whirlwind OF
demonstration. A member Of the Diet,
talking to me, said. soberly and seri-
ously and with intense conviction:
1--WE can lick any one nation on the
face Of the earth
"'Surely,' I said, you do not really
mean that?'
"I do he said, with some feeling. I
repeat: I'VE can lick any one nation on
the face Of the earth!'" And he did
mean it, just as he believed it, and just
as his whole nation believes it. And
they can come pretty near doing 1t, too
for a time at any rate"
Mr. Kirby believes that If it were not
for the British-Japanese offensive and
defensive alliance Japan would have
been at Russia's throat long before
now. Great Britain is bound to fight
when Japan fights, and Great Britain
doesn't want any more war for a while;
she Is still sore from her last. How
long the British restraint will be efrec-
tive-that's the question.
The particular incentive to all this
hatred, as Mr.. Kirby saw things, Is the
Russian possession Of Port Arthur.
The Russians stole Port Arthur from
the Japanese after the China-Japan
war by a process of international agree
ment. Japan will never be content un-
til she gets Port Arthur back. She Is
willing to risk her national existence to
take Port Arthur away from the Rus
slams.
Russia has Manchuria. The Trans
Siberian railroad runs from the town OF
Manchuria, on the Siberian border,
right down to Port Arthur. Mr.. Kirby
travelled over the line. The Russians
built the road so that it lodged most OF
the important Manchuria towns. But
as you travel along the line you find
long succession Of Russian towns pop
ulated almost exclusively with Russians
and with Russians farming the coun-
try adjacent to them for many miles
back from the railroad.
It may be true that Russia Is going
to withdraw her garrisons from Man
churia next fall, according to her agree
ment; but she is sending her people
overland by the thousand to settle on
the land and live on it and occupy 1t
and make their homes on it along the
line Of railroad. Siberia is a great
country, a beautiful country, but Man.
churia is better it is more fertile.
These train loads Of immigrants,
and Mr.. Kirby passed four or five OF
them, crammed full, every day, are not
being unloaded in Siberia; but in Man.
churia. The railroad, to all intents
and purposes, runs through Russian
territory. The open door Is all well
enough; but suppose every seat In the
house inside that open door is occu-
pied by a stolid Russian who Is very
comfortable where he is, thank you!
Port Arthur impressed Mr.. Kirby
very much, especially after seeing the
pictures of the place which have been
published here. Instead Of a spare
settlement with few Notifications,
Mr.. Kirby describes Port Arthur as a
crowded and busy fortified city. The
harbor Is an almost circular bay set
into the end of the peninsula, which
runs out to the gulf Of Pechili. 1t Is
big enough to hold all the Russian fleet
The fleet is In there now, or was when
Mr.. Kirby was there.
The entrance to the bay Is so narrow
that two battleships cannot pass In
abreast without great difficulty. On
either side of the bay are fertifications
in which tremendously heavy guns are
mounted. The bay is surrounded by
hills. There are Notifications in cir