Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-05-14

terrible sword, the Cossack service,
has conquered enormous reaches of
territory. Peter the Great was the
first to seek foreign communication
and gained the Baltic outlet which.
however, is of little importance in the
winter Russia afterwards sought in
turn further ocean outlets through
the Dardenelles and also through Az.
ehanistan to the Indian ocean. But
these being blocked by Turkey and
the European concert and by England
Russia now turned her attention 90
the Orient as the line of least resist
ance and the past century shows that
the current has flowed very strongly
in that direction.
BY the treaties of Aigim and Picking
in 1858 and 1860, Russia gained her
long desired eastern outlet to the open
sea, But Nladivostock, the port thus
gained had the disadvantage Of being
closed by ice few months in the
year and Russia's desire to move
farther south was gratiRed by the
the matter of China's ceding the Lac,
tung peninsula to Japan, Russia be.
came the protector and friend Of
China. Having done China the
weighty service of rescuing southern
Manchuria 1t was expected that Rus
sia would demand something and
eighteen months later the expectation
chrystalized In the assurance of
secret convention at Pekin at which
some remarkable concessions were
mad Russia gained the privilege Of
carrying her trans-Asian railway
across northern Manchuria which
meant that the line would now follow
the chord of an arc instead of creep
ing around its periphery through
mountains; secondly, the convention
allowed the construction of branch
south through Manchuta; thirdly, the
posting of troops to protect these rail
ways, virtually a military occuaption
OF ManChura. and fourthly. In case OF
necessity to hold Port Arthur and
fallen as military bases.
The statutes of the Chinese Eastern
railway authorize the construction of
railways across Manchuria to pladiy.
ostock and Port Arthur, preferential
railway tariff on Russian imports and
decree that shares can be held legally
only by Russian and Chinese subjects
The most significant clauses however
are those providing that the road be
under a joint Russian and Chinese
nag and have joint military protection
OF the two countries which means
merely Russia. In short, the charter
means the classification Of Mancnuria.
In 1900 the boxer outbreak oc.
CURED. Chinas confusion was Rus
sia's opportunity and she poured
troop after troop into Manchuria and
inflicted good threshing upon the
Chinese for some destruction OF Rus.
thrusting 1000 Chinese at time into
the waters OF the Amur Russia
seized the beautiful pretext OF this
outbreak to tighten her grip on Man.
churla and would have annexed II
bodily had not England, the United
States and Japan protested so in
the Manchurian convention Of 1902
Russia declared that Manchurla is an
integral part Of China, that she would
withdraw her troops, the third lot to
be Withdrawn this coming October
aid that the Chinese should not be
prohibited from using artillery. The
world wondered at Russia's conces.
sions. England and Japan had two
months previously formed an alliance
to maintain china's integrity and they
had the moral support Of the United
States; 50 Russia found II wise to
accede. Thus the matter stood at the
recent RETAINING Of the Manchuriau
Are.