Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-08-01
RUSSIA in AFGHANISTAN
a Plan to Increase Her Iufiu-
ence In That Country.
FRIENDLY ADVANCES TO AFeHANs


Have Acquired a Less Restrained
Acerbity Under Present Ameer's
POIicy-BriIIiant Move of CEar's
Agents to Obtain Representation at
the Afghan Capital.
According to a late arrival from In
hia with large trading connections in
the northern provinces, it is interesting
70 notice how the Russians in spite Of
their preoccupations in north China are
doing the utmost that lies in their pow
er to permeate Afghanistan with their
influence and subvert that hitherto ex-
ercised by Great Britain in the country,
says the Pall Mall Gazette.
Their opportunity undoubtedly came
when death removed the Ameer Abdur-
rahman, who, jealous as he was ready
to show himself of every fancied Brit
ish encroachment, was nevertheless an
inveterate opponent Of the aggressive
power on his northern borders, whose
offers of amity he SO well knew how to
estimate at their true value. When he
died the dread and hatred of the Rus
sian to a great extent lost that vitality
in Afghan policy with which it had al
ways been inspired by Abdurrahman'S
intimate personal acquaintance with
the methods and aims Of his former
jailers.
Consequently those points of discus
sion with the Indian government which
were always subordinated to the SUI
preme distrust entertained for the Mus
covite have under his successor acquir-
ed u less restrained acerbity. Proper
tionately, too, the increasing friendly
advances by the Russians, to the At
CHAN government in particular and to-
the people generally, have not of late
encountered anything like the same I'M
compromising attitude as in former
times.
Everywhere in the baZaars Of India,
those mysterious receptacles of news,
there is talk at the present moment Of
increasingly strained relations between
the Indian government and the ameer-
And there is now little doubt in official
circles that the recent seizure and de-
tentiOn of Colonel Yate was due to di-
rect inspiration from Kabul or that the
incident forms very unpleasant indi-
cation of the disposition of the present
ameer toward the Indian government.
While this feeling OF hostility has
been developing fortune has proved sig
nally favorable to Russian attempts
at closer intimacy. The recent increase
of famine in the northern districts of
Afghanistan afforded an excellent op-
portunity, which the Russians have not
allowed to pass. of posing in the guise
of generous benefactors of the people
in their hour of need.
They have thrown open their stores Of
grain to the starving people and pro-
vided them with the necessities of life
free of all charge That such highly
polite action will go unrewarded by a
corresponding inclination of Afghan
sentiment is highly improbable. The
gratitude of hungry men is not largely
swayed by considerations of high policy
which they do not altogether under
stand. And Russia may congratulate
herself on an achievement which is
likely to bear excellent fruit.
But this is not all she has been doing
in this direction. For some time she
has persistently underworld to obtain
representation at the Afghan capital
Hitherto she has failed, but that by no
means implies an abandonment of the
attempt Russia abandOns nothing.
The desire to establish n Russian en-
baSsy in Kabul, apart from the suspi-
cion with which it was always regard
ed by the late ameer and in 4 second
hand fashion 10y his son. * 4 project
which England could never permit.
But that by hook or by crook her agents
should go to Kabul. whether officially
accredited or not. Russia was fully de-
termincd. Accordingly she has set
about it in her own characteristic way
Carefully selecting her men some
months ago. she sent them, TO the num-
Der of five, in the guise of ordinary
travellers through the country TO the
capital. Here for n short time they.
were placed under a sort of arrest. 1t
was not long. however, before they OBJ
tanned their freedom. Their next bril-
liant move was to embrace Mohamme-
danism and become subjects of the
ameer, after which no further restric-
tons were placed on their going and
coming among the Afghan people. They
have approved themselves most Sedu-
lous and devout followers of the prOph-
ct, and, with the judicious backing Of
the Russian government to assist them,
this surreptitious crusade has been
prosecuted under the happiest auspices.
There is much, therefore, affecting
the present relations of India with At
ghaniStan which in nowise can be said
to tend toward the continued mainte-
nance Of the close connection which has
subsSted since Lord Roberts marched
from Kabul TO Kandahar and discov-
cred thousands of pounds in Russian
gold, even in those days a conspicuous
element in Afghan politics.
While the ameer is, through his peo-
pie, accepting Russian hospitality in the
north and is himself admitting Rus
slams to residence in Kabul. he is ar
resting and imprisoning British officers
on the Indian border line. 1t is an un-
pleasant conjunction of circumstances
which cannot but presage n fresh de-
parture from the settled order of things