The San Francisco call., 1904-02-29
JUSTIFIES THE MUSCOVITE
IN RETAINING MANCHURlA
Frederick Wright Reviews Long Struggle for Predominance
in Far East and Chinas Failure to Safeguard
Interests of Foreigners

the Russians were trusting the Chinese
implicitly. The immense sums OF
money already expended along the
line of the road had created property
values amounting to hundreds or mil
lions of dollars, which were complete
ly at the mercy of the Chinese Whlle
the lives of the engineers who were
building the road and their families
were equally exposed. In the journey
of 700 miles from Port Arthur to Har-
bin we encountered at alternate points
COssackS and Chinese soldiers in small
squads, and were guarded on our way
from one post to another sometimes
by mounted Cossacks and other times
by mounted Chinese soldiers.
But suddenly. before we were fairly
out of Manchuria, the Chinese, obeyins
orders from Peking, suddenly turned
upon the Russians without giving any
warning and burnt and destroyed all
the property within their reach and en-
deavored to kill all the foreign popula-
tion. We arrived at the city of Glago-
vestchensk, on the Amur River, just
as the bombardment by the Chinese be-
gan, while the Russian soldiers had all
been sent away from the place, leaving
the city in a defenseless condition. On
our way up the river two gayly dressed
mandarins boarded our steamer and
were put under arrest Ii was found
that they were loaded with placards
calling upon the Chinese to kill all the
foreigners and destroy all property
within their reach and carried with
them detailed plans for the capture of
Blagovestschnsk, on thee Russian sids
Of the river.
MANCHURIA GARRISONED.
OF course there was nothing for the
Russians then to do but to send troops
fI,a lrpo
and themselves carry out the provisions
OF the treaty. The Russians contended,
and so far as l can see justly, that the
Boxer war changed conditions and that
there has been no time since that il
was safe to withdraw their troops.
Manchuria has for a long time been
VIGOROUSLY a land of robbers who have
roamed about in bands which Chinese
troops have never been able TO subdue.
a "robber trust formed by the larger
bands to put down the smaller ones has
afforded about the only safety there
has been TO travellers and merchandise
passing through the country. For GER
tain sum of money these larger bands
would agree TO protect the property In
transit, so that long trains of teams
with the flags of these bands upon them
as a badge of protection was an or
binary sight. The promises which
churia have never been unconditional,
but have always been connected with
a provision that the Chinese Govern
ment should be able to guarantee pro-
lection of the vested rights that have
grown up about the railroad. They
have never had the thought of allow
ing the railroad TO be exposed again
as it was in the summer Of 1900.
A second proviso, also inserted in
3 ,fesaey Of c-in fn Iofd q
Manchuria, was that they should be re-
lieved from danger of attack from an
outside party. This. has nointed clearly
to Japa1l which ever since she was
compelled to give UP Port Arthur has
been straining every nerve to increase
her navy and perfect her army so as to
be in position to regain the ground
then lost. In proportion as Japan con-
tinued to increase her military prepara-
ton it was evident that the only hope
of peace was for Russia to be so we'll
prepared for war that Japan would not
dare to attack her.
But the efforts of Russia to ward off
an attack by means of ample prepara-
ton have been unavailing. The clash
of arms has come. 1t is one of the great
conflicts of the ages which has so long
been going on between the white and
yellow races. Russia, which shielded
Western Europe from the invasion of
the Mongol Tartars under the descend
ants of Jenghiz Kahn in the thirteenth
century, is now deciding the question
whether white race shall be permitted
to have q permanent hold upon any
available portion of the Pacific coast of
Asia. 1t is easy to see that the inter-
ests of the vast population of Russia
who are now in Central and Eastern
Siberia. and who are to be there in still
greater numbers in the future, are
vitality at stake in this contest. 1t is
hardly possible that the best interests
of the world should be secured by haV-
ing the population of Central and East
ern Siberia shut up to an outlet into the
Pacific Ocean by way of Kamschtka
and the sea of Oksotsk.
But Japan, too, is in great need of an
Korea and Manchuria open to her al
most the only opportunities for eXpan-
sion. Behind both these governments
now in conflict there is the pressure of
urgent necessities. Neither of the gov
ernments could resist the popular pres
sure that is brought to bear upon them.
ANY compromise that either would
make would be distrusted by the peo-
pie. Those who have comprehended the
forces at work have for several years
past seen that no settlement between
these two nations could satisfy either
party and be lasting, except one that
was secured by the stern trial of
-+ray,1tn on tho faId of hattie