The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-02-12
MAN OF LETTERS
SIDES WITH RUSSIA
Colonel Randall OF Augusta Dis
cuSses Eastern Problem
SPEAKS OF YELLOW PERIL
Reviews History and Points Out Fa-
nous Lessons Of the Past-Talks
of Birminsham's Great
Development.
OF YELLOW PERIL

who Is now visiting Birmingham, has
very positive opinions on the Russo-Jap-
anese war. He said yesterday:
with all due respect to those differ
ing with me, l am. in sympathy with
Russia. The point has been made that
Russia Is an aggressive nation-what Is
called a robber nation-but so are Japan,
England, France, Germany and the
United States. Since the republican re-
| gime at Washington, this republic has
Joined the band of robbers. We are get
| ting to be world power'-an imperial
ism, in direct conflict with the advice of
Washington, after forcing war on the
south. as Thad Stevens confessed, out
side the constitution
But for our furnishing England rem
nants of horses and mules. through a
British camp, on the plains of Chalmette
and the greater British camp in John
Hays state department, the South Afri-
can republics would probably have main
tained their independence. You know
what has happened in the Philippines.
Japan Is attempting to rob Korea of her
independence just as Russia is robbing
China in Manchuria. So honors or dis
honors are easy on that score
RussIa's Expansion.
"Russlas logical expansion was and is
| toward the Black sea toward Constanti-
| nople But for the Intervention of Eng
land she would have driven the Turk
back to his Aslatic lair and placed the
cross on the spire of st. Sophia. once
Christian church and now, and for
| ages, a Mohammeden mosque So the
unspeakable Turk remains in Europe be-
cause Russia was thwarted by so-caled
Christian nations who are jealous of her,
remembering the famous proverb of Ma
poleon that the great power, Christian
power, dominating Constantinople would
rule the world.
ut was not because Peter the Great and
Catherine II. pointed the road to By
zantium that the Russians gravitate to
the Black sea, but because their COM
mercc is frozen up for half the year in the
Baltic and mighty nation naturally de-
sires seaport never closed to navigation.
Besides, when northern people become
almost mysteriously, or by some subtle
natural law, to find their home or grave
| In the tropic, just as the Mississippi river
| born In a frozen region makes it's way
to the warm Mexican gulf-the tropc
Frustrated at the south and diverted from
kind of manifest destiny in that direc-
ton, Russia, taking the only alternative,
hui ha tron %
vored by events in China, sought an open
port In the Orient. This alarmed Japan
and having been turned from peaceful
Paganlsm to warlike atheism with a
veneer of European industrialism or civil
| ization,' she sought to become a world
power and exploit Corea.
The Yellow Peril.
Her secret design, confessed by some
| of her writer's is to dominate Asia, by
converting China into pugnacious ma
ton like herself. This is the real yellow
peril Napoleon also said. What folly
in the European nations to awaken the
Chinese giant from his slumber and make
him menace to the west If that yell
low giant. with 4O00OO,OOO of inhabitants
should become a gigantic Japan, it would
be terrible thing for the world.
Earl Wolseley, the great English SOL
der, recently said that properly led and
disciplined, the Chinese made the best
soldiers In the world and that, If they
became thus manipulated. martial ma
ton, they would imperil the whole west
ern region and like innumerable wants.
overwhem and devastate the whole of
Europe. Some people, less expert than
Earl Wolseley, pooh-pooh this. but they
form mental processes from vast mlsin-
formation. Before countless little ants In
Africa every living thing wild beasts or
man flee or are devoured. If millions of
what peril that would be?
From Remote Times.
From remote times the Asiatics have
threatened Europe. They repeatedly in
vaded Greece. They overturned the Rc
man empire of the west and captured
Constantinople. and still hold the Turkish
empire by the jealousy of Christian ma
tons. They overran Russia. They went IN
the heart of France. until beaten back by
Charles Martel. on the plains of ChaIons.
They would have captured Vienna but
for the heroic King Of Poland. John So
bieski. They entered Spain and held their
ground there for centuries
1.-THE Turkish sultan, Bajazet, at the
head of 100000 men. proclaimed that he
would march on Rome and feed his horse
at the high altar of st. Peters church or
on the tomb of the Apostles Peter and
Paul. There was no organized force then
in Europe capable of resisting the infldei.
BY prayer and the Intervention of Provi-
dence his purpose was defeated Just as
this irresistible host was about to march.
word came to Bajazet that Tamerlane had
seized Damascus. his eastern capital and
instead of marching on Rome the sultan
moved eastward. was defeated by Tamer-
lane, captured and, according to some his
torians, was placed like a wild beast in a
cage. The expeditions OF Alexander halted
Asiatic aggression.
THE crusades prevented other oriental
incursions. But I cite these historic incl
dents to show that It has been hard to
keep the Asiatics out Of Europe I SYM
pathize with Russia in this contest not be-
cause l admire her policy or 'despotism,'
but because I believe that she Is an in
strument In the hands of God to prevent
the tremendous expansion of the yellow
peril, which would be a fearful menaca
II Janan had her wav in China. The Prs