The Irish standard., 1904-03-12
Wage Earners of the Country Know That the
Japanese Are Greater Menace
Than the Chinese.
British Empire Will Contribute to Russia's
War Expense Through Increased
Price Of Wheat.

I struggles in the Far East, England will
learn, what some of it's minority states
men long ago predicted, that flag
upon which the sun never sets is lia-
BILE to become yellow or tan-colored
| from exposure. 'World empires" like
champagne, come high; but some peo-
pie insist upon having them.
When England, aided by some of it's
well meaning, but mistaken friends OH
this side of the water, worked up the
late peace conference held in Wash
ington Ito which had the honor to be
delegate) for the sole purpose of Of
fering offense to Russia. it thought
that it had made a ten-strike in diplo-
macy, but it now finds that instead of
being able to "shake hands across the
sea-" it cannot even shake it's little
brown ally, much as it would like to
do so at this moment. For once in it's
long history of aggression and intrigue
England has trampled herself; she has
rea ached that stage where she must
now either fight for Japan or fight
! against it. The Jap will not be shook.
He is going to drag China into the
fight for the sole purpose of compell-
ing England to keep her compact,
which provides for actual aid in the
event of third power becoming in
volved.
And then what? 1t is more than
| likely that the English commander
who Joined with like officers of France,
Germany and Italy in protest
against the japanese assault upon Rus
sian vessels in the neutral harbor of
Chemulpo, foresaw the great danger
awaiting his country as the result of
this unnatural alliance; but unfortu-
nately he was only the servant instead
of the ruler of the British empire.
If the worst should come to the
worst, in the struggle which now bids
fair to become the war of the world,
Russia can take refuge within it's own
natural self-supporting boundaries and
continue to sell wheat and cotton to
the yellow army and the yellow navy
of the Orient; but for England, with
India gone, with it's cotton, it's wheat
and its tea, and Japan in control of
the iron and shipping Industries, the
outlook is anything but bright.
| l11ff ;e
present time imports annually 24O,OOO,-
600 bushels of wheat. Part of that
comes from the United States, part of
it from India and part of it from Rus
sia. An increase of 25 cents a bushel
in the price Of that wheat, which has
already taken place, means a loss of
SG0,OOO,OOO a year to England; an in
crease of 25 cents bushel in the price
also means that Russia's 45O,OOO,uv.
bushel crop is worth SIP, 100000 more
than it was in time of peace. From
these figures it will be seen that Eng
land, while intending to help Japan, is
in reality contributing directly and in
directly SIP 100000 year to the Rus
sian wheat grower, or a sum sufficient
to actually defray the Russian war
expenses. At this time Russia has but
100000 men in Manchuria, this still
leaves 100000 men available out of the
regular army of 100000 for any emer-
gency which may arise in either Eu-
rope or India. AS the pay and the ra-
tions of the Russian soldier are no
greater in time of war than they are
i'll time Of peace, the whole being
transported on government railroad
without additional cost, it may be said,
as an abstract proposition, that Rus
sia's only additional expense in time of
war is the powder and bullets used up
} on the enemy; and these are more than
paid for by it's military rival-Eng-
land. Is it any wonder then that the
shrewd financiers of France and Ger
many have taken, to the amount of
$2.O0O,tvJ,tOO, and are still ready to
take Russian bonds, while selling Eng
lish consols? Gen. Sherman once said
that war was hell but Russia has
actually made it source of revenue.
and that, too, without any desire on
it's own part.