The San Francisco call., 1904-03-15
DIPLOMATIST BITTERLY SCORES
RUSSIAS JANUS-FACED POLICY
Eli T. Sheppard Says the Cars ambassadors
Study Treachery and His SOL
diers Brutality.

Sheppard; soft words and smooth dip
lomatic assurances at st. Petersburg;
aggressive and resistless action at the
front If these aggressions succeed,
then the Cars ministers tell the world
that they are now accomplished facts
and the honor Of Russia will not per-
NIT her to recede. II they fail, then
the Government disavows and dishon-
ors the offending officers as evidence
to the world Of the immaculate purity
Of Russia's intentions.
The two great factors In the Rus
sian national life to-day are the Greek
church and the army. The latter is
the real autocrat Of all the Russias.
The current war in the East is the
work OF the army officers, men who
are really Asiatics in blood and spirit
1t was not desired by the Car. These
soldiers have shown themselves the
most brutal murderers now masquerad-
ing under the name of Christians. They
have disregarded the treaty faith OF
their nation and the diplomatic pledges
of the Cars Government.
Just as General Cherniev was about
to advance on Tshkent, the capital Of
Turkestan, he received an order from
st. Petersburg to withdraw his eXpe-
dition. Quietly pocketing the order, he
stormed the fOrtif1catiOns, looted the
city and massacred the inhabitants. He
then hastened TO St. Petersburg and,
presenting himself to the Car, he thus
addressed him:
Sire, your Majesty's order reached
me in the heart of that city which
now have the honor to place at your
Majesty's feet"
RUSSIA AND CHINA.
In view Of the present war. a large
part of Mr.. Sheppards able paper was
naturally given TO the story Of Rus
sia's relations with China and the
steps by which she has gradually
fastened her hold upon Manchuria. His
narrative began with Peter the Greats
treaty with China, reserving the Amur
provinces to the latter nation. THE
influence Of his name was so powerful,
said the speaker, that for a century
and a half Russian statesmen kept
their hands off these regions, but the
Crimean War was followed by their
seizure in defiance of the faith of ma
tions, at the very moment when China
was in the throes Of the TAPPING re-
bellion and unable to defend herself.
THE results of the war between
China and Japan in 1894 took the Rus
SLAMS by surprise. They realized that
If Japan got herself firmly established
in the LiaOtung peninsula, the Russian
advance into Manchuria and their de-
sign Of Oriental dominion would be
indefinitely postponed. But Russia was
then unprepared to attack Japan. So
she entered upon a course of consum-
mate duplicity without parallel in mod
ern history. She took the lead in pro-
testing against the occupation Of
Korea and the Liaotung peninsula by
Japan, on the ground that it would
disturb the integrity Of China and the
Asiatic balance Of power.
THE CASSINI TREATY.
There was no disputing the plaus-
ibility and even the correctness of this
contention. Russia was only setting
up the lesson the Western powers had
imposed upon her at the Congress of
Berlin in 1879. But it took the world
two years to find out that she played
her game with a Joker up her sleeve.
1t knows now that at the very moment
the Russian diplomatists were protest
ing so righteously against the dismem-
berment Of China, they were actually
in possession Of the Cassini secret con-
vention, by which China had practi-
cally given to Russia a free hand in
the whole of Manchuria.
THE official text of this convention
has never been published and never
will be. for the reason that the whole
episode is tainted with a moral obliq-
uity and conscious duplicity that even
a Russian diplomatist would be asham-
ed TO confess. 1t is known, however
that Russia undertook to obtain the
recession from Japan OF the Liaotung
peninsula and to support China againot
further aggressions in consideration of
certain exclusive treaty rights in Man
churia.
THE scope Of the Cassini convention
has since been enlarged, notably by the
conventions of 1896 and 1885, both of
which were conducted in secret and
both of which were repeatedly denied
officially by Russia after they had been
signed. The remarkable feature Of all
these conventions is that in addition to
the exclusive railway, banking and
mining privileges secured by Russia,
palpable injustice is inflicted on all
other nations. 1t was provided. among
other things. that all goods and mer-
chandise imported from Russia over
the Siberian railway should pay one
third less duty than that imposed at
the open treaty ports. This introduced
the principle Of differential tariffs into
Chinese commerce in direct violation
Of the treaty rights Of Japan and all
the other treaty powers. Yet on six
separate occasions since 1901 the Rus
sian Government has officially and SOL
emnly declared that Manchuria would
be entirely restored to China and that
Russia had no intention to acquire an
actual or virtual protectorate over
Manchuria or Korea or to annex any
part of their territories. In the face of
these facts. Russia is now asking the
sympathy of the western nations on
the ground that hers is a Christian
Government, forced to defend herself
against pagan power"
-S-o-e