The San Francisco call., 1904-02-14

day. An opportunity which has never
yet presented itself, and can never oc-
cur again, is now before the states
which have everything to lose In
China 1t is not merely the question
whether Korea is to be ruled at the
beck of Russia or japan which is at
issue There is now a chance of stay
ing that relentless march across Asia,
which for years past has affected the
stability of every power on that con-
tinent and has upset the equilibrium
of power in Europe. Much of that
deadly competition which has turned
Europe into an armed camp and laid
so heavy a burden upon the nations is
due to the fixed determination of Rus
sia to bring the whole of Asia under
her sway. BY standing firm now we
may inf1ict such a check as will rem
der that ambition impossible of full
f1lment. If we. falter till Russia has
tided over this crisis and had time to
complete het preparations we may
make ready for the beginning of the
end"
CONCERN FOR UNCLE SAM.
And again. on January 28, the Globe
denounces the policy of Russia, COM
mends the attitude of japan and pre-
diets harm to interests of the United
States if Russia succeed:
Japan has assumed the task which
properly belonged to Great Britain,
which with little firmness, a little
foresight and a little resolution we
might have accomplished while the
Russian Hercules was still in the era
die. Japan is contending for the terri
torial indeoen'e of China, for equal
rights to all nations in the treaty ports
of that empire, for the seclusion of
Russia within her own borders.
mo one now underestimates the
gravity of the danger which overhung
Europe when England fought to keep
her shores inviolate and to maintain
her right to live and to trade. Had St.
Vincent or Nelson been beaten-nay,
even had Sir Arthur Wellesley been
unable to retain his hold on the penin-
sula, the last spark of freedom would
have been extinguished in Europe. And
now if Japan fails. if her Ministers at
the last moment lose their nerve and
accept those assurances which British
Ministers are so fond Of swallowing. an
even bIacker cloud will descend on Asia.
The pursuit of Russian aggression Is
disguised under the pretext of consofi-
dating the Siberian provinces and OBJ
tanning an outl4t on an ice-free ocean.
That is only one step. Manchuria, the
possession of which is represented as
essential to the security of the trans
Siberian railway, is the key to Northern
China. Permanently established there,
the Russians will be supreme in Peking
| if, indeed, the Manchu dynasty can sur
vive the seizure by a foreign power Of
| its ancestral province. Bit by bit, leaf
by leaf, we shall see China becoming
Russianized and the power of every
other foreign nation waning and grow
| ing dim The enormous resources of
China. both in men and in material,
will be at the disposal of nation suf-
ficiently akin to the Celestial in blood
and in disposition to assimilate as we'll
as to control. Then, indeed, will Eu-
rope and the civilized world be brought
face to face with the yellow peril and
with a tyranny more nearly comparable
to that of Attila and Genghiz Khan
than of Napoleon. If it be contended
that sufficient for the day is the evil
thereof, we can point out that in the
Immediate future the failure of Japan