The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-02-24
MuTTERINGs on < TEMpEsT

ii authentic and persistent reports from the car
itals of Europe seem to give authority to the stat,
ment, by far the most disquietng aspect of the wa
in the east is the attitude which Russia has assle
toward Great Britain in the mbetan question, say
the Call From st, Petersburg and Berlin come dis
patches averng that the czar is ready to repulse En-
glish aggression in Tibet at the point of the bayone
if driven to this extreme necessity and that he ha
already obtained ascendency in the forbidden eoun
try of such character to make further adyanc
against it the part of the British nothing but
act Of war; In short if the tenor of these semi off
cal utterances from st. Petersburg be inspired b,
actual sentiment in the councils of the ear it is evi
dent that Adam Zad is more than willing to come t,
grapples with the lion.
That being true it is manifest that Russia
scheme is nothing else than to preciptate genera
war such that Of the Crmea, wherein all the pow
interested in the far eastern question viii be drag
ged by the interests of their respective spheres o
sovereignty. To invite war with England would be tc
put to the final arbtrament all of the tangled knot
of diplomatic endeayors woven about the east since
China was opened to the powers. Russia is well
aware that if she threw down the gauntlet to Eng
land, Germany and certainly France would not bide
the coalition between Edward empire and that OF
the lIikado which would follow Almost equally
certain is she that the realignment of the powers
along general battle line in Asia would eventually
involve the interests of the United States and de-
mand that our country take part in the grand
quarrel
AT first glance it may seem the height Of fool
hardness that Russia now suffering from the dag.
ger thruss of doughty little Japan should invite an
ither conflict, but beneath the stod countenanee of
the Slav there is always cunning at work which
for the trap to be sprung. A general war in which
or more Of the powers besides herself and Japan
were involved would be Of incalcuable benefit to
tho empire Of Nicholas Russia is weak on the sea,
for weaker than even the critics prophesied before
Japan had the opportunity to do away with six of
her vessels in two weeks but then Russia is not
sea power nor one fatally vulnerable to the superior
force Of a naval armament
A general war which would bring her into alliance
with either France or Germany, ir possibly both
would throw into her way armies and more armies
10 overrun Asia like the myrmidons at ancient Troy
Russia could be swept off the sea and yet she would
nave her thousands upon thousands Of soldiers aug
nented by the forces of her allies, to swamp the
combined forces Of Japan and England. In the final
grapple lack Of sea power would count for naught
With Russia, since she has no colonies and none of
Ter possessions are directly open to assault from the
ea save those along the cebound Siberian coast 1t
would be the preponderapce Of armies that would
lecide the issue
Though the czar's government seems at present to
e suffering heavily from the attacks of the Japs and
hows a remarkable weakness, both in strategy and
lighting ability, conservative students Of the world
'ocies see in that nothing more than repetition Of
he state of affairs at the opening of the Crimean
var. Behind the Muscovites sluggishness and ap-
arent clumshess at the war game one must look to
atch the first seey CLINT Of strife terrible as the
Tars Of Napoleon which he may be conjurng up in |
hat cold, calculating brain