Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-08-19
wb,t Colonel Holmes Says viii
Happen in Great Oriental
Conflict,
Japan WAS ACHING FOR FIGHT.
Gaze. 10 he Victorious In the First Year
If the Mighty Struggle but Must
Succumb Later.

raj Edwin f. Holmes, who recently
,r,ributed an interview of marked in
,orest to the Deseret News on the great
soreltt between Russia and Japan has
,,,r,,,en the following article on the
,ssme subject to Hon. Frank j. Cannon
of the ogden Journal'
Although not OF your political faith
,,or believing IN the doctrine you adyo-
cote generally still cannot but admire
,be fearlessness with which you adyo-
cate that In which you believe, and
particularly is this true of your views
Concerning the present war between
.Iapan and Russia, which seems to me
~ he entirely unwarranted and UNI
called for and will result in the loss
nj probably quarter million Of lives
,,d thousands Of millions Of money
a great wrong was doubtless done the
brave Japanese people when the great
,overs OF Europe took from that
rountry the fruits OF her victory in
the late war with China, and japan
ms steadily prepared ever since that
,Inio TO regain that Of which she was
then deprived, and she was eager TO
begin the present conflict and falling
an one excuse for opening the war
would have sought another, and was
entirely prepared for the conflict. Rus
sla who is working out great prob
lens In the interest OF the human
race. desires and must have an open
aI.tbe.year- round sea port, such as
.be Dalny Port Arthur terminus of
,he great Trans siberian railway sys-
tcm She is denied the desired out
leI AZ the Baltic In the north, aud the
BLACK sea IN the south; she tried
Vladiyostok i'm the far east but the
winter ice bound port proved imprac-
ticable for several months of the
wear She entered the Manchurian
province under treaty and proceeded
ID develop that country as no other
nation could or would do. Land val
Ues we're doubled or trebled all along
that line when law and order were
made to prevail and the advancement
IN Christian civilization was' greater
IN five years than I'm the previous hum
dreds Of years. Through their iunu-
ence II was possible to travel and do
business where formerly the Manchu-
ran robbers and muraudng hordes
ruled the country, besides furnishing
ingress and cgress to that great ST.
berian country, the extent of which our
own great western country Is small and
insignificant In comparison. What
would we think, what would any ma
ton think If our country was con-
fined TO that part east of the Sierra
Nevada. If TO get our outlet TO the
great Pacific coast we had to work
north 10 Alaska? All creation couldn't
have Kept US out Of San Francisco.
Let any one who has seen mod
cn Russian city, as they are being
built today compare the same with
She best that China Korea and even
Japan can do, and note the differ
Cnce
We go among the Russians and
md them like ourselves, jolly good
people; they love art and good music
wear clothes like ourselves, sit on
chairs at table like ourselves, eat
suitable food, using knife, fork and
spoon as we do; they have Chris
ilan religion; 1t may not be the exact
form that you or | would prefer, but
hundreds Of millions of people be-
lieve IN IT, II Is as reasonable to con-
denim the great Roman Catholic re-
ligion the two systems are so SINH
lar.
Very early I'm the war | nearly pre-.
dicted what has happened that the
Japanese having been nearly ten
years preparing for this conflict which
they had forced whether or no. would
he able to utilize their entire army
and navy strength at the very out
set, while Russia, quite unprepared,
and with internal troubles OF her own,
would be late IN the field, and for the
irst year Of the war would meet seii-
o's reverses, and the second year
N0uld be entirely victorious.
| also predicted that the first real
y great battle Of this war would be
fought late this season upon the
plains about Mukden; that Port Ar
thur would fall after long seige.
Nhen there a year ago we drove one
entire afternoon among and around
their principal forts and fortihcations,
and ! have recorded I'm my notes OF
Trip around the world that thore
would be required a garrison Of 1907
wv to defend and 100000 to overcome
II, Probably neither side IN the pres
,nl conflict has this quota of men, but
doubtless about the same ratio as
We are, as you say, largely Indebted
70 England for the great amount OF
nus Information IN regard to Russia
ana the war, and the cause OF this Is,