The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-27
JAPAN AND INTERNATIONAL
 rAW

With the removal of the press censor
 ship at St. Petersburg we are favored
 with many telegrams from that point.
 The amount of news that these contain Is, as might have been expected, meagre. No news is permitted to be made public there that has not received the approval of tho Government. Once made public. the correspondents arc free to make such use of it as pleases them. So far the news from the Russian capital consists of three items enlarged upon. more CT less. day by day. The first is to the ef- feet that enormous preparations had been
 made by Russia for the conflict and sttli erander preparations are on foot. The second is that the Japanese suffered se- rious losses off Port Arthur and that they are attempting deliberate decep- tion in saying such injuries as their ships receiyed have already been repaired. The third item consists of a lusty brawl from Russia against Japan's barbaric> methods. of warfare. They slipped upon us; they hit us when we were not looking.
 Very few wars of the last century were initiated upon a declaration of war. Oft- entimes there has been no declaration whatever and yet onlookers had no diff fculty in determining that a state of war existed. AS for Russia, herself, 1t is enough to say that in her last war of any consequence, that with Turkcy, the Russian army was miles within tae Turkish borders before hostilities were declared. If the Japanese attack on Fo"t Arthur had proved a failure; if no danI- ago had been inflicted, there would have been laughter and not wailing at St. Pc tersburg.
 The relaxation of the censorship per mits us to learn. too, that Japan's occu- patton and use of Korea as base is in fragrant violation of international law. It IS a violation, certainly. but whose right is it to complain? UnduestionaLiy Korea's. It is none of the business tf England, oA France, of Germany, of the United States. what Korea permits or en- courages in the occupation of her terri tory by an armed combatant. It is some of Russias business and If she proTcs successful in the war, there is no room for speculation as to what in her wrath she will do with Korea. Korea will be gobbled up in a twinkling, in a frank and open way; and Russia will have annexed one bit of territory, the acquisition of which was not preceded by the telling of ten thousand monstrous lies to conceal the purpose.
 While Japan has undoubtedly violated the declared neutrality of Korea, she is accountable for her conduct to Korea alone or to Russia if Russia can beat her. In seizing Korea she has merely followed the example set in numercGs cases in the past and notably by Fred erick the Great. When Frederick was running away. he ran with the intention of getting away. If a little Germ m Duchy or Principality lay in his path ke crossed it horse, foot and dragons. If paigns now and then by chasing, instead of running from, his adversary, woe to the pride of the little potentate whose dominions offered themselves as bar rier to the Prussian warrior. rushing hot foot to intercept and clutch the throat of his enemy. The little fellows stormed and protested without avail.
 In the Franco-Prussian war. Germany seized peremptorily a lot of private British shipping lying on the coast of France to prevent the French employing them after purchase in descent on Ger many by sea. Germany pleaded the ne- cessities of war; paid for the vessels and nothing more was heard of the incident.
 The news from the seat of war con- tinucs to he vague and indefinite. The Japanese may have. some surprises in store for the world; evidently the Rus slans have not Through the mists that now rest on the far Orient, one fact alone stands out. The Russians are in a state of semi-panic. Every official utterance from the proclamation of the Czar and since denotes panic.