The San Francisco call., 1905-03-10
Russia Steadily Forwarding
Troops and Artillery to
Reinforce Her Military
Strength in Turkestan
BEAR SHOWS TEETH
TO GREAT BRITAIN
High Official Intimates
That There Must Be all
A Accounting Between st.
Petersburg and London

ST. PETERSBURG, March 9.-Rus-
sia is steadily reinforcing her military
strength. beth in men and guns, in the
direction of the Indian frontier.
Sensational rumors of the dispatch of
reinforcements for Russian Turxestan
were current two months ago. but they
were then denied. The press is now in
a position to affirm their truth. on
the authority of a traveller of unin
peachable veracity, who has just ar
rived from Tashkend and who was
personal witness of the military activ-
ity on the recently completed Oren-
burg Tashkend and other strategic
railroads through Merv TO Krasno-
vodsk. Troops, guns and munitions of
war have been moving southwark for
two months. Between the middle of
January and the middle of February
fiffySix military trains mostly carry
ing artillery. arrived at Tashkend.
The guns were sent from Merv.
whence a purely military line goes to
Kursk. The traveller in question was
informed. although he had no personal
knowledge on the point, that Russian.
troops had crossed the Pamirs through
Terek Pass and garrisoned Kashgar.
The Orenburg Tashkend railroad was
so crowded that the traveller was forced
to return by. way Of Krasnovodsk.
The press Informant states that the
greatest secrecy is observed Travel
ers, who are rare, must be provided
with special permits from the Minister
of War, and are kept under the closest
surveillance The baggage of this trav-
eler was twice seized and searched, al
though his papers were regular.
1t is significant that local officials
have been ordered not to permit Eng
lishmen to travel in Russian Turke-
stan, and captains on the Caspian have
been forbidden to allow Englishmen to
land on the eastern shores At
press was told that two English officers
who had been travelling In disguise
were languishing in prison.
Speaking generally, the press inform
ant said that the greatest tranquility
prevailed in the Turkestar, region At 4
Bokhara there were only vague rumors
that a war was in progress and abso-
lutely nothing was known regarding
political developments in European
Russia. The only explanation of the
renewal of Russia's military activity
there is that it probably Is a demon
stration to impress Afghanistan.
Russian of high position to-day
made the following statement:
Russia has not any designs on India as
England is so fond of alleging. If Great
Britain would only let us alone we would not
trouble her but we are not blind to the man
ner in which Great Britain has seized the oc-
cason OF the present war to buttress all her
interests; nor can we Russians get over the
idea that. sooner or later, a conflict with our
traditional enemy is inevitable and we realize
that our only path to victory lies in the drec-
tion of India. Without going back to Lord
Curzons bcmbastic proclamations or anything
prior to the war. and out Of consideration for
the manner in which she sought TO embarrass
and discredit US in its prosecution, recall
what Great Britain has done in Asia since the
outbreak of hostilities and ask whether Russia
would not be justified in making a counter move
TO Younghusbands expedition to Tibet, which
was in direct violation of Great Britain's SOL
emn assurances to us.