The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1905-08-25
plan FOR peace
IN crave peril
PLENIpoTENTIARIEs FAIL TO
AGREE ON IMPORTANT FEAT
UREs OF JAPAN's TERMS.

URES OF JAPAN'S TGHm0.
President Roosevelt Again Appears
in Role of Observation-Disclosures to
Have Suggested Arbitration OF
Disputed Points.
Portsmouth, N. H., Aug. 19.-At Fri
days session the peace plen1potentl-
aries were unable to agree upon Article
II, relating to the limitation of Rus
sias sea power, and it was deferred.
Article ~, providing for the grant of
fishing rights on the Russian littoral,
was unanimously agreed upon. The
articles which were passed over did not
come up Friday. The protocols will
be drawn up during the three days in
term and on Tuesday the final strug-
gle will come. The next sitting of the
conference will be held at three p. m.
Tuesday.
Japs Have Yielded Nothing.
The Japanese have been ipplacable
throughout the six days sittings. They
have listened and explained, but they
have yielded not an iota of the SUBJ
stance of their original demands. M.
Witte accepted outright seven of the
twelve Japanese conditions, one in
principle and four, including the main
issues, indemnity and Sakhalin, he re-
jected. The other two, limitation OF
naval power. and the surrender of in
termed warships, might have been ar
ranged had there been any prospect OF
agreement on the two points upon
which the divergence seemed irrecon-
cilable.
In the oral discussion of the terms,
M. White yielded upon two articles,
but substantially the result of the IL
sittings of the plenipotentiaries has
only been to emphasize the position
taken by M. White in the written reply
he presented last Saturday to the jap
anese terms. And now both sides turn
to home for the last word before the
cards are thrown face upward upon
the table next Tuesday, for the i'm
passe reached Friday by the plenipo-
tentiaries is recognized to be only a
diplomatic friction. If in the interim
fresh instructions are received by
either side compromise is yet possible.
But the chances are recognized to be
slim. So far as the Russian plenipo-
tentiaries are concerned, there never
was chance of their yielding both in
demnity and Sakhalin. The cession of
Sakhalin without indemnity was, &C
cording to the best inside Information,
the extreme limit to which M. Witte
would ever consent to go, and the en-
peror has not yet given the word even
to concede that.
President as Peacemaker.
Oyster Bay, N. Y, Aug. 21.-Presi-
dent Roosevelt, it is believed, has
played his trump card and averted a
disastrous ending of the peace confer
ence at Portsmouth, N. H. At the re.
quest of the president Baron ROsen
came to Oyster Bay Saturday afternoon
and had a long talk with Mr.. Roose-
Welt regarding the status of the nego-
tiations and the stumbling blocks that
have stopped further progress by the
ENJOYS. Mr.. Roosevelt, in all proba-
bility, pointed out to Baron Rosen that
indemnity and all, it will be cheaper in
the end for Russia to end the conflict
and devote herself to internal improve
ments and the development of her vast
resources; that the first thing Russia
should do is to build up navy.
He pointed out that without a navy
;clo Of oLho1ir which P1,ocio
declines to cede,, is of small value, and
as according to the presidents idea III
takes a generation to build up navy
he probably suggested that Sakhalin
was not worth bothering about.
Besides Sakhalin and the indemnity
there remain articles 10 and II, refer
ring to the transfer to Japan of the war
ships interned in the Pacific and the
limitation of Russia's naval forces IN
Pacific waters, These conditions, it is
believed Baron Rosen put before the
president as particularly bitter pills
| to swallow, but the presidents pro
posal, it Is believed, affects these points
also in such a way as to make them
acceptable to Russia.
Favors Arbitration.
Portsmouth, N. H., Aug. 21.-Thert
is good authority for announcing thai
the feature of the proposition of Pres
ident Roosevelt, communicates
through Baron Rosen to Mr.. Witte
and transmitted by the latter to EN-
peror Nicholas, was based upon thu
principle of arbitration. Whether thu
proposal contemplates arbitration O.
all the articles upon which the pleni
potentiaries have failed to agree, OF
only upon the question of indemnity
cannot be stated with positiveness, bu
it is more than probable that it relates
only to indemnity, or to indemnity ant
the cession of the island of Sakhalin
Neither is it possible to say whether
the president has yet made similar
proposition to Japan. The customar!
diplomatic proceedings in such cas-
would be to submit the proposal stimuli
taneously to both countries, but ther,
might be an advantage in securing tn
| adherence Of one before submitting 4