Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-24
THE PEACE SITUATION
Presidents Personality Now
Dominating Feature.
WORKING FOR SUCCESS
HE HAS THE CONFIDENCE OF
BOTH BELLIGERENTS.
Other Influences Ready for Final
Struggle-Continuous Exchange
of Views.
WORKING FOR SUCCESS

PORTSMOUTH n. H, August 24-Presi-
dent Roosevelt's moves to save the peace
conference are following each other in quick
succession. He is now believed to have
taken a step, possibly the final one.
In the shape of a last appeal to both sides
to leave the question of the purchase price
of the northern half of the Island of Sag
haln to arbitrament of a board or commits
sion.
Final arbitration has been in the Prest-
dents mind from the beginning. This,
however. is an inference, from what is
actually known to have taken place last
night and this morning, He sent to NJ.
Witte during the night a long message with
out doubt outlining the new step he had
resolved upon.
Presumably this message was prepared
after the President had received the ac-
count of Ambassador Meyers audience
with the emperor at Peterhof yesterday.
1t would seem to follow logically that Mr..
Meyers reply was not satisfactory and
therefore necessitated another appeal not
to allow a mere question of money to
stand in the way Of peace and to suggest
new form of compromise for the point still
In issue.
The message of the President reached
Assistant Secretary Peirce and was placed
hour today
After he had consulted with NJ. Witte. the
proposition was placed in Russian code and
dispatched to Peterhof. A reply to the
President was delivered to Assistant Sec
rerary Peirce at $50 this morning. Wheth-
er It was a response from Peterhof Ia not
known 1t may only have been a message
from NJ. Witte giving his views OF the new
step proposed by the President.
At any rate, the summons to Mr.. Peirce
to receive 1t was an urgent one. Mr.. Peirce
was with NJ. Witte and Baron de Rosen
twenty-five minutes. The message given
him was Immediately placed in the State
Department cipher, and 1t should reach Oy-
ster Bay and be ciphered this afternoon
Mr.. Roosevelt, in fact, If not in name, Is
acting the part of mediator. 7 =
Whatever is taking place between the
President and the Japanese side cannot be
traced, but it presumed the President
wants to commit Peterhof before approach
Ing Tokyo though it may be that he Is
working simultaneously at both places. NJ.
Witte and Baron de Rosen left this morning
in an automobile. presumably for Magnolia.
Baron Komura and Minister Takahira
will go to Manchester, N. H. tomorrow to
Inspect the cotton mills.
Presidents Personality Dominating.
The personality Of President Roosevelt
looms larger and larger In the crisis. He
stands between the warning countries, in
sisting that the peace conference shall not
fail Had he not stepped into the breach
the conference probably would already
have gone to pieces. Such hopes as remain
that It end in peace and treaty rest
upon It.
The strength of the Presidents position
Is that he commands the confidence of both
sides. He has already accomplished much,
using his good offices to impress upon each
side the necessity of mutual concession.
and both sides have already yielded a great
deal to his persuasion. Only a single point
still separates them, but it is, It has
been from the beginning, the crux.
1t was Mr.. Rooseyelt'S compromise propo-
stion which Baron Komura formally pre-
sented at yesterdays meeting, In which
Japan agreed to entirely withdraw articles
10 and II Surrender of interned warships
and limitation of Russia's naval force in
the far easD, and to substitute for articles
and (cession of Sakhalin and indemnity
new article providing for an arrangement
by which Japan should get legal title to
the southern half OF Sakhalin. which she
possessed before the treaty of 1875 while
Russia should redeem or repurchase her
title to the northern half of the island for
1,No,UoO,cS yen, or sGOO0OO000.
Roosevelt's Proposition.
While 1t is Mr.. Roosevelt's proposition In
substance, the Associated Press is informed
that as offered yesterday it varies slightly
from the terms of the compromise as the
president suggested 1t to both sides. In
exactly what particular cannot be ascer-
tanned.
Russia 1t can be stated, while rejecting
the compromise because II included re-
muneration for cost of the war under an
other name. was willing and indeed. Of
fered to divide the island of Sakhalin by not
only restoring the status quo existing he
but eli
frontier and forever renounce all claim to
the southern half.
With articles 10 and IL out of the way
by japanese recession. and article set
tied by compromise. the only thing which
remained was the indemnity. which has
been a stone wall across the path of
complete agreement. Under the financial
head Russia offers to pay literally for the
maintenance of the Russian prisoners In
Japan. Her cession of the Chinese Eastern
railroad also Will place tidy In the
Japanese exchequer, but further than that
NJ Witte has as yet no instructions to go.
President Would Not Surrender.
So the situation stood yesterday when
the conference adjourned until Saturday
But the President did not surrender. He
carried his appeal for peace to the throne
of the RomanoNs. to the author OF the
dream OF reduced armaments and univer-
sal peace. Ambassador Meyers three
hour audience with Emperor Nicholas yes
,eiutS uui ms the very TIME "heh the pien-
ipotentiarleS at the navy yard were cx-
planning to each other their irreconcilabl
differences may have proved the deciding
factor. There Is yet no cew to the re-
sponse Mr.. Meyer received from Emperor
Nicholas, but 1t is already in President
Roosevelts possession. and he is in DO
sition today to determine his next step. If
the emperor declined absolutely to yield
there may be still time to turn to Tokyo
for last appeal to forego $500 coo 600 or
S+0O,OO0,Oo0 rather than protract the war
indefinitely at the cost of millions in money
and thousands of lives. with no surety that
she will ever be able. whatever her mill
tary successes TO force tribute from her
burly adversary.
Other Influences at Hand
Now, too, in the final struggle the in
fuence of the neutral powers, the threats
of financiers can be brought to bear to
force the combstants to cease the bloody