The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-08
COLD THAT BREEDS DESPAIR.
IN SSIi THE WHOLE PEOPLE
ARE PESSTMIS
Quite willing TO Believe the Worst OF Con-
dltlons In the Far East-Doubtfui
Even About ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Makes Russians Look for the Worst.

Even About ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Makes Russians Look for the worst.
ST. PErRRsBuRo. Dec 25.-How much Of
the Russians attitude toward life is due
to his climate? His habi'ua frame OF
mind ii to be ready al all times to believe
in imminent disaster to himself, TO be yet
more sure that it was only TO be expected
and finally TO decide that IL does not matter
after all InNew York man starts the day
fnll OF faith in himself. with new scheme in
his head which he never doubts that he can
put through right away. The Londoner
sticks to his habit Of closing his eyes to every
thing that discords with what he wants to
believe. The citizen of Paris has vivacity and
to spare TO dissect and analyzs and open theo-
ries on everything he hears and reads. to
pull them all down afterward and set them
up a little different The Berliner has
developed such invincble self-conceit over
other Germans-and without an atom Of
just foundation-that there is no room in
him for the meancholic seed to spread
Here in 81 Petersburg. you will find none
Of these fortifying attributes: only the hum
BILE aspiration that the day may pass without
too hard a proof Of the disfavors Of Provi-
dence.
When the first torpedo Of the war hit the
Retvizan at night last February, and those
amazing persons. the English naval ex-
perts, told the Russian that his sea power
was gone. he believed them: the first dozen
times that Port Arthur was reported from
Cheefoo va London TO be taken he be-
lieved it,
When the first battle OF the Yalu proved
to the foreign experts that the Russians
could no longer fight. he accepted the as
surance when it was rubbed into him
with salt and vinegar after each subsequent
fight up TO Liaoyang he heard the bad
news with dignity. but without questioning
its truth He did not in fact begin to
doubt his candid friend the foreign expert.
until the judgment came from that quarter
on the great battle at LiaoyanR that II any
good generalship had been shown on either
side it was by Kuropatkin
Even now he has TO have the merits Of
Kuropatkn reprinted steadily from foreign
newspapers to keep up his faith in the com
mandarin chief His own view was that
as Xuropatkin's previous war training
was as chief OF staff to the great SkobeleG.
and as a chief Of staff rarely develops into
a first class independent leader, 80 II was
probable that he would not do much good
in Manchuria
Nor is tho full blooded Stoessel the idol he
would be in another country. Official
notes acknowledge the army's heroism. and
Stoessel himself. with his pen in his hand
but, It Is said. with his tongue in his cheek
rises to the full height Of martial rhetoric
when he writes for publication to the Gar
Yet the pictures OF him printed here are
taken from foreign, mostly English. weekly
papers, and his fellow countrymen will not
depart from'the matter-of-faot view that
he did what was expected Of him. If the
fleets have gone-to destruction why. thon
that also was expected of them.
How is IL then that with this devotion TO
adversity the Russian does not believe that
he is TO be destroyed in the military or any
other sense2
Nature has taught him TO expect very
little. She holds more than half his ooun-
try for more than half the year under re-
lentless grip OF frost and snow such as no
other land knows. Even the lower lati-
tudes that are inside Russia seem 10 be
natures chosen experimenting ground for
droughts and floods
Millions and millions OF Russians are now
alternating Ike bears. They will put in
the maximum Of sleep until hpril-lyinV