Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-29
WHY THEY WANT sAKHALIN.
Russia Needs Its Oil; Japan lis Fish
cries.

ertes.
AS big as Belgium and Holland put
together, very nearly as big as Ire
land, and fully twice as big as Greece.
Sakhalin Island, taken by japan a
few days ago, will add about $4,000
square miles Of territory to the Mi
kado's empire. 1t Is narrow island,
nowhere wider than the state Of
Massachusetts is long, and at GER
tain points not wider than Nantucket,
says the Boston Evening Transcript.
But this ribbonlike island, lying
northwest of japan, stretches along
the coast Of Siberia (from which
narrow sea separates it) for a dis
tance Of go miles. Sakhalin has a
river ESQ miles long and mountains
5000 feet high. It's by no means
a vest pocket country.
Japanese enterprise, then will have
plenty of room to knock about in;
but square miles aren't everything.
even when you can count them by
the tens of thousands and unfortu-
nately Sakhalin's climate Is nothing
to boast of. To be sure, the island
isn't far north Git lies in about the
same latitude as France). but the
sky Is almost always clouded, and the
cold currents flowing from the Ok
hotsk sea keep the eastern coast
pretty we'll ice strewn all summer,
while on the western coast the Ice
from the Amur clogs up the narrow
space between the island and the
mainland and long remains unmelted.
Nobody Is ever too warm on Sakha-
lin. The climate resembles that Of
Siberia, and Alexandroffsky Is colder
in winter than Archangel.
Another thing. equally as discour-
aging as far as 1t goes, you can't
farm to advantage on Sakhalin. Only
here and there is the soil at all fer
tile, and even then you must content
yourself with raising market truck
and expect to get malaria while
wedding your garden. Such at least
has been the experience of Russian
penal colonists who have tried to
wrest a living from the soil. More
over, the country looks every whit
as inhospitable as experiment has
proved 1t to be. They say that when
Russian exiles get their first glimpse
Of that rocky coast and those grim,
cloudcapped mountains they often
burst into tears for very despair.
When such of them as are not life
prisoners have served their term and
become free colonists." they are al
most certain to leave Sakhalin and
settle in Siberia. They call the coun-
try of their imprisonment "The Isle
Of the Lost"
Cold, untillable, but big-is that
the whole story? If 1t were then
we should certainly be at a loss to
know why the peace ENJOYS al
Portsmouth are haggling over the
question Of who Is to own Sakhalin
But that isn't by any means the
whole story The Isle Of the Lost
Is also the Isle Of Potential Wealth
II it had no other claim to import
ance its dense forests would be
enough to make 1t worth owning
Practically untouched, they stretch
from one end Of Sakhalin to the
other. The Japanese will know what
to do with them.
Besides. there Is coal-not easily
mined, but abundant. At Duey the
toughest criminals have worked
chained to their barrows, and each
year they spent in the mines has
counted as a year and a half toward
Fastening their discharge. Sakhalin
has long supplied ships with fuel.
Perhaps the Japanese will develop
the coal mines to the full extent of
their possibilities. but 1t is certain at
all events that they will develop the
oil fields. According to c. S. Patton
off the oil regions of Sakhalin are
richer than those Of America. Sub
terranean lakes-some Of them with
an area Of 5000 square feet-lie so
close to the surface that natural
gushers can be easily established.
The oil regions lend themselves
readily to exploitation, for .he east
coast Is only from twenty to twenty
five miles away, and there nature has
provided harbors that boats drawing
twenty feet Of water can safely en-
ter For four months Of the year,
to be sure, those harbors are ice
locked, but the ice can be broken
by specially constructed steamers
known as "ledokol." The war prom
ised to do wonders for the oil busi-
ness. AS coal couldn't be got for
love or money from England or ia
pan, Admiral Rumginwhisky Gas the
Dogger Bank fishermen still call
him) was to supply his armada with
oil fuel from Sakhalin. Under gov
ernment auspices the Russian Sakha-
lin Oil company came suddenly into
existence. a glorious monopoly that
proposed to employ cheap Russian,
Chinese and Korean labor. turn out
from 100000 to 100000 tons Of oil
year and drive Mr.. Rockefeller out
of business in the Far East.
Meanwhile another sort Of game
will fall to the Japanese-in the
north a fine menagerie at large, COM
posed of bear, foxes, sable, antelope
and reindeer; in the south an occas-
ional tiger; on the coast a remuner-
ative profusion of seal. sea lions and
dolphins, not to mention a species
of plebian whale little priced by
blubber hunters.
But the chief source of wealth in
the Sakhalin of today is the fisheries.
The rivers team with salmon, the
waters along the coast with herring.
In a single year Sakhalin yielded
81, 100000 worth of fish, and this in
spite of the most discouraging con-
ditions. The Russians wouldn't give
the Japs a free hand. nor would they
themselves develop the full possibili-
ties of the fisheries. AS long as the
island remained a sort of Siberian
backyard, into which exiles were to
be thrown, 1t was bad policy to
encourage fleets of fishing boats to
come prowling along the shore. The
hoot, ,,,inbt thin ont ha nnnnlatinn