The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-16
CRISIS IN THE PEACE
 NEGOTIATIONS AT HAND
EARLY CONCLUSION EITHER ONE WAY OR THE OTHER
 EXPECTED.

MOre O1 tne IWeiVe ArucleS DAS~
 posed of-ArticIe 5, Regarding the , Cession of Sai1haIin Goes Over as Ex-
 peeted-DiscussiOn Useless at Present
 in the Matter.
 Portsmouth, N. H., Aug. 15.-The crisis in the peace negotiations upon which the eyes of the world are fas- tened is approaching rapidly, and the end of this week, or the first of next, at the latest, should witness the end, if the conference is to go to pieces.
 Two more of the twelve articles, numbers four and six, were disposed ot to-day. Article four consists of mutual pledges to observe the integrity of China and the policy of the ''open door" for the commerce of all nations, and article six covers the surrender of the Russian leases, of the Liao Yang leas- es, Port Arthur, Dalny and the Blonde and Elliott islands. To article four both parties gave ready assent, and the official statement of the adoption of that article took care to state that it was agreed to unanimously
 Article five, the consideration of which was postponed until later pro- yides for the cession of the island of Sakhalin. Discussion appearing useless at this stage on account of the firm negative given in the Russian reply, it was decided upon the motion of the Japanese to defer it's discussion, thus revealing the Japanese intention of postponing to the end the life and death struggle.
 This is the usual procedure follow ed in diplomatic negotiations, enabling the negotiators to come to an accord on all possible points before tackling the crucial issue, and the fact that the Russians acquiesced in the proposition shows that they too are as careful and anxious as are the Japanese that the world should not accuse them of being responsible for precipitating the break, if break there is to be, and the ending of the conference. This in itself is hopeful sign. Besides by postponing the burning questions to the end the psychological moment for bargain and compromise arrives. Then hurriedly the last trump cards and the game is done. And there is growing hope of compromise, To the closest observers the final solution begins to crystalize quite naturally-the Russians yielding to the cession of Sakhalin, the Japan csc foregoing the "cost of the war;" but taking compensation in the money to be refunded to Japan by China on &C., count of the transfer to her of the Chinese Eastern railroad, which Russia contends belongs to a private corpora tion, the Russian government property in Port Arthur and Dalny and remun- seration for the 100000 Russian prison CTS in capacity. With these in view Ja- pan has already secured all and more than she dreamed of claiming before the war. To insist upon a foe who has still half a million men confronting her in the field footing the bill for the cost of the war as the price of peace would, the Russians say, change the charac- ter of the military struggle henceforth from one for, certain principles to one for the exaction of blood money"
 All questions relating to Korea and Manchuria, except the cession of the Chinese Eastern railroad, and the main Siberian line running through northern Manchuria from the station in Manchu ria on the Amur via Harbin to Vladi- yostok, are settled in the five articles already adopted.
 Some confusion has arisen about those articles and the following resu- me can be accepted as absolutely ac- curate:
 1.-Recognition of Japan's preponder- ating influence in Korea, etc.
 2.-Mutual obligation to evacuate Manchuria, Russia to retrocede to China all special privileges, etc.
 3.-Japanese obligation to restore the sovereignty and administration of China in Manchuria.
 4.-Mutual obligations to respect the territorial and administrative integrity of China and the principle of the 'open door"
 6.--The surrender of the Russian leases to the Liao Tung peninsula, in- cluding Port Arthur, Dalny and the Blone and Elliott islands.
 The remaining seven articles are (they are not in numerical order):
 The cession of Sakhalin; reimburse ment for the cost of the war; the ces- sion to China of the Chinese Eastern railroad; the article relating to that portion of the main line of the Siberian railroad running through northern Manchuria, which includes provision for policing of the road by China, and not by Russia; fishing rights on the Siberian coast north of Vladivostok to the Boring Sea; the article affecting Russia's naval power in the Far East, and that providing for the Surrender of the Russian warships interned in Far Eastern waters. To all of these Russia has more or less objection.
 Besides indemnity and Sakhalin, M. Witte will strenuously oppose the sur render of the interned warships, the limitation upon Russia's naval power and the cession of the Chinese Eastern railroad to China. The article relating to the Chinese Eastern railroad is No. ' and comes up at the session to-mor- TOW morning.
 The Russians are prepared with doc umentary evidence, if the article is not passed over, to show that the railroad is a private corporation owned by the Russo Chinese baisk.
 M. Pokotiloff, one Of the Russian del- egatss, was manager of the bank in St.
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