Arizona republican., 1905-08-16
SdkhaIin Question Allowed
 to Wait
| MUTUAL AGREEMENT
That is Regarded as a Hopeful Sign. Correspondence More in the Dark than Ever, Agree the Break will Come Soon if at All.

Portsmouth. Aug. 15.-The crisis in the peace negotiations upon which the eyes of the world are fastened is ap- preaching rapidly and the end of this week or the first of next at the latest should witness the deadlock and the end, if the conference is to go to pieces Two more of the twelve articles, num- bers four and six, were disposed of to- day. Article four consists of mutual pledges to observe the integrity of Chi ma and the policy of the "open door, for the commerce of all nations, and article six covers the surrender of the Russian leases to the LiaO Tung pen insula, Port Arthur, Dalny and the Blonde and Elliott Islands To ar- ticle four both parties gave ready as- sent, and the official statement of the adoption of that article took care to state that it was agreed to 'unani- mously."
 Article five consideration of which was postponed until later. provides 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 de- cided on 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 followed in diplomatic negotiations, enabling the negotiators to come to an accord upon all possible points before tackling the crucial issues, and the fact that the Russians acquiesced in the proposi- ton shows that they too are as careful and as anxious as are the Japanese that the world should not accuse them of being responsible for precipitating the break, if a break there is to be. and the wrecking of the conference. This in itself is a hopeful sign. Be- sides, by postpOning the burning ques- ton to the end the psychological mom- ent for bargain and compromise arrives Then hurriedly the last trump cards are played and the game is done. And there is a growing hope of compromise.
 To the closest observers the final solution begins to crystalize quite na- turally-the Russians yielding the ces- sion of Sakhalin. Japan foregoing the cost of the war" but taking cOmpen- sation in the money to be refunded to Japan by China on account of the transfer to her of the Chinese Eastern railroad which Russia contends belongs to a private corporation and which IS there fore uncOnfiscatable by Japan, the Russian government property in 1 A ton for the maintenance of the 100000 Russian prisoners in Japan.
 According to the Russian view, Ja- pan has already secured all and more than she dreamed of claiming before the war To insist upon foe who has i still a half million men confronting her | in the field, the paying an eXorbitant 1 price for peace would, the Russians say. change the character of the mili- tary struggle henceforth from one for ! certain principles to one for the eX- action of blood money" All questions i relating to Korea and Manchuria, eX- ] cept the cessiOn of the Chinese Eastern railroad and the main Siberian line running through northern Manchuria 1 from the station "Manchuria" on the l Amur via Harbin to Vladivostok, are settled in the five articles already adopted.
 Some confusion has arisen about those articles and the following re sume can be accepted as absolutely accurate:
 "One. The recognition of Japan's l 'preponderating influence in, Korea
 1.-TWO Mutual obligation to evacuate 1 Manchuria, Russia, to retrocede to Chi ma. all special privileges, etc.
 
 restore the sovereignty and adminis- tration of China in Manchuria.
 "Four. Mutual obligations to re- spect the territorial and administrat- i've integrity of China and the prln- ciple of the 'open door
 sixth. The surrender of the Rus | sian leases to the Liao Tung penn- suIa. including Port Arthur. Dalny and the Blonde and Elliott islands,
 The remaining seven articles, not given in numerical order, are: The cession of Sakhalien; reimbursement for the cost of the war; the cession to ] China of the Chinese Eastern rail- road; the article relating to that DOT ton of the main line of the Siberian railroad running through northern ! Manchuria, which includes a provision for the policing of the road by China and not by Russia; fishing rights on the Siberian coast north of VladiVos- tok to Boring sea; the article directing 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 or these Russia has more or less objection.
 Besides the indemnity and Sakhal- fen, M. Witte will strenuously oppose
 the surrender of the interned warships
 the limitation upon Russia's naval
 power and the cession of the Chinese
 Eastern railroad to China The ar
 ticle relating to the Chinese Eastern railroad is number seven, and comes
 I'D at the session tomorrow morning
 The Russians are prepared with docu- mentary evidence, if the article IS nol passed over to show that the railroad
 is a private corporation owned by the Russo Chinese bank. M. Pokotilotf
 one of the Russian delegates, was
 manager of the bank in St. Petersburs a few months ago, when he was sen'
 to Pekin as minister on the death oi
 MT Lessar. Mir. Berger, attorney o- the bank, is also here, and the fight upon this article is sure to prove ex-