The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-25
Peace Prospects Seem
 Desperate.
 -e THE KAISER IS BLAMED Believed Wilhelm is Working
 on Emperor. Japanese Envoys says That the rrrs- ducible srinimum Has Not Rsen Reached ana There ia stiIz
 A Loophoie.
THE KAISER IS BLAMED

prospects of peace seem desperate but they are not hopeless, despite the pre- vailing pessimism. There ts still chance and the forces working for peace are continuing tnefr Tabors. Thas President failed twice but he is fisht- ing on.
 The result of Ambassadors Meyers audience at Peterhof yesterday wan unsatisfactory but at least it was not a rcbuf. It left the door open and within a few hours after the receipt at Oyster Bay of Mfr. Meyers account of his audience the President had sent a new appeal through M. witfe who received it from Mir. Pierce about 2 o'clock this morning. The emperor had already in effect declined the pro- posed compromise offered by Japan. He had refused 1t because under a dis guise Japan offered to withdraw the article asking remuneration for the cost of the war on condition that Rus sia repurchase from the military pos- session of Japan the northern part@of Sakhalin ak a fixed price of 1,20o. .aoo. 900 yen--the estimated 'tfrais do guerre." Every message received from Peterhof including those that cnna@ early today was infloxibie upon that point.
 Had Japan not inserted the sum. had that been left for future ladiustmeft,
 
 have proved more palatable. And the Associated Press is in a position to state that the divergence in the eon- promise as suggested by the President and as offered by Japan at the con~ ference which was mentioned in these despatches last night. touched thla very point. The President did not suggest any price or the fixing of a price and 1t is believed although this cannot be affirmed. that his latest ef- fort Is to secure the consent of the Emperor to agree to accept the Japa- nese proposition with the amount Bub- ject to future adjustment by an arba- tration board or otherwise.
 According To the 5apaneae M Watte has already offered to divide Gakha1ln. If the re-rurchase or Eakhnlln vas piac SSR ,uper purely business hAgt ta kks| foIloWfng lines from the authbrixe6 statementA A6k the Russian position rfv- en to the Associated Press last night should be borne in mind:
 "Ail that Japan does is to join the question of sakhaiin with that Of a cash payment. and to insist upon war costs under the name of purchase money. The transaction is fictitious and the tarmfn- ology misleading. If what is proposed be in truth a purchase and sale. le should be treated as such; and. there- fore, should Russia decline Co buy tlsa
 
 clude peace on the basis of the conces- sions already made"
 Emperor Must Commit MfmseIa.
 Japan, 1t is believed. would make the further concessions suggested if Ena- peror Nicholas would commit himself to this solution This statement fa based upon the words of the Iapaneaa authority most competent to speak. When asked if 1t was correct, as ra- ported. that the Japanese had said their last word, and that all hope was over, he replied:
 No; we have not declared our prop- osition of Wednesday was our irreduci- ble minimum. We are not assuming A threatening attitude. This is not the way to make peace.f
 But the plenipotentiaries themselves no longer control on either side. The negotiations have passed from their hands to their principals at Peterhof and Tokio.
 Most persistently the report continues to be circulated here that Emperor Will liam has been one of the main obstacles to peace, that while ostensibly in gym pathy with the Presidents efforts. hs is advising Emperor Nicholas not to yield. The foundation for this beIieG Is the fact which appears fully confirm ed that M. Witte's instructions were made more imperative and intransi- geant upon the question following Eln~ peror Williams meeting with the Russ sian Emperor in the Gulf of Finland. Beyond this. no evidence is offered. It is significant that M. Witte made 1t a point tonight to express his disbeliex in the report from St. Petersburg which caused considerable consternaticn here that Count LAmsdorff had authorized the Reuters agent to declare that Rus- sia, under no circumstances, would paN a contribution either direct or indirect or make a cession of territory whatever N. Witte said he could not imagine that Count Lamsdorff could have authorized such statement without informing him (Witte).