The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-22

propose, might present Japan's irreduc- ibIe minimum enbodylng the final COR sessions she is prepared to make. if she is prepared to make any. or formal 1 Iy propose collective consideration of all the articles still in dispute. Any move on either side would involve an- other adjournment, or such an adjourn ment might be frankly proposed by II. Witte, as he would not be guilty of the discourtesy of allowing the conference to go to pieces before receiving a spe- cific reply to President 'Roosevelt's proposition. It Is safe to assume, there fore, that in the absence of such a re- ply the conference will be prolonged beyond tomorrow and every delay in the opinion of the presidents friends means hope, faint though it may be. MT. Roosevelt's object was officially de- scribed to-day to be to ''prolong the negotiations" f
 There is warrant for the statement
 that NJ. Witte personally sympathizes with the presidents proposition, no matter how it may be regarded by his I imperial master and the latter's advis- CTS. It is a mistake to suppose that in considering such proposition the em- peror consults a regularly ordained council. Throughout the conference he has been calling in council suh advis- i CTS as he deemed wise, some of his rel atives, the grand dukes, members of the court and certain chosen ministers. The Grand Duke Nicholas Nichlaie- witch, one of the most powerful of his relatives, Is known to be absolutely opposed to yielding an iota beyond what M. Witte has already conceded. As an alternative he favors the con- tinuation of the war. The spirit of all the advices received has been such as almost to preclude hope of an eleventh hour change. The general belief here is that President Roosevelt while he has the moral support of one of the neutral powers, has not received the active aid he expected. England's declination to offer advice to Japan is disappointing, though the motives that actuate her in refusing to do anything that might be construed as an attempt to exercise Ipressure upon her ally tending to rob her of the fruits of her victory are fully appreciated. There are evidences were that cooperation by Great Britain I would have been resented by Japan.
 l Among the Japanese tonight no note of hope is sounded. With genuine re- luctance they seem almost resigned to the shipwreck of the conference. They declare that their position is unchanged and they speak of renewing the war with snap of their black eyes which speaks volumes for their confidence in the. success of Oyana when the word is given to advane.
 We have fought for a lasting peace, said one of the attaches closest to the chiefs. We have been victorious. If Russia came to Portsmouth unprepared to pay the price of defeat, all is over. We do not believe the president consid- CTS our terms unreasonable. He knows Japan's position as4aeeurately as does Ieither of the Japanese plenipotentiaries, We do not believe he will even ask us to weaken at the last moment and yield leven to save the negotiations. Heartily as the whole world desires peace, Ja- Ipan believes that the neutral powers would prefer that war should continue for year or even, two years longer than that Japan, for the sake of imrne- diate peace should, make concessions now and be forceds perhaps, a decade hence to reopen hostilities." ..-
 The plenipotentiaries and the mem- bers of their suites apparently had lit tie to do to-day. Those of. the latter who were not engaged in completing the final drafts of the protocols Joined in the festivities of this pleasant sum- mer resort. But when the subject of Ithe negotiations was mentioned their answers were almost invariable pessi- mistic and some of them openly pre- dicted that the end would come to- morrow. Baron Rosen and MT. Taka- hira came downstairs this afternoon to sit for a photograph. M. Witte in the morning took occasion to show himself in the lobby of the hotel as if to con- tradict the stories that he was i'll. In the afternoon he and Baron De Rosen went out for spin in an automobile.