The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-11
W. E. Curtis's washington Special to
 Chicago Record Herald.

| ". E. Curtis's washington Special to Chicago Record-Herald.
 Leaving the Russian Embassy out of the question, 1t is the unanimous opin- ion of the officials of the Department of State and the members of the diplo- matic corps at Washington that the Czar and his advisers have had all the war they want and are only waiting for an opportunity to secure advants aseous terms of peace. The impres- sion is formed upon intangible evil dence, however, though all the signs point that way. and where there is so much smoke there must be some ire There is no doubt that the tone Of the Russian newspapers. which usually ex- press the sentiments of the grand dukes and the ministry, is much more softened since the internal outbreaks than 1t has been at any time before. and it is Known from private corre- spondsnoe that since the fall of Port | Arthur the peace party at St. Peters burg has been gaining rapidly In strength and influence, while the war party has been in distress. Telegrams to the London papers from coTreSpond- snts who are usually reliable point out various straws which show the way the wind is blowing. Contracts for military supplies have been cancelled by Russian officials, and all of the or- ders for the mobilization of the re- serves of the army have been revoked since the news of General Etoessers surrender has been received 4 letter received by a former resident of St. Petersburg now in washington, dated January 8, states that the movement of troops and supplies to Manchuria had then been suspended, much to the com stsrnation of the friends and families of the military officials who are re- sponsible for the success of the Rus sian forces in Manchuria. The writer, who is an American doing bysiness Tn Russia, describes the Government as "in a state of collapse because of the fall of Port Arthur" and he said that there was strong talk of recalling the Baltic fleet to the Mediterranean.
 Up to the present writing there has been no suggestion or intimation from either Russia or Japan that the good offices of the United States are desired for peace negotiations, and it is equally certain that no other Government has been approached There has been more or less correspondence between the for eign ministers of England, Germany and France, however. and there seems to be no doubt that the Kaiser of Ger many and the King of England have exchanged views on the subject But fur thor than that nothing Is known here. The Japanese Minister at washingt and the members of his legation do not cc mccall their desire for q termination of hostilities. provided 1t can be ar- ranged in a manner honorable to Ja- pan--but. being victors thus far, 1t Is not practicable for them to take the initiative. The Japanese Government | at Tokio has never hssitated to ex- press its hopes for an early peace. and has frequently declared its willingness to negotiate on liberal terms. Russia, however, being worsted, must be the first to cry Enough"
 The terms Japan will insist upon are pretty well understood among diplo- mats, and have been frequently dis cussed. The war has been fought for Icertain purposes, and will be continued until those purposes are accomplished. Otherwise. the enormous sacrifices of | life and labor and money and the un- limited risk which Japan has under i taken would be wasted. She has al- ready accomplished almost everything that was in the mind of the Mikado at the beginning of the war, viz:
 First--The Russian influence In Korea has been entirely destroyed. All of the many Russian officials connected with the Korean Government have been dis missed and sent away; all Russian in terests in the Hermit Kingdom have been abandoned. and there are no Rus sian troops in the Korean Peninsula, where Japan is now supreme
 | Second-Port Arthur has been cap tured and the Russians have been driven away from Liao-Tong Peninsula. The Japanese hoped and intended to drive them still further back before winter set in. and that Is the only fea- ture of their campaign in which they have failed. It was their plan to force the enemy through the Tai Pass and fortify 1t during the winter. so that 1t would be impossible for them to re- cover any portion of the territory south of that point. But the stubborn re- sistAnce of KuropatkIn was too much for the Japanese army. He still occu- pies Mukden and considerable area to the southward of tha mountains.
 Third. the naval power of Russia in the East has been destroyed, and vladivostok will be blockaded by Jap anese ships as soon as the ice blockade of nature is broken up The Russians will endeavOr to make that harbor with their Baltic fleet. which now lies i somewhere of the coast of Madagas- car. But in the opinion of naval ex- psrts it is extremely doubtful whether ] that great armada ever passes the