Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-05-30
NO INTERVENTION NOW.

b intervention III Iu6 OllSuldl VOL
seems to be as far away now as ever
and much farther than at some stages
of the struggle which has now been
going on for more than year. The
interview recently given out by Count
Kato, former minister Of foreign af-
fairs for Japan and former minister
also to Great Britain, declares that
there is no call, no excuse in fact, for
foreign intervention at this time and
that the war will continue for long
time. Count Kato said:
81 do not think there will arise any
occasion for Intervention. l doubt if
Russia has fixed purpose and aim
either to fight or to conclude peace.
1t seems to me th.t the ultimate re-
suit is left to whatever the future may
bring to Russia. Should Russia ask
for peace, we shall insist on an uncon-
ditional armistice, and when the nego-
tiations are opened we shall require
Russia to return Manchuria to China,
recognize our suzerainty over Korea,
cede Saghalien to us, remove perma-
nently the Notifications of Vladivos-
tok and pay an indemnity Of at least
1000, 100000 yen $1,0000 100000 Such
liberal terms will afford no occasion
for intervention The scene of HOSTILE
ties in Manchuria being without any
special interest to the powers, none OF
them will be prompted to take action
! to stop the war. The United States
much as she sympathizes with us, will
not welcome an excessive development
of Japan's power, lest 1t should cause
| future trouble, and would not view
with olsfavor the gradual weakening
o. both combatants. France alone must
be sincerely anxious of seeing the war
terminate, but single handed she can
do nothing to cause any change. Both
the present and me future, to my mind
and view afford no sign of the posi-
bility of Intervention, and am pre-
pared to say that the time has not yet
come to talk of peace. In fact, there
will never be occasion for intervention
and the war will last long"
Count Kato calls. the price Of peace
demanded by Japan liberal one anG
though this sounds rather odd at frs
81 ,000, 100000 liberal-it is said tc
be about the amount that the war has
actually cost Japan, all told, up to the
present time. If the Japanese in nam
ing $1,000,0 00,vuO as the indemnity
which Japan would require from Rus
STA as one of the terms of peace, based
his calculations on the actual cost O
the war to his country, 1t is, at least
a singular coincidence that he SHOULD
| have arrived at the exact sum which
Germany dem anded from France a
the close of the Franco-German war
It is more probable that, in casting
about for an historical precedent, the
French indemnity naturally occurred
to the Japanese statesmen. There is {
certain poetic justice in demanding
from Frances ally in 1905 the exac
amount which France herself paid tt
her victorious foe in 1871. It IS re
minder to that country which mus
bring grin of pain to the face of ,
Frenchman.
| After all, the Japanses terms are no
so stiff as those with which Bismarcl
astounded his hearers at the confer
ence Of Versailles. For, in addition t
the indemnity, the iron chancellor de
manded the cession of 1858 squar'
miles Of French territory, with a pop
ulation Of some 100000. 1t Is tru'
that at the time of Bismarcks demand
all France was PROSTATE before tn
invader, and the German dictated terms
Of peace in the palace of Frances cap
tive emperor, while in the presen
case thousands Of miles intervene be
tween the victorious Japanese and tn
Russian capital.