Bisbee daily review., 1905-08-09
1E. wITTE
 ARRIVES AT PORTSMOUTH

1a- WiTTE
 ARRIVES AT PORTSMOUTH
 To NJ. Sergius V'itte, representing Yassia in the peace negotiations inau- <urated at Portsmouth today, the Am srican people and the American press urTR accord a greeting as enthusiastic and sincere as the character of the rzzzn and the nature of his mission to srrfher deserve. He comes to us as a representative of a country for which -ue have a reason to maintain a regard SEszper than that springing from the urdinay amities of international poll ys5rk- He comes to 's as the represen- xztive in that country of modern pro gxessiye and benevolent policies, in szpporting which he has sustained bit tgr opposition and not infrequently sui fs1ed hum1iatmg defeat He comes 5z US upon the invitation of our own esugcutive, to accomplish, if possible. EEbs adjustment of the bloodiest and -ruost expensive war of modern times. For these reasons we owe to him all the courtesy. consideration and hospi- EsIity 'tha1 nrzy be within our power tc besJUw.
 The extreme delicacy cf M, Witte's position especially entities him ta sym. - sg thy He is the senior, or superior RHsssEr envoy. As such he must be the slaeaslnan of the delegation and as sach lnsl7gIZ be expected to explain fS41ssia's assettfto or rejection of the SFn2nese terms. iit must not be for gotten that this is -ths first time in --nDCsern history that a European power mas been compelled to await dictation tromveIp Astatic. At Portsmouth the ,iuss,an SxSss.sssggs&&on nay offer ccznter r7rUFlsals. but the original statement SIf terms must proceed from Baron Ko- rnzra- What he declares to be the ir- reducIble minimum must be accepted s1r fhe war must go on. That fact will obviously force NJ. Witte ultimately to Justify either a policy entailing upon his country an inglorious peace CT one driving her to pursue a disastrous war. Had M Witte been listened to twenty months ago there would have arisen no ,znzfict with Japan. His fine patriot Ism now impels him to forget his for rner rebuffs in the imperial council zzsd to lend his utmost endeavor to -0nrayeling a tangle he did nothing to create
 Sundry interviews and statements attributed to NJ. Witte before he sailed from Europe have been held to revea finn as a pessimist who had no faith il The benign outcome of his mission Without entering into a dispute as tt Eae accuracy or good faith of the cor respondents responsible for those in xerviews we would prefer to judge M Witte by what he gave out for publiea TiUn upon the arrival of his steamer il New York last week. There was moth Kng in that to indicate 8 settled conviC -EIDn that the Japanese proposals woul Ese impossible of entertainment or tha -Ehe plenipotentiaries could not togett CT reach some modification of them aC Sc5ptable to both nations. Some fol xuAsifies still remain to be observed bC Es7re the conference can be opened.
 h the meantime discussion of tn terms would better be suspended. 4 Ghe best it would be idle speculation The hope of the world for peace cer rers in the general knowledge of N WftteTs pacific tendencies, of his hos TIFlty to the bureaucracy that brough Russia to her present unfortunate pc sseiOa, and of the sudden but naturs recourse of the czar to him as the ma best equipped to deal with the stu; sSnn created by MT. Roosevelt's II Qzest. He is believed to possess pow CTS of negotiation as complete as an zsaally conferred upon peace envoy WS may. assume that he did not leay 5G Petersburg without first bein made aware of what his governmer would or would not agree to in tn premises. He is an agent. a consul ant, barEainer and an attorney. H Es not an executive. That privileg