Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1905-09-08
Rnssia's AMI billion.

will not mean peace for Russia. 1t
may be only a few months before the
Gar is engaged in another struggle as
gigantic and desperate as the one be
has waged in the Far East-a struggle
that military critics say will be fully
as hopeless as the clash with the Mix
10.
While the world has been lost in the
absorbing interest of the fighting in
Manchurla and the Sea of Japan, and
while Russia has been taking whip
pings day after day, the Gar has been
engaged stealthily in preparing for bis
next appeal to the gods of war. Not
all Russia strength has been wasted
on the plains of Mukden or around
Port Arthur. She has poured her SOL
diers by hundreds of thousands into
Deaths great hopper in Manchurla.
She has sent so many 20 fight the Mix
ADDS men that her own cities have
been given over to anarchy and revolt.
Yet she has managed to send 200, 900 of
her best soldiers to line the northern
frontier of Afghanistan.
So unobstrusively has Russia worked
out her plans of past centuries to seize
Afghanistan and India that the world
has not known how nearly she has
come to thai point where she can strike
to humble highlands pride and realize
her own ambitions. Across the bar.
rem plains and steppes of Russian
Turkestan and Bokhara, the people OF
the Gar have built great railroads.
railroads that could have no CONNER
cal support. They were built for one
reason-to carry the Cars army to-
the very boundary line of India.
Mile by mile the roadways have crept
silently across the desert places until
they have pierced the northern frontier
of Afghanistan. Now they threaten
to go through the thick buffer that the
country of the Amer offers between
Russia and India. So close is Russia g
military railroad to the north OF India
that Prime Minister Balfour has warn
ed the Gar to go no further. Thus
far, and no farther, was the gist OF the
speech that is still stirring Europe and
the whole world. The Prime Minister
announced that if Russia advanced her
railroads into Afghanistan, England
would take 1t as cause of war.
The British have not been sleeping
while the Russians have been working
out their dream of conquest. The al
most impossible mountains along the
frontier are crowned with British works
to guard the passes through which vel
low hOrdes once poured their way into
India. The mountains are midas best
protection. The Pamirs rear them
selves heavenward into q plateau that
is the highest in the world.
The Russians have established mill
tary posts all along the Afghanistan
border and it is now possible to drive
comfortably in carriage over their
magnificent roads connecting the varl-
GUS stations from which the move upon
India could be made. These military
roads stretch from several points in
Turkestan to the Afghanistan frontier.
Down them Russian armies could be
moved hurriedly to take the land OF
the Ameer. From Merry to Tashkend
military communications have been
established, and new army posts have
! been created throughout B0khara. The
| barren village of Merry has been trans
formed into city with huge granarit
and stores and well-fitted workshops,
| not to mention the enormous barra cks
| built to shelter. the soldiers of the Gar
from the cold winters of that country.
The British say that the Russian &C.
tivitles can have but one meaning
that is, to take Afghanistan first and
India afterward. A humiliating de-
feat by the Japanese has not been re-
garded by the British as damper on
the Russian ardor in pushing on to
ward India. All along the Brltls[
strateg SITS have argued that the worse
the defeat in the East the more deter
mined would be the Gar to strike
{biow at India This is said to be Rus
STA 8 only hope of counteracting the
effect of the Japanese victories.
At present the British have the al
vantage in Afghanistan. A mission
to Kabul has just succeeded in gettlps
= the signature of the new Ameer to TIL
treaty that was held sacred so long b.
the Ameer's father. The British hav
J., had their fill in Afghanlstan. The.
|, have occupied Kabul more than once
and have suffered massacres and blood
: revolts against their rule. Once al
) entire British expedition was massacr
ed by the Ameer's soldiers. Now th
British Government is pleased to h4v
Atghanistan remain nominally an III
e dependent state to act as u buffer be
f ween India and Russia There is
S constant war of diplomacy to contro
. the Ameer. 1t may be only a shor
% time before diplomacy will stand asld
8 for agencies more grim and certain
I00l N. Y. Tribune.