Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-03
WITTE REACHES NEW YORK
Chief Russian Envoy Net at Dock by
Baron Rosen.
TALKS ABOUT THE ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA
Peace Is Desirable. but Unreasonable
Terms VIII Not BE Accepted
His Instructions Are
Elastic.

nary powers, personally prepared ana
signed by his sovereign, Sergius Witte,
Russia's ranking plenipotentary to the
Washington conference landed here today
from the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse as
quietly and democratically as the most
humble of his fellow passengers Mr.. Lody-
gensky, Russian consul general went down
the harbor in a revenue cutter this morn
ing officially to greet the distinguished
envoy and was received by Mr.. Wltte on
deck while the Kaiser Wilhelm was at
Quarantine. Accompanying the consul gen
eral were Baron Schlippenbach, Russian
consul general at Chicago; Baron Schilling,
Russian vice consul at New York and Mr..
Wilonine, Russian financial agent at Wash
ington who was the bearer of important
dispatches from St Petersburg to Mr..
witte The latter promptly opened, read
and quietly put these communications in his
pocket.
Baron Rosen Meets Envoy.
Awaiting Mr. Witte at the dock was
Baron Rosen, Russian ambassador at
Washington with his first secretary Of en-
bassy Mr. Hansen Baron Rosen came
on board as soon as the ship reached the
dock and cordially greeted his confere
and the members of his suite. After ten
minutes conversation, during which the
majority OF the passengers landed Mr..
Witte came down the gangplank on the
arm of Baron Rosen, followed by his suite,
but soon found his passage impeded by the
crowd who cheered and NJ. Witte smilingly
Acknowledged the greetings by repeatedly
lifting his hat. Several policemen soon
| came to his rescue and cleared passage to
the automobile which was awaiting the
| party outside the dock. Midway down the
! pier the procession was again stopped, this
| time, however, by a delegate from the
! Slavonic society of New York, who pre-
| sented Mr.. Witte with an address The
! Russian envoy made brief but cordial re-.
| spOnse, thanking the society for its greet
| ing and also for the cordial welcome he
! had received from another delegation which
! boarded the Kaiser Wilhelm off Quaran-
! tine this morning having gone down the
| harbor on a tug
| Mr. Witte enjoyed his trip up the har-
! Dor. He mingled freely with the hundreds
| of passengers who crowded the deck of
the great ship and, although at all times
the center of attraction, he seemed to be
/ quite unaware of it, 1t was a beautiful
! day and the Russian envoy got his first
| glimpse of the metropolis of the new world
under most favorable conditions. Every
thing seemed to interest him. The tower
ing skyline he passed the battery, the
! numerous ships in the harbor and the
! activity which he saw on every side at
| tracted him greatly and in his quiet way
| he showed genuine enthusiasm to those
of his suite who stood near him on deck
and pointed out the various points of in
terest Soon after the ship left quaran-
tine, NJ. Witte, surrounded by large
group of newspaper men who came down
the harbor on the revenue cutter and by
as many of the passengers as could crowd
around him, called to his side Prof. De
Martens, a member of his suite, and
handed to him a statement with the di-
rection that he deliver it in English as
the greeting of Mr.. Witte on his arrival
in this country. Prof De Martens read
the greeting in a clear voice and at it's
conclusion Mr.. Witte received a hearty
ovation, which evidently pleased him and
which he acknowledged by several bows,
and then walked away To one side of the
ship to look at the Statue or Liberty.
Instructions Are Elastic.
AS Mr.. Witte does not speak English he
was not pressed for an interview but the
members of his party were each approached
for their views to the negotiations. Nat
uraly on a subject of such delicacy they
were reticent, but this much was ascer-
tanned beyond doubt:
In scope the powers of NJ. Witte, who
comes as plenipOtentiary of Russia to dis
cuss with tie Japanese plenipotentiares
means of ending the and to provide a
basis acceptable to Russia is obtained to
sign the treaty of Washington equal in
every way the powers handed to Baron
Komura by the Japanese emperor
| Mr Witte brings with him instructions
prepared by his emperor, which outline the
general policy which he Is authorized TO
pursue. They are in many respects elastic,
and will aid, rather than hamper MIR.
, Witte, provided the terms submitted by
Japan, in his opinion, appear reasonable.
/ 1t was also made plain by several of Mr..
Wittes suite that he has not come to the
I Washington conference to obtain peace at
any price. Ofically the Russian mission
and until they have been handed TO M.
Witte by Baron Komura.
Russia will await results patiently and
without enxiety," was the way a close
of the country today
Russia stin Powerful.
To an Associated Press correspondent
who accompanied him from Cherbourg, Mr.
Witte said:
does not signify that they have lost tbs
power which was known to the Muscovitc
empire before the war; II does not mean
% that Russia has become a negligible quan.
tty, nor that the japanese have acquired
by result OF the recent victories such a
supremacy as TO make the Russian empire
consider them truly redOubtable enemy.
Japanese Were Prepared.
, Mr.. Witte recognizes the good qualities
3 Of the japanese military, naval and admin.
, istrative organizations, and does not believe
any other European nation would have
4 been able to resist Japan as Russia ha.
5 done He continued:
< 1t must be taken into consideration thai
. the Japanese had been preparing for wal
! I for about ten years, while Russia was en-
I tirely unprepared, wishing for and trustinl
n in peace. The japanese fought in thei
= I own neighborhood under all favorable con
: ditons, while the Russians had to be sen
j 1850 versts from their headquarters by 7
s railroad, entirely insufficient to their needs
= | and 10 fight a colonial war with ali co
eficients against them. There is not n
Q history another example OF a similar dis
proportion between enemies. Nevertheless
/ all the foreign officers Of European armie.
: who followed the war are unanimous in a Z
Z firming that Russian troops, both soldier
and officers, fought with admirable bravery
( but they had 10 withdraw on account o
( a combination of Circumstanc with Whicl
! their personal valor could not contend OF
the sea the Russians found themselves con
stantly in inferior conditions. The squadron
| OF Rojestvensky was sent against JapaI
! not because the Russians had much con
q hdenCe in Its success, but because the
IS could not renOunCe from a military an,
: moral point Of view any change no matte
. how uncertain, OF obtaining even a par
!, ual victory.
Japanese Progress OveFestImated.
. EuDDose for a moment that the uyar IN