The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-09-18

but abundant. At Duey the toughest
Criminals have worked chained to their
barrows, and each year they spent in
the mines has counted as year and
half towards Fastening their discharge
Sakhalin has long supplied ships with
fuel Perhaps the Japanese will deyelp
the coal mines to the full extent OF
their possibilities, but it is certain at
all events that they will develop the oil
fields.
According to c. S. Patonof the oil
regions Of Sakhalin are richer than
those of America. Subterranean lakes
some Of them with an area of 5000
square feet lie so close to the surface
that natureal gushers can be easily es.
tablished. The oil regions lend them
selves readily in exploitation, for the
east coast only from 20 to 25 miles
away and there nature has provided har-
bors that boats drawing 20 feet of wa
ter can safely enter. For four months
Of the year, to be sure, those harbors
are ice locked, and the ice can be broken
by specially construed steamers known
as ''ledokol.' The war promised to do
wonders for the oil business.
As coal couldn't be got for love or
money from England or Japan Admiral
Rumginwhisky Gas Dogger Bank fisher
men still call him) was to supply his
armada with oil fuel from Sakhalin.
Under government auspices the Russian
Sakhalin Oil Company came suddenly
into existence, a glorious monopoly that
proposed to employ cheap Russian, Chi
nese and Korean labor. turn out from
600,0 900 to 100000 tons Of oil year
and drive Mr.. Rockefeller out of busi-
ness in the for east.
Meanwhile another sort of game viii
fall to the Japanese--in the north q
fine menagerie at large, composed of
bear, foxes, sable, antelope and reindeer;
in the south an occasional tiger; on coast
IA remuneratiVe profusion Of sea lions
and dolphins, not to mention species
|of plebian whale little priced by blubber
hunters.
But the chief source of wealth in the
Sakhalin of today is the fisheries. The
rivers TEEN with salmon, the waters
along the coast with herring. In q sim
Gle year Sakhalin yielded 1900, 1000
worth Of fish, and this, in spite of the
most discomraging conditions. The Rus
slams wouldn't give the Japs free hand
nor would they themselves develop the
full possibilities Of the fisheries.
As long as the island remains q sort
of a Siberian back yard, into which ex-
lies were constantly to be thrown, it was
bad policy to encourage fleets of fishing
boats to come proving along the shore.
The boats might thin out the population.
But when once the penal colonies are
withdrawn and Japan takes control the
Sakhalin fisheries will have charge at
normal progress. Some day unless all
travellers are liars they may rival those
of Newfoundland.
Now the moment you begin to talk
about fish the japanese begin to prick
up their ears. No fish, no rice; no rice.
no Japs. Every year Sakhalin sends a
70 the Japanese rice fields. The fertilizer,
to the Japanese rice fields The fertilizer
nee herring, is SO indispensable to rice
growing that when the war cut off the
Japanese fishermen from the Sakhalin
coast two Japanese towns, Hokkaido and
0taru, petitioned the mikado to send
troops to seize the island, or, if that
could not be done to permit the two in
dignant towns to fit out an expedition
of their own
The general director Of the prisons
asked permission to organize an army
Of japanese jailbirds for service in
Sakhalin. Such overtures as these met
the government Encouragement, but
the eizure Of SalShalin By trained
troops was undertaken as soon as prac-
ticable.. Nor did Japan fail to perceive
that Sakhalin in the grip Of the foreign
power would constitute a standing
menace to japanese agriculture. It was
the case Of Korea over again, only with
herring substituted for grain as the vital
point.