The Washington herald., 1907-03-10

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this week By several serious journals that
la complete understanding has been
reached between Great Britain and Rus
STA, and that a peace league has been
formed virtually embracing all the great
powers, except Germany. This news. il
confirmed, would be Of transcendlng inn
portance and would relegate to The
Hague Conference and other peace ageD-
eies the mere arrangement Of details for
the inauguration Of a political millennium
There is this much truth in the foreg0-
ing optimistic announcement: A better
understanding unquesti0naby has been
Preached between the British and Russian
governments regarding the In0tty prob
lens in the far East.
Before giving this fact any wider sig
lnifcance than appears on its face. it is
necessary to ask what reliance can be
placed upon Russia as factor in any
international policy at the present mo
ment Russia's part in maintaining
firm international police policy would BE-
Of great Importance could she be relied
upon 20 oppose the aggressive ambitions
in the near East which are commonly
ascribed 10 the Kaiser in diplomatic cir
cles. The answer must be entirely disap-
pointing. The latest internal situation IN
Russia, as revealed by the assembling OF
the new Douma, is far more ominous than
any one anticipated.
Russian DOumn Revolutionary.
Your st. Petersburg correspondent. writ
ing on this subject, described the new
legislature as more dangerous than the
last one. The names Of groups. such as
Social Democrats and Social Revolution
aries, are misleading. owing TO the adop-
ton OF the nomenclature Of the Extreme
Left parties in other continental cham
bers. They are all plain revoIuuonarIes.
There is no evidence OF a socialist amons
them in the sense of demanding the col
lective ownership Of means Of production.
but rather all their eIamor IS for indi-
yidUal personal liberty.
In the face Of a large majority Of the
DOuma holding these sentiments. Russia
finds herself confronted with a domestic
crisis of greater danger than ever before.
That she can play any but a moral role
IN International affair is impossible. That
even her moral attitude should be re-
garded as permanent or representative j.
absurd. The present regime viii not 80 10
I war with anybody about anything nor
can it furnish any useful stiffening 10
any combination.
The question Of turning 10 military ad-
venture TO escape domestic trouble that
stood for a policy in the japanese war
is now reversed. Since that appalling ex-
pertinent the determined policy Of ,he
Car friends has been to give the soldiers
plenty to eat and drink. better clothes
and barracks. and to make their life as
easy as possible. They are very definitely
needed al home. and any mobiliZing OF
Tehearsals Of war games would simply
play into the hands Of the revOIut.Onaries.
The only way TO make Russia q solid
factor internationally would be for the
Gar TO treat the Donna 60 Handsomely
that from national pride in their own new
Importance the people would say yes 10
spirited foreign policy; but there VIII be
"a great struggle in Russia before that
comes.
Pence Promoters Not Unanimous.
It will be seen from the foregoing that
any estimate ascribing TO Russia the i'm
Portance Of a great power in any com
bination for peace or otherwise would BE-
a serious mistake. He would be a foolish
prophet who undertook to say what policy
OF what rulers will direct Russian affairs
one year or two years hence.
Nor IS there complete unity Of senti-
menJ regarding peace measures among
the so-called peace powers themselves
France has resented very much Sir Henry
Campbell proposal in his
article in the Nation a week ago in re-
gard to the limitation and reduction Of
ornaments. Germany. indeed, pretends
TO find in il Machavellian designs against
her The nice old gentleman who holds
the premiership Of these islands Is quite
incapable of wicked intTigues in foreign
affairs. and he is very much hurt by these
suspicious Of his bona fides. He leaves
foreign affairs in the hands of Sir Ed
ward Grey even more completely than
/ President Roosevelt confdes them to Sec
Rotary Root. and he wrote the article
which is making such fuss simply to
give a flip To the new Liberal publica-
\ ton
n There is evidence Of Germany's inten-
ton TO embroil the question of the lin
itation of ornaments by asking wherein
it is to be based. If it is TO be fixed by
population. then Germany's navy viii go
up and Great Britain's down. if by the
size Of the mercantile marine requiring
protection. then the United States viii
/ take a low place on the list and viii, Of
| course. refuse consent
World More Pacific To-day.
] Oile ulSNLl bliis utNttopiltllt ttl4o week
was the revival of the report that the
Kaiser had succeeded in inducing Den
mark to neutralize the Danish Straits
with the object of making the Baltic
Mare ClausUn in time of war. There is
strong evidence that Danish consent has
been gained. the price paid being German
! guarantee of Danish independence. Great
Britain, however. can never agree to this
arrangement. and her effective veto in
some form may be expected just as
when similar rumor alarmed her two
/ years ago.
Despite this incident and giving all due
weight to the aggressive plans ascribed
to the German Emperor. 1t must be said
that the prospects of continued peace are
/ brighter to-day than since the balance Of
power was disturbed by the RUsso-Jap-
anese war. Leaving Russia out Of ac-
| count entirely. the European situation is
SO pacific that 1t is almost beyond the
/ mower of any ambitions r,oteufata 70 dis