The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Russian Ambassador Declares That Reports of Trouble
 Are Misleading
AMERICAN CONSUL HAS
 ASKED FOR SETTLEMENT
According To Reports From Consul Fred Fisher It's His Desire To Have Matters Settled To Determine
 Rights of Americans.

Washington, April 5.-speaking today with a representative of the Associated Press, who asked him for an explicit statement regarding Russia's attitude in Manchuria in view of the latest develop ments at Harbin, Baron Rosen, the Rus sian ambassador, declared that much that was being printed in that connection was misleading. Continuing, the ambassador said:
 'I have noted with regret certain com ments in some of the daily papers which, l think, are manifesty based on incom- plete information or on miseonception of actual conditions in that remote part of the world. In the first place, the ques- tion of Chinese sovereignty In Manchuria is in no way involved in the steps taken by the railroad authorities toward the organization of municipal administra- tion in the Russian settlements at Har- bin and Chailar. These settlements have sprung up within recent years around the central stations, machine shops and other establishments of the railroad company at these points on the strip of land bor dering on the tracks which had been leased to the company in 1896 for a term of years by the Chinese government, the lease containing a special proviso con ceding to the company the absolute and exclusive right of administration on the lands leased.
 Such a stipulation is in itself by no means abnormal considering that under existing treaties foreigners in China and foreign settlements in the so-called open ports enjoy the privilege of extra terri toriality and, therefore, not subject to Chinese Jurisdiction or administration, nor could this stipulation, freely conceded by the Chinese government, be considered as constituting an infringement of Chinese sovereignty in Manchuria.
 What the plan desired by the railroad authorities for the organization of munic- ipal administration at Harbin and Chailar consisted of and with the particular fea- lures of this land have given rise to pro- tests, I am unable to say, as have no information whatever on the subjects. l. stands to reason, however, that these settlements which have nestled around the stations and establishments of the rail- road and which, particularly in the case of Harbin, have quite large population, are in absolute need of some kind of reg llarly constituted municipal administra- tion, and the plan devised by the railroad authorities was obviously intended to supply this need and thereby to benefit the whole community, including the Chinese and the few foreigners who have settled on the lands leased to the com pany Any disagreement in regard to this plan would appear to be of no more than local importance.
 "In short, nothing could be further from the aims of Russia's policy in the far east than any desire whatever of questioning let alone of impairing, the sovereign rights of China in Manchuria, her sole aim being the maintenance of the status quo as well as of her rights under existing treaties and the cultivation of the most friendly relations with China, no less than with Japan."