The Washington herald., 1914-12-13

mat upon which she could step into
Europe" but she also seized Crimea
! from Turkey and named one of her
! grandsons Constantine just to show
I that the concerns of Russia still re-
mained over there toward the rising
sun.
| Goal of England, Too.
\ Britain had anticipated Russia by
! nearly 100 years in realizing the power
that would go to the country which
drew India within her territorial bor-
ders.
Cecil. Raleigh. and Bacon in tho times
! OF Queen Elizabeth saw this plainly,
and the good queen granted charter
to the East India Company. That was
the seed. The tree did not bear fruit
until 1876. In that year Queen Vic
toria was proclaimed by Disraeli to be
| Empress of India
| In the two succeeding centuries Brit
ain was TO divide her energies between
/ the east and west. India claimed a
! part of her attention. but her greatest
| activities were on the other side of the
continent.
I The task of the seventeenth century
was to pull Spain from the eminence
she had assumed as the ruling nation
of the globe. This Britain did and in
the following century walked over the
PROSTATE body of Spain in an attack
on France who had scaled the height
of power formerly held by the Span
| iards. The story of these two centuries
has been finished and laid away with
the other dusty volumes of history.
But the tale OF the struggle with
Russia, commenced in the nineteepth
century. is still in the writing. II Is
probab bic that merely a start on the pro-
plogI has been made at the present
time.
Rivalry of Centuries.
Britain. If she would retain her posi-
ton in the family Of nations overseas.
must keep India. and Russia, II she
would attain to the stature dreamed of
by Peter the Great. must add that
treasure land to her possessions.
The rivalry has been going ON for CEN
turtles. The struggle. carried on for
the most part in the state chambers OF
both nations. has been fought out as
bitterly. if with other weapons. as II II
has been fought in the dark ages.
Neither nation has relaxed an ounce
of her energy and neither has gained
decisively The history of this move in
the worlds affairs will be long in the
writing.
More than once in this long fight the
big paw of Russia apparently has been
ready to draw COnstantinople to the
hairy chest, as the first victory in the
battle. In 1888 Car Nicholas l obtain
ed from the Sultan Mohammed Ali the
exclusive right of way through the
DardaneIles. Great Britain. of course,
saw the danger in this concession which
opened to Russia and closed to her this
short route to India. She iabOred
early and late and finally in 1912 Pal
merston was able 20 command Russia
TO give up the prize.
ConstantinOpIe Lost.
The bear was unchecked by the Cri-
mean war and Alexander III without the
necessity of war succeeded in pushing
the Russian borders across the eau
casus. War did come in 1873. 1t was
successful and Russia saw the gates
OF Constantinople clearer than before.
British fleets menacinS the Dardan-
eIles and St Petersburg. thwarted the
Russians plans, however. and forced
him to return Constantinople to the
Turk.
Russia outwardly has admitted the
British right to India and even the ap-
proaches to that country but In secret
she has carried on her old policy.
Step by step and little by little she
has gained through bribC and secret
pact what she could not gain by force.
She had smilingly admitted that the
Persian Gulf is a British lake" that of
necessity Britain must control Afghan
affairs. that country being next neigh
Dor to India, and that Thibet, being
on the northern frontier OF India should
remain all independent state, but in
the dark she has been creeping nearer
and nearer the goal of her hopes and
Furthermore there are treaties in the
archives of the Car to show for this
silent progress.
Shortly after the declaration of war
between Russia and Turkey the Ameer
| of Afghanistan started with an army
of almost 10000 men toward the In
dian border The declared intention of
the move was to fight Russia as well
as Great Britain, but Britain knows that
iAfghanistan is Russian or as much