Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-20
FACTS AND COMMENT

Wilson's expressed reluctance to have any outside force brought to bear in Russia that might be interpreted as diotation by others in the settlement | of her own internal difficulties. It is l the same policy that kept the united| States from taking a hand in Mexico, | left that unhappy c0utry in the throes
 of civilswar and finally brought us into that most unfortunate and inconsist- | ent position of seizing Vera Cruz and l sending the punitive expedition after
 Villa. The seizure of Vera Cruz was hastened to prevent the unrecpgniZed l president, .Huerta, from receiving q shipment of arms from Germany. It surely would not be inconsistent with that procedure to acquiesce in the Jap anese seizure Of Vladivestok where far more than one shipload of sup plies now lies at the mercy of the un- recognized Bclsheviki or the openly hostile Germans. England, the ally of Japan since 1905, has ever found her an honorable and trustklorthy
 friend and is not at all apprehensive abont allowing her to hold and protect
 Siberia, confident that she would re-
 linquish hes hold when, in the view of
 the allies, the fitting time should como.
 True to their established practics in dealing win treaties, the Germans have disregaFded their agreement with the Ukraine and have deliberately seized the great port of Odessa. The entire western coast of the Black Sea had already been taken from Rumania and by the treaty with the Bo,shevilxi the eastern end about the port of Ba- toum is now in Turkish hands. Thus the entire Black Sea 1ittoral is under the control of Berlin. A glance at the map shows what this means to the British empire, Though the operations l in Mesopotamia have destroyed the Berlin to Bagdad dream, a new all- l rail route clear through to India is now within the kaiser's grasp. Ali | but four hundred miles of this is act ualiy in operation. From Moscow the | route runs southeast to Sarnara, and ithence to :Orenburg on the border be- 1 tween Russia and Siberia Thence past the Sea of Aral to Tashkeipl in l Turkestan, from which branch line l is well along toward completion lead
 l ing to Afghanistan. Here the great range of the Hindu Rush would have tosbe surmeunted or tunneled in order to reach Peshwar, the northern term mus of the railway system of British India. Once this rolrte were in oper- | ation, the time between Berlin and India would be cut from the, sixteen days to five, So much quicker would the all-fail route be than the water route by Suez. This trans R xsaian
 route may seem only a possibility. in-
 volving as 1t does the complete sub : l iugatien and control of all European Russia by Germany. Other feasible
 easier reach, There are even now di- Ifeet rail lines from Berlin to five diff Il ferent ports oif the Black Sea, Odes-
 sa, Constanza, Varna, Burghas and Constantinople. From any of these Iports the trip the length of the sea is but six hundred miles to Batoum ,.l From there a railroad is already ir operation three hundred miles to ths Il Easnian Sea. Across the narroweat ; part of that great inland body of wa. l ter lies ISraspoyodsl<. the westerf fternlinus of the Rnssian Trans-Cas- plan system of railways, wneneh tht
 connection with British India is a:
 above described, The map of Europe will no longer serve to give one (
 comprehensive view of the stake it l this great world struggle. The entire l Easter9 Hemisphere must be seen if
 all it's enormous breadth, if one woulf I have before his eyes the mighty prize , that the collapse of Russia has nu iwithin easy reach of Gerrsan imnerial- ism, Not even in the days of Rome; i greatest extent, was so much uowel wieldei by one man as the Kaiser l history have all the forces of right an( I justice been so united in their de
 termination to put down the ruthless f power that would enslave humanity
 tI The present is not the only ecea
 sier on which Caillaux has been sus !. peeted of reasonable actions toWart his country. In 1908 while he wa minister of finance the notorion | swfndler Rochette was permitted t
 escape to Mexico and loud were tn
 public clanors against Caillaux him
 self and his fellow-statesman MaIvs
 Another charge brought against hin this by Figaro, was the ease of tn C Prieu heirs, In 1878 the French gov ]. erninent had received from Brazil if
 i teen miliicl francs in payment fo o thirteen ships belonging to a fner r chant named Prieu that had been seiz - ed.on a charge of smuggling But tn
 l Prieu heirs had never been able t
 collect this claim from the French gov a ernment in all the succeeding year :. until Caillaux became minister of fl U nance He informed tie heirs that a s a result of his study of their case tn
 government was ready to pay thei
 claims-but on condition that the y would pay over to the party of Gail tt laux 80 per cent. of the amount Thi e demand was later reduced to fifty pc
 cent. Figaro also had considefabl
 list of names of finanelers, many wit el German names, with whom Cailtau had business connections and to whol 2 he had granted many favors durin 'r his term in office, both personal ar
 financial. Far the most serious cltars
 against CaAlaux was his conduct in the Agadir settlement with Germany at 1911. That was the year that tf Is crisis that came nearest to preeipita
 ing the general European conflict. Gel
 many, long jealous of French infiuent ,d in Morocco, sent a cruiser to the DO !, of Agadir ostensibly to protect Gel T man interests. But like the Gernls admiraPs Encounter with Dewey
 Manila, this was a case of lnterfe.
 ence in others affairs. trial of 6 r