Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-05-19
BIZ THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.

BIZ THE MARC lSE DE FoNIENof.
Saghalien is an island lying to the
extreme north of Japan. 1t seems to
be necessary to emphasize this. For
the rank and file of the labor party
in Great Britain and the masses Of
the working people there appear to be
under the impression that Saghalien
is a horse.
On May day monster demonStra-
ton took place in London by the
laborites, who with the communist
red flag flying. with shields adorned
with the soviet armorial bearings and
carrying placards of the most in
cendiary character, marched to the
strains of the communist war chant,
The Red Flag" to the Japanese en-
bassy. before which they booed and
hooted and Kissed by way of mani
Testing their disapproval, and Of en-
tering a vigorous protest in the name
of British labor against the treat
ment of Saghalien by Japan.
Why English British labor should
suddenly have developed SUCH pro-
nounced interest about Saghalien,
few know of and that rarely figures
in newspapers or magazines, nat
urally gave rise to considerable
amount of speculation. and careful
investigation ensued. which led to the
discovery that the majority OF the
manifestants befcre the Japanese en-
bassy on the subject of the mikado's
treatment of Saghalien were under
the impression that the latter was
race horse which had run without
much success in some of the winter
steeplechaaes in England, and 1t had
in some way been doped or hocussed
through sinister Vaccinations OF the
Toxic government. When informed
that Saghalien was a remote island
forming sort OF connecting INN
between the northern coast Of Siberia
and the most northerl7 portion or
Japan, they expressed at first disbe-
lief and then amazement. ana nao'
never heard of the hairy Anus, the.
hairiest people on the face OF the
earth. who constitute the bulk of the.
ratlve population of Sagnallen'-
naeans who worship the bear, whose
scanty clothing behind the thick halr
with which they are entirely covered
is made of bark of elm trees, ana
boots made of fish skin and who are
en- unenviable record as being quite
the dirtiest and the most drunken of
human beings on the face OF the
globe. 1t is said by those who have
visited Saghalien that it's people never
wash, that additions are unknown to
them that they are dying out from
a variety of diseases engendered by
filth, and that their unwritten Ian
guage consists in the main of curses.
x *:,*
In the very early days of the open
ing Of Japan to western civilization,
now some seventy years ago, the gov
eminent of the then tycoon at Toxic
was either persuaded or terrorized by
the cars diplomats to cede Saghalien
to Russia, which was under the i'm
preston that the island was possessed
of great latent mineral wealth. But
climatic conditions, difficulties of
transport, also the hostility of the
natives, rendered the development and
exploitation of these hidden riches
virtually impossible and the Petro-
grad authorities ended by making
Saghalien the. most feared of all its
penal settlements. where only the
most atrocious criminals, and most
feared of political offenders were held
in the most cruel form of captivity
and penal servitude. At the close of
the Russo Japanese war of 1905 the
victors demanded the return of Sag
halien But in the end they had to
content themselves with the recovery
of the southern part of the island.
Japans reward for her participation
in the late war on the side of the
United States and of the entente. was
the return to her of the remainder of
the island. which she at once pro-
ceeded to occupy. driving out all the
Muscovite population and establishing
military posts on all the most stra-
tegic points. as to establish her
complete control.
The bolshevist junta at Moscow
has long been clamoring for the re-
covery Of Saghalien, not because it
was of any value. but merely
because its alienation from the former