The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-10
By s. BURTON HEATH NEA Staff Correspondent

They destroyed the Czar'S fleet, and by. overwhelming numerical super tority combined with more intelli- gent leadership, they whipped the Russians consistently on land.
 The war of 1904-5 was unpop- ular in Russia. The average Slav had no conception then of what has become evident since - that the belligerently ambitious empire rising of the coast of China must inevitably clash with Russia's pro- gram for the building up of Siberia. The war ended just as the tide might have turned. To win her un- broken chain of victories Japan ex- tausted her resources. Nutrition would have ruined her if the war had continued. Russia had been handicapped originally by the nec- eSsity of sending troops, weapons and supplies across the Siberian wastes on a one-track railroad; but back home here manpower and ma- teriel were relatively inexhaustible, and even in the final battles she had achieved almost a parity with the Japs.
 SHOWDOWN IS CERTAIN
 This was the only time the two great aspirants for domination over the Pacific indulged in something resembling declared war. But they have pecked away at each other sporadically, in guerrilla fashion, much of the time for a century, and it has long been apparent that some day one or the other would have to be eliminated from the Pacific pie ture.
 A casual glance at any good map ofsthe north Pacific makes 1t clear why the nationalistic Japs and the ambitious owners of Siberia should be at almost constant loggerheads.
 Consider first the island of Sak- halin. It is the northernmost land in the Japanese archipelago - ap- parently an integral part of the Nipponese mainland" But the Japs own only the relatively worth less southern portion, while Rus sia holds the rich coal and oil lands to the north.
 Consider next Port Arthur and Dairen. on the Kwantung penin- sula in southern Manchuria. They are ice-free ports the year around. Russia,s only important Pacific port, Vladivostok, is closed by ice part of the year. Unless she can have at least free access to Dairen, without naval threat from a Jap-held Port Arthur, Russia can not hope to de- velop for Siberia the Pacific com- merce she needs badly.
 Or. consider Manchuria proper, with its hundreds of thousands of square miles of the worlds richest farming land, it's gold, silver, coal, iron. Opper, lead. tungsten.
 The eJaps, cooped up on barren islands, want the space, the food stuffs and the industrial raw ma- aterials and Manchuria = and have taken them. But Russia, for de- velopment of Siberia, requires, at the very least. free access to those resources. And Russia can not feel very safe about Siberia so long as Jap armies squat across the Manchurian border and Jap batleships anchor at Port Arthur and the Japs consider Korea as part of their homeland.
 China, historic owner of all these areas except Sakhalin, is treated as a mere bystander in this clash of rival imperial ann bitionS.
 In 1857, Japan had just been opened by Commodore Perry. and the Russians, needing an isolated location for penal colonies, prob- ably didn't think of Tokyo when they began colonizing Sakhalin. Japan was strong enough by 1875 Sc that, when Russia decided to take Sakhalin, the Czar tossed oyer domination of the Kuriles and cer- tain Okhotsk and Boring Sea fish, ing rights as sop, as one gives the baby toy to stop his crying when one takes away the watch he was playing with.
 The incident was negligible to the Czar, but Illuminating and annoying to the Mikado. So, when the Japs whipped China in 1894 they adopted occidental practice and demanded the Liaotung pen insula, on which Port Arthur and Dairen. are located. The Chinese agreed, but France, Germany and Russia forced Japan to cancel the deal.
 Four years later Russia leased Ghe ports from which she had hkpt Japan. Tn 1900, using the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse, she occupied much of Manehuria. She had previously obtained Chinese consent to building the Chinese Eastern Railway, connecting with her own Trans-Siberian line, and in 1898 she obtained the privilege oi extending this to her leased Port Arthur by way of Mukden. Man. churia.
 Japan viewed these eastward ex- cursions with diStrust, just as Rus sia now dislikes Japan's westwaro expansion into the same areas. That was the real reason why Japan struck in 1904 without warning, and beat the Russians before reinforce nnents could be brought from Flu rope.
 - By the Treaty of Portsmouth, that ended the war, Japan acquired southern Sakhalin. Russia's lease ol the Liaotung peninsula, control ovel the South Manchurian Railway te Port Arthur and recognitionV oi Japan's sphere of influence in Ko- req, which she formally annexed 1T 1910,
 In 1918 some 10000 Japs who par. ticipated in Allied landings in Si. beria remained until 1925, and with. drew only after acquiring exploita- tion privileges in the Sakhalin oi fields.
 The net result of these maneu. vers left Russia owning half of ! Japanese island, and Japan holding