| Show OR NAVAL MLN r rAT XUl I AI TruIE PROSPECT Of WAll N lfUfE fAR EAST Russia and France Believed to be the Opponents Our Marine Force Will Act in Conjunction With Those of Great Britain and Germany to Keep the Door of Commerce Open i 1 Washington April 4 There Is great exultation in naval circles hers ever tho prospect of trouble in the East inv in-v hie the Americans Inly hnve nn op portuuliy to win fresh laurels Phi ivjiyhlps llmt will be called upon to katl the van Innn advance for tho purpose oC kccplitff I unX power from closing the Chinese door are theNew Orleans Baltimore Brooklyn euirk and Machlas in reserve read 1 for any emergency Ore the splendid battleship tlll he Con which is now cruising off tho Japanese coast The New Orleans Is within hall of the ccne of any pos sil trouhle In Chinn untie the Brooklyn nnd the other vessels named above are at the rendezvous where Admiral Watson has assigned the Heel I to be ready to cut In at the llrM sign of naval Interference being necessary to bring the obstinate Empress Em-press of China to her Senses The Dowager Empress of Chino who has sent emissaries to assassinate the reformers who are opposing her op poHllfon to the open door policy upon which the United States Great Britain and Germany are determined seems pent on forcing matters to a war issue Should these assassins succeed in their ° 1 plans their 1 death will sound the knell of the Empress reign Probably the first step to be taken thereafter will be tits landing of a strong body of marines from the American British < and reinmn ships These With a powerful pow-erful force of bluejackets from the fliPls haying with them as many of the small rapidfire guns from the VPS FfMs as rin be spared and managed by hand will constitute a formidable handing hand-ing force Not sufllclently powerful It Is true to advance into the Interior and engage the hardeR of China Illarmod and outofdate as the Chinese soldiers arf but fill It 0 strong enough to seize and hold strategic points along Ihe I coast and hold the fort until the arrival ar-rival of troops of the siftlod nations From the nearby and almost pacllled jFlllllppliiPH troops could he sent to aid the Amerhan forces and as ono of these American veterans and bluojack pts would bi > equal to a dozen of iho I fJliincao soldier It would probably not i r ba 1 long I before the Empress would listen lis-ten lo reason According to the latest advices here it Is now a nice between the wouldbe assassins nnd the warships the former to not to the Straits settlements and murder hang Yu Wei 1 and the other Chnamen of advanced Ideas who have incurred the deadly I enmity of the Dowager Empress by their advocacy oft of-t npllcy of reform and the latter to Intercept them and prevent any such firing o the mine that has been safe gviarded against an explosion for so long Other ships are driving through tho waters at full speed in the direction direc-tion of Taku where the Influence of tho Empress la I shoeing Itself In tho murder of missionaries and attacks on the white population who are crying out for protection against the murderous murder-ous hirelings of the Empress All Is I uncertainly and the air Is full of ominous om-inous rumors Whether our warships will find a Chinese enemy or it Russian one Is an open question The Russians arc stlnTng up trouble In China and a I great deal of the present danger that menaces the open door Is traceable say 1 the wellInformed ones here to Russian diplomacy The United States Great Britain and Germany are acting In perfect 1 per-fect accord and It Is therefore not unlikely I un-likely that the Chinese empire may be the scene of a bloody struggle In which tho three nations named will be arrayed ar-rayed against Russia and her ally and syjnpjithlzir France It Irt I firmly believed In Washington that the sudden boldness of tho Impress Im-press of China Is due directly to the i Influence of Russia and that the declaration dec-laration of an AngloAuicrlcan luiiioi I standlng lo keep tho door open by force I if necessary would be the signal for some overt act on the part of Russia I or of China at Russias Instigation I which would precipitate matins and bring the marines and sailors of Ainer Ilea I-lea and England Into armed comllet with those of Russia and of France In such event there IB little doubt I about the lesulL 1 Leaving Japan and t Get many out of the question Great Britain and the United States have a sufllclently powerful combined lleit In I Oriental waters or within a short distance dis-tance oC the scone of probable conflict to make the Issue a foregone conclusion 1 With the help of Jnpan and Germany given to the British and Americans the RussoFrench fleets would be nowhere Add to this preponderance of strength I tho fact that the American and British sailors speak the same language have I mutual conlldence In and respect for each other and are both experts on I the seas and the odds against those who woujd close the door to Chinese commerce are too great for any sane I diplomat to defy The only I advantage that can be seen on tho side of Russia Is the fact that her armies arc nearer the scene of the I r probable conflict and this Is why the i strength of tho marine force at tho t I disposal of the British and American I I and German Admirals is of so much I I Importance for limo Hist brunt of the lighting would fall on these versatile i warriors Under the guns of the fleet > the sailors and marines would be landed at some strategic poi n Lund l having made sum a of a landing place r for tho tioops who would follow as quickly as they could he rushed from I the nearest military depot the sailors and the warships ould stand aft tin hoslile army until the psychological 1 moment arrived for defensive 1 lo be changed to offensive operations The prompt dispatch of tho line ships now In Chinese Aalerfl may open the eyes of the Russian diplomats to the abso lute lunacy of any attempt to defy all Christendom With China the diplomats diplo-mats are not disposed to reckon seriously se-riously for the Idencf points loo roncliifeively to the fact that she Is but playing Russias game |
