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Show JAPAN AND RUSSIA. A dispassionate world will applaud Japan for severing diplomatic relations with the great northern north-ern despoiler. Russia's designs have been apparent appar-ent enough for months past; to 'temporize, to hold hope after hope to the lips of Japan, only to break them to her heart; to maneuver to get her ships and armies in position, and then to taunt Japan into bringing on the war that she may hold up her bloody hands and exclaim: "I could not help it, Japan brought on the war." As the miser and thief who covets the possessions of another, an-other, and maneuvers to steal them is profuse in his declarations that they really ought to be his; so Russia proclaims that her possessions in Manchuria Man-churia would be menaced" if she could not be permitted per-mitted to steal more, but on what grounds does she found her claims to Manchuria? When Japan had China whipped to a finish and was entitled to Port Arthur and Manchuria, as spoils of war, certain European powers, led by Russia, interposed inter-posed and compelled Japan to relinquish her conquest. con-quest. Then when the battle canopy lifted and floated away it was found that Russia had secured Port Arthur for herself and under one insidious plea after another sent her army to occupy Manchuria Man-churia and has by sheer lying held it ever since, and now she wants Korea, a country that Japan has held a suzerainty over for centuries. Russia is but gratifying her land-stealing lust and the sympathies of the world are with Japan. If, as now seems imminent, a great war succeeds, the rsult cannot be anticipated. We believe that at first Japan will have decidedly de-cidedly the best of it. She is a faster fighter than Russia, and in the east she is better prepared for the onset than her great enemy; better prepared in fighting force, both by sea and land, nearer her base, and her soldiers have a three-fold incentive to fight desperately; first, a mortal hate of Russia; second, a boundless patriotism, and, "third, a' knowledge knowl-edge that she will not only be fighting for victory, but for life itself. If let alone she will make such an account of herself as will drape many a Cossack home in mourning. But we distrust the Great Powers. They all have the land hunger. They want China partitioned and it will be perfectly natural for China to extend every help possible to Japan. How long before those powers will feel it a "Christian duty" to interpose and then in settlement," settle-ment," for the sake of the peace of the world," make the partition? Another indictment against Russia is that her overt acts will probably result in training the Mongolian to become a modern fighter. When that Is done all Europe will have to take the old advice and "see that her walls be strong." But Russia, by her acts, is taking some fearful risks. A volcano is smouldering in the Balkans and in ancient Greece. The Moslem Is not sleeping; his army is already for war. Russian Poland Is as intensely in-tensely Polish today as Ireland Is Irish. Russia has only one means of keeping her eastern army supplied with men and munitions of war, and that is a poorly-equipped and inferior railroad 7,000 miles long. The opening of spring may find her surrounded by bristling enemies. What now of all the Czar's peace professions? It was he who wanted all difficulties among nations settled by arbitration. He should have added: "All differences differ-ences between outside nations; when I have trouble, especially with some weaker power, then it is different." We believe that every just man who believes in the efficacy of prayer, is praying now for Japan. |
