iWiiliiiiiiliiiiliSWIiai E756^ .G13 Copy 2 a^ . o ■ • "■^ .^''^ Q^ <=b •j^SSts-k*- O ^A. 0" »"c America in the Orient. The United States, Russia and France AND THE Anglo-Japanese Treaty. By T. ST. JOHN GAFFXEY and JOSEPH SMITH. 'ro/e.sHor Grosi:enor, of Jin/wrst Collcije, on the Pollrij of the Statu Di'pnrtment Reprinted from THE BOSTON PILOT. c ?J ^ ri p 2j^'02 RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. There is a class in this Repubhc more British than American, whose chief object is to direct the foreign poHcy of the United States in Eng-- land's interest, no matter what the result may l)e to the Republic. This class, small but noisy, has its press agents and its after dinner ad- vocates, but the average American knows how small is its real inRu- ence when weighed in the balance of public opinion and how futile must necessarily be its efforts. Dur ing the last four years it was partic- ularly in evidence, disseminating the falsehood that Great Britain stood between us and the Continen- tal Powers during the Spanish War. The persistent and systematic cir- culation of this lie was so general as to affect the judgment of many honest and patriotic Americans, who forthwith joined the troop of Anglomeri, whose voice made the welkin ring with the story of our obligations to Mr. Chamberlain's ministry. France, Russia and Ger- many endured in silence for four vears this impeachment of their good faith, and Lord Pauncefote strutted around Washington in the guise of our protector and saviour, while our State Department practi- cally abdicated its functions and be- came the echo of the British For- eign Office. A change, however, has come over the scene; although Hav still holds the State portfolio. an American sits in the chair at Washington. The Secretary of State, whether justly or unjustly, it is not for me to say, is regarded as the exponent and defender of Brit- ish policies in this country. It has been alleged by many eminent pul)- lic men that if he were to change places wiih Lord Pauncefote he could not be more careful and vig-i- lant in looking out for the interests of the British Empire. Since the commencement of the vSouth African War all negotiations have been conducted with one view by our State Department, and that to cause the least offence to the Chamberlain ministry, no matter ho^v our interests in Alaska or else- where might suft'er. Great Britain must not be embarrassed has been the governing and paramount rule in our diplomatic affairs since the induction of the Hon. John Hay. As the result of such a programme, humiliating as the confession is, this great nation has become an acqui- escing partner in the spoliation and destruction of two small republics. Historv does not record a more shameful episode in our annals, and the judgment of posterity will, with unerrinor fidph^v. pin re the brand of shame on Columbia's brow for our conduct in this infamous South Af- rican War. Since the signing of the Anglo- Japanese Treaty the voice of the RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND Ano-Ionien in America has been again raised. They assert with pos^ itiveness that their friend Hay was ronsLilled and gave his tacit adhe- >i()n to the document, and that he would gladly have made our coun- try a party but for the United States Senate. The British press here and abroad re-echo the statement, and the Secretary of State is silent. He remains duml), as he has during the last four years, when at any hour (luring that time he could have un- masked the duplicity of the British (jovernmcnt and spared the minis- ters of the great Powers the humili- ations and affronts to which they lia\e been subjected up to the very moment of Pauncefote's exposure. The Japanese newspapers do not hesitate to openly claim that our Government is an unofficial party to the convention. The "Mainichi" (Osaka), one of the leading organs of public opin- ion, says: "The contracting Powers are Great Britain and Japan on paper, but there is also the unofficial American support of the alliance, it is an alliance of the three Powers which hold the balance of powder in the Far East, in commerce, in navi- gation, and in naval and military strength. The three Powers in com- bination can defy the world, and w-e do not hesitate to assert that their alliance is sufficient to guarantee the peace of the world." Tn contributions to The Pilot I have fre(|uentl\- called attention to the press campaign conducted in the interest of Britain by her agents resident among us. Some of these, T regret to say, are American; in fact, the most notorious member of the craft was born in this country. There is also an Anglo Jew, the Washington correspondent of the London "Chronicle," who has a fac- ulty of quoting his own dispatches to that paper in the columns of a Boston paper, of which he is also the correspondent. These men are ever vigilant and unceasingly active in their efforts to create ill feeling between the United States and the Continental Powers, and i"umor at- tril)utes to them opportun'ities for information at the State Depart- ment afi'orded no other correspond- ents. There is also a certain ele- ment in Congress wdiich is commit- ted to the British interest, and at every opportunity, either at din- ners or by interviews, it delivers empty talks about "Blood is thick- er than water," "Our kith and kin," "the open door," and such silly nonsense as is calculated to arouse instead of allay any bitterness of feeling between the two peoples. The best ethnological authori- ties, both here and abroad, credit our homogeneous population with about 1 per cent, of English blood, and as time progresses this fraction is becoming more minute, and yet there are idiots who refer toi the Amei"ican people as a branch of the "Anglo-Saxon" race. The Plon. Chauncey M. Depew is a sample of this class of Anglo- maniac, but every one knows that his pleasantries on international questions are worthy of no serious consideration. The foreign minis- ters, after a brief residence among us, weigh these utterances at their proper value, and although Euro- pean newspapers and foreign gov- ernments mav attach some sienifi- THE ANOLO-JAPANESE TREATY. cance to them, they are regarded here as of absohitely no pohtical im- portance. Orators of this type constantly prate of spreading" the beneficent inhuences of English civilization. Let ns contrast for a moment jnst one feature of the civilization of the Boer and the Briton. The Boers have captured and released since the commencement of the war 3(S,- 000 British soldiers, which is more than the entire strength of the Boer army. Upwards of 5,000 of these prisoners were for months in their hands. Up to the fall of Pretoria only two deaths had occurred among these troops during their captivity and about half a dozen suffered from minor ailments. Great Britain, under the pretence that they are rebels, has shot and hanged many Boer officers and sol- diers, scattered the prisoners over the world and, having burned the homxs of the women and children, has placed them in camps where the death rate has reached the ap- palHng figures of 450 per thousand. Her object and policy is the exter- mination of the race, and yet we have in this countiw men like Al- fred T. Mahan who have the assur- ance to glorify British benevolence and proclaim that British prestige has been increased by the South African War. Is it any wonder that Captain Mahan was court-mar- tialed while in the American Navy and that the verdict recorded that he was incompetent to sail his own ship? The Anglo-Japanese Treaty. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, followed after a brief interval by the Russo-French Declaration, mark^ the beginning of a new period in world j)olitics. The centre of grav- ity has Ijcen transferred from the near to the far East, and the field of action from the Ottoman to llu- Chinese Empire. y\s in the earlier stages of the demolition of the power of the Turk, the two great antagonists ^^■cre Russia and Eng- land, so we again find them with visors down and lances in rest op- posed to each other on the shores of the Yellow Sea. Now, however, France is the ally of Russia, while heathen Japan, whose association with Christian Britain many lead- ing Englishmen declared a few vears ago to be unthinkable, is now united to her by the closest tie known in international relations. Again, as during the long struggle between Russia and England in the near East, we find Germany play- ing the same part of an apparently disinterested spectator, or, as Bis- marck described it, of the honest broker. Now, however, the issue of the struggle in the near East cannot be repeated. The change of the field of action has brought a new factor into play, and what was only a European question when the Ot- toman Empire was concerned is a world question when the destiny of China comes to be fixed, and one in which this country has a vital in- terest, as one of the great Powers territorially dominating the North- ern Pacilic. The others are Russia and Japan, with the possibility of China, if it can preser\^e its integrity and evolve a modern form of gov- ernment, becoming a fourth. The locus standi of the other Powers is commercial and financial, and can RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND only become territorial at the ex- ])ense of China or of the other three I 'owers. .\s the right of issue on the ocean was the keynote of Russian policy in the near Iiast, so an ice-free port is of her movement through Man- churia to the Yellow Sea; and only a country whose policy is ahvays and everywhere that of the dog-in- the-manger would refuse her that right or l-)ar her progress. It is hardly necessary to say that Eng- land is the country implied; but by herself England would be power- less to accomplish her aim and grat- ify her secular hatred of Russia; and the European Powers are nuich too intimately acquainted with the utter selfishness and the dui:)licitv of her diplomacy to aid her. So in her despair she ttirns to tlie child of the w'orld's old age, Japan, to hold up her arm, palsied bv the valorous resistance of two little South African Reptiblics. \\'ith tlie attractive bait of the "open do(^r" she would enlist the commercial ambitions of this cotm- irv in her service against Russia, but the memories of the American pconle would be short indeed and their in^-elligence dim if they could forget the storv of the scene in the Rri^ich Ftribassv at Washington in 1f«!!)S. when, with customary dou- ble-dealing, the British Ambassador endeavored to hire his colleaErues into consenting to a step wdiich would have amounted to a Euro- pean in^-ervention betw^een otir- seb'f? and Snain. This countrv is strong enough and iust enough to do wdiat is right in the question raised by the forma- tion of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Russia is not and never has been our enemy, while the interests of both recjuire that we should be friends. Commercially, Japan is bound in the nature of things to be our greatest rival in the Eastern markets so soon as her industries and mercantile marine are more fully developed; and we must ever bear in mind that the Japanese can never forgive us for having sup- planted them in the Philippines, the heritage they coveted Avhenever those islands should fall from the feeble grasp of Spain. With Russia we can and ought to treat to the advantage and profit of both; with England and Japan, never. The consistent perfidiotis- ness of the one and the disappoint- ed ambition of the other forbid. Until she has her teeth out of South Africa, England is impotent alike as an enemy or an ally; and it would be as poor policy as it would be im- moral for this country to aid the destroyer of tw'o republics and the exterminator of brave men, their wMves and children. Were we to help England and Japan to-mor- row to force Russia back from the open sea into the frozen North, we should have to fight Japan the day after to retain the foothold we now have on the borders of the Asiatic market, touching nobody's terri- tory and touched by none, while England, with habitual duplicity, would be professing sympathy with the one she feared the most and helping the other. Let our watchword ever be no Anglo-American Alliance; no Anglo-American-Japanese under- standing. If England and Japan force a war upon Russia and THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. France, now openly declaring themselves allies, let us stand aside and see fair play; which will also, without a doubt, be the attitude of Germany. Russia's Historic Friendship for the United States. It is proper, in discussing Rus- sia's relations toward this country, to review briefly her past attitude toward the United States. Since the birth of this republic the friendship of the Czar has been shown at many a critical juncture. Russia was the only great power which did not recognize the bel- ligerency of the Confederacy. In 18G3 the Russian fleets anchored in New York and San Francisco har- bors under sealed orders to support the United States in the event of any interference by England in be- half of the South. After the tri- umph of the Union armies she sold us Alaska for a nominal sum, there- by voluntarily eliminating the American Continent from the sphere ot Russian colonization or territorial expansion. How gladly would England have paid four times the purchase price if she had the opportunity is now admitted by all historians. It is therefore not in- appropriate that we Americans al- lude to Russia as our traditional friend. The New York Sun, in an article published some time ago, forcibly sets forth the common aims and ambitions of Russia and our re- public. The Sun said: "The Russians and Americans have now behind them three gen- erations of efl'ort substantially iden- tical in aim and in achievement; both have before them a manifest destiny containing much that is in common and nothing that conllicts. Russia has been and is the greatest civiHzer of the Old World, as the Americans have been of the New, reducing again to the uses of the human race vast territories that had been for centuries sacrificed to the savagery of degenerated bar- barism. In the Eastern Mediterra- nean Russia, m ol^edience to the dictates of a human heart sensitive to pulsations other than those of a loom, has twice poured out her blood and treasure to rescue fellow- creatures from the knife of the butcher and the cord of the ravish- er. Throughout the whole of this career, alike in that part of it which has dealt with the redemption of territorial areas, and in that part dealing with the redemption of the human victims of fanaticism, cruel- ty and lust, Russia has had one sin- gle, steady, consistent opponent. Splashed to the thighs with inno- cent blood, England has barred the w^ay." In considering the xA.siatic situa- tion and our relation thereto there are singular advantages which Rus- sia possesses and which should have weight with our Government in its future policy. First of all, as I have mentioned before, comes the alli- ance with France, our sister repub- lic. This alliance has received re- newed assurance from the Franco- Russian note of March 20, which contains the following significant paragraph: "They (Russia and France) are compelled, however, not to lose from view the possibly inimical ac- RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND tion of other Powers, or a repeti- tion of disorders in China, possibly nnpairing- China's integrity and free develoi)nient, to the detriment of their reci])roca] interests. They therefore reserve to themselves the right to take measures to defend these interests." This rather sharp reminder to the wise has l)een followed by an otii- cial statement by the Czar's gov- ernment. Among the points sel forth in this are the following: That Russia is not worried by the Anglo- Japanese alliance; that the princi- ])les which have guided Russia since the late war occurred still hold good; that she will insist on the in- tegrity of China, and also of Corea; and that she has in view only the preservation of the status quo and the general peace, in the construc- tion of the Siberian railroad. The pro-Eritish press here refers to the belated conversion of Russia to the open door principle. As a matter of fact, nearly two years ago (^ur Government received a most positive assurance from Count Cas- sini, the Czar's brilliant representa- tive at Washington, on this subject, as well as the other points enumer- ated in the note of March 20. There was never any doubt m the mind of President Mclvinley as to the good faith of Russia on this question, and since the accession of President Roosevelt the most cordial under- standing has prevailed between the two governments. The "Official Messenger," St. Pe- tersburg, in publishing the Franco- Russian declaration, March 20, rel- ative to the Anglo-Japanese Con- vention, accompanied it with a final statement which contains a well-de- served rebuke to those who have been so offensively active in misrep- resenting Russia's position. ■'The intention expressed by Great Britain and Japan to attain those same objects, which have in- variably been pursued by the Rus- sian Government, can meet with nothing but sympathy in Russia, in spite of the comments in certain po- litical spheres and in some of the foreign newspapers which endeav- ored to present in quite a different light the nnpassive attitude of the Imperial Government toward a diplomatic act which in its eye does not change in any way the general situation on the political horizon." Referring again to the advan- tages which Russia possesses in Asia, we must also consider the fact that for centuries she has been a semi-Asiatic Power in close inter- course with Orientals, and it is nat- ural that Russian methods of gov- ernment, arbitrary and despotic as they may seem to us, may be better adapted than those of more liberal- ly governed nations to political conditions existing in China. The building of the great Continental railwa.y and the pacific character of her policy for many years are fur- ther reasons wdiy there should be no sympathy by the United States with her enemies and that there should be no interruption of our traditional friendship. It should not be forgotten also that Russia does not seek to inter- fere with the religion of the Chinese people and emplovs no missionaries with that end in view. As most of tlie trouble with the Christian Powers has arisen from the offen- sive activity of missionaries, this TEE AyGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. 9 advantage to Russia should not be lost sight of, and 1 regard it as of the highest significance. The Hon. John \\ . Bookwalter, former Governor of Ohio, who has travelled extensively in Russia, says: "America's best open door to Central Asia and China is through Russia, and our obtaining" the vir- tual monopoly of this market only depends on our retaining her friendship. America has ver\ little to gain by an open door to China. Russia in the last four years has done more to open the door of China than England and the rest of the world ha\"e done in fifty years. No one who has not seen it with his own eyes can have the faintest con- ception of \vhat Russia has done and is still doing in Central Asia. I distrust the iriendshi]) of England and advise, above all, the cultiva- tion of friendship with Erance, Rus- sia and Germany." "The maintenance of friendly re- lations with Russia," says former Assistant Secretary of State Ouin- cy, "should Ije as cardinal a point in our diplomatic policy as the culti- vation ot similar relations with us in her OAvn programme. Each nation has expanded across the continent from one ocean to another; we meet as friends upon the shores of the Pacific, the great arena in which perhaps is to be fought out, in war or in peace, the struggle for politi- cal or commercial supremacy." There is little doubt that a con- flict in Asia is inevitable in the near future. In view of the critical con- ditions prevailing there, perhaps it would be of interest to note the dif- ference between the position of Russia and England on that conti- nent. The Asiatic dependencies of the British Empire are merely for the purpose of bringing in revenue to the home government and wealth to the small transitorv po[)ii- lation which passes a few years in Hindoostan or China. These British ]K)ssessions are what the I'^rencli call "colonies d'exploitation," as contrasted with "colonies de peu- plement." The ])ro])ortion of Brit- ishers in the Indian l'hn])ire after two centuries of occupation is a mere fraction of the whole ])opula- tion. Russia, on the contrary, is a colonizing power. .\s she has ex- tended the boundaries of her em- pire she has settled the new^ terri- tories with permanent Russian col- onists. In the wake of her advanc- ing army villages, towns and churches ha\ e si)rung up and tlie native population has been rapidlv assimilated and Christianized by her I'Tu opean subjects. Wherever the Russians ha\e founded colonies in A'^ia they have spread their lan- guage, civilization and religion. The provinces of Caucasia, where a centur}- ago there was not a single Russian; Siberia, which two gener- ations ago was practically devoid of Euro|)ean colonists and peopled V>y wandering aboriginal tribes, will before long be as Russian as any Euro[)can ]iro\ince of the Czar s empire. Russia, instead of scatter- ing her surplus population in North and South America, as is the case with England, Germany and Italy, carefully keeps this surplus withm the confines of her own territory. Nothing could be more disas- trous than to emliark American in- terests in the English bottom, for wdierever the Union Jack floats to RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND there American commerce withers and is rooted out. On the other hand, as I have before indicated, American and Russian connnercial interests are identical. Both are growers and exporters of cereals and fibre, of which England is buy- er, and her permanent interest is to ])ay as little as possible for these nialerials. Slie has systematically and constantly manipulated the identical produce of her old Asiatic ])ossessions to break the world's market for these raws. She must needs continue to do so, a necessity imposed by her industrial position. The interests, then, of Russia and the United States alike are perma- nently and irreconcilably opposite to England's and are identical with one another. In conclusion, I again quote from the "New York Sun," which up to a recent date more accurately repre- sented American opinion on this subject than any other publication. "Upon another and a higher plane of politics and humanity Rus- sia is the great civilizer of Asia, while England merely enslaves, crushes and drains. England does so administer her great farms, her dependencies, as to increase their rental, the revenue she squeezes from them. But this is done at the cost of the abasement of the peo- ])les, their abandonment to the tor- ture of chicane, their brutification beneath the blight of hopeless pov- erty and the ever-impending shad- ow of starvation. Public health is utterly neglected; there is not in all India such a seat of science and original research as Russia had es- tablished within five years of her ac- quisition of Samarcand, whose an- cient Mogul University she re- stored. To Asiatics the absolute form of government alone is adapt- ed. They welcome the easy and ad- vantageous Russian yoke, which to them is the symbol and the warrant of security and prosperity." No other element in our country but the Anglo-American has at- tempted to use the Republic. This faction is the least loyal to the United States and the most un- scrupulous in its resolve to further the ends of British policy, no mat- ter what the consequences may be to us. As the result of its deliberate efforts during the last four years to embroil us with the Continental Powers, our citizens of German and Irish . extraction have come to a svmpathetic understanding to stand together, irrespective of party, against British intrigue. Any ad- ministration that would endeavor to commit our Repul^lic to a sup- port of British interests in China M^ould be overwhelmed by the weight of popular opprobrium. Russia need not be disturbed in regard to the attitude of America, if for the protection of her interests she finds it obligatory to prick the bubble of British power in Asia as a few Dutch farmers have burst it in South Africa. T. ST. JOHN GAFFNEY. THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. If IMPENDING WORLD WAR.-ENGLANU AND JAPAN AGAINST RUSSIA AND FRANCE. The offensive and defensive treaty entered into recently be- tween England and Japan, osten- sibly for the preservation of what is diplomatically termed the "Open Door" in China, is a document which has more than a passing in- terest for America and Americans. It was announced with a flourish that this treaty meant the conser- vation of the peace in the Orient, that it insured free trade and equal rights to the commerce of all na- tions, and that it made certain the political integrity of the Chinese Empire. There was an assumption of political and commercial altruism in this sonorous announcement that pleased international philanthro- pists and members of the Peace So- ciety all round the world; but the hard-headed men of affairs, who have in their keeping the diplomatic relations of the Powers and who have learned to differentiate a hawk from a hernshaw, merely smiled, for they had a long and intimate ac- quaintance with the two altruists .who had issued the proclamation. England, the persistent plunderer and bullier of the Flowery Land, and Japan, recently arrested while imitating her friend and ally — these were the two altruists who were to be the guides, philosophers and friends of the guileless Chinaman, his guardians and protectors, the high-minded friends of peace, who were anxious only to keep open the Chinese ports and keep free and equal the trade of China for all comers. Altruism could certainly go no further. This was the overture to the in- ternational sym])hony of commerce; and it is now time for the audience to look for what nuisicians call the leit motif in the composition, or, as vulgar Americans say, "to look for the nigger in the woodpile." The sudden outbreak of inspired articles in the pro-British press of America, questioning the good faith of the Russian Government's assurances that, as far as it was con- cerned, the "open door" would be preserved, and impudently asserting that America w^s back of the treaty, give a clue to the new intrigue in which the British Government is engaged. Those who have followed the tortuous course of British scheming since 1898, and the stren- uous efforts of England and her im- pudent journalistic allies to dis- credit our hereditary friends. France, Russia and Germany, do not propose to allow her old in- trigue to get a new foothold, even while masquerading under a new disguise. The British game now is to try and educate the people of America into the belief that the Anglo-Japanese treaty is an Ameri- can treatv; that this administration will give it its aid and support; and, lastly, to discredit Russian aims and Russian good faith by persistent 12 RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND slander and falsehood. This is the ilrilish progranune in a nutshell, and the liritish count on three facl- urs to make it successful: first, the careless credulit} of the average American; second, the sympathy anil silence of John Hay; third, the impucience. audacity and persist- ence of the pro-British press. Un- less the Japanese-EngHsh treaty has the support, moral or physical, of ihe United States, it is not worth ihe paper it is written on; and it is I he duty of e\ery right-minded American to see that neither British imrigue nor Cabinet treachery gives it that support. Stripped of its fine feathers, its sham altruism, the treaty is merely an ineft'ectual attempt of two little fellows to hlufi one big one; it is i'jigiand and Japan making faces at Kussia, in default of being able to do anything \\(n-se. England is try- ing to make the world believe that she and Japan together amount to a \-ei-y formidable force; yet the mathematical truth remains that twice nothing is still nothing, for England plus Japan, and Jai'an ])!us l^ngland, are still the original C(uan- tity — nothing;. Vet these nodiings hope U) intimidate the strong, re- sourceful Ri'Ssia. the one genuine guarantee of i)eace, ])rogress, civili- zation., law and order in Asia — pro- vided always they can cajole Uncle Saru to become a partner in their scheme. Let us face the actual facts in the r.ast, the realities of the situation. Russia has luult a railroad practi- cally from St, Petersburg to Vladi- vostock, in Eastern Siberia, and is running a branch line down through Manchuria to Port Arthur. This railroad is a civilizing agency, which makes for peaceful conditions along its route, for the cessation of the barbarism and petty warfare wdiich have retarded the growth and expansion of Northern China. Rus- sia in her Eastern progress has transformed Khiva, Bokhara and the regions of her influence from anarchy and retrogression into lands where peace and prosperity leign and life and property are se- cure. She found wildernesses and deserts where she planted her flag, and has changed them i(Uo gardens; where disorder and nusrule were the conditions of life she has given law, ci\ ihzation, peace and good or- der. She is the one European Power whose authority in Asia is strong, firm and successful, since she is the one Power whose rulers understand the Asiatic. Russia's True Friendship. Her entry into Manchuria meant the re-creation of that region and its incor])oratioii into the family of civ- ilized nations; and having" planted there the seeds of civilization she has a right to expect the harvest. From the first, America has been her partner in this good work, not ofilciall}-, but conuuercially, for she has thrown o])en her markets freely to the American manufactttrer and trader. She has time and again given assurances of her friendshij) and good will for Americans; her commercial policy toward America has been the positive and practical translation of her promises; and America lias learned to have perfect confidence in the bona fides of the Russian Empire. Russia in her civ- ilizing progress in Eastern Asia has THE AXGLO JAPANESE TREATY. n found the complement of her work in the peacefnl agencies of Ameri- can manufacture and commerce. (3ur most active and jealous rivals in these new fields of commercial exploitation are the British and lapanese manufacturers \\ho see in our success their ruin. American business men are neither fools nor dupes; and they are not likely to be humbugged by any treaties or jironiises their envious commercial ri\'als may make. Hence, when the pro-Brilisli and anti-American (the terms are synonymous) press of America, from Boston to San Fran- cisco, assures us that England and Japan are working for the benefit of American traders, we know exactly what \'alue to place on their utter- ances, since British commercial al- truism is such a rare and precious commodity. When England was ramming opium down Chinese throats at the point of the bayonet, when she was engaged in grabbing Chinese territory and bidlying and ])ribing concessions from the weak and corrupt mandarinate, we feel cerUain ih;it her sole thought ^\ as for her dear American connnercial ri\ als! japan is a newcomer in the in- dustrial field and in the struggle for ])olitical place and jtower. She has su];)erimposed a thin veneer of Eu- ropean civilization upon her Ori- ental culture and has rushed into armaments, naval and military, un- til her finances are shaky. Her ill- paid, ill-fed swarms of pagans are working in strenuous competition to Eiu"ope and America, and she re- gards the markets of China as hers by right, to be obtained now by fine words and later by the sword, when she is strong enough. 1 ler ainl)iiion is to l^e the England of the ( )rient, the trader and bully of those seas. England sees in this polished ])agan a handy tool to anno}- Russia cjn the mainland and America on the sea; she would make, if jxjssible, of Ja- ])an a pistol pointed al America's head. If Jai)an can work out her aml)ilions alone, well and gcjod; but it would be the veriest folly for the United States to hel]) build uj) a pugnacious and aggressive cm])ire on her fiauk and to allow our ideals of civilization to be driven out and supplanted in the East by a belliger- ent conununiiy antagonistic to the ideas audi doctrines we hold to be necessary for the world's well-be- mg. Russia stands for Christian civ- ilization; Ja])an for ];agan material- ism; Russia si^ells humanity and progress; Japanese donnnance means an attempt to turn l)ack the wheels of inne. America cannot af- ford to hue u|) with .\ngio-Japan; she must stick to her old policy of avoiding entangling alliances, and keep herself free from any thing and all things bearing the brand of Brit- ain, li IS for us to remain in peace and aiiiitv with our tried and true friends and to l)ew are of the Greeks bearing gilts. The su]:»erserviceable friends of England in oftice and in the press are ei'dea\'oring strenuously to fos- ter the iciea that Russia's word is valueless and her friendship for America a delusion; such a cam- paign is necessarily oft'ensive to Russia and injurious to this Repub- lic; hence the importance of show- ing the real meaning and signifi- cance of this campaign of falsehood and misrepresentation, and of let- H RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND ting the Russians know that the al- lies of England are numerically un- important, politically powerless and socially insignificant in this country; and that the vigor of their efforts is dependent wholly upon the length and depth of the British purse. As the pro-British campaign is now in full swing and its reckless- ness and violence are at their height, it might be well to stop and consider its purpose at this particu- lar moment. The Anglo-Japanese treaty in it- self is not of first importance, since it is alleged to have purposes to w^hich all the great Powers are pledged — the integrity of China. If we may judge from the utterances of the wiser and less reckless por- tion of the British press, it is an in- strument fraught with danger and disaster for England. The Japanese have an army and navy which are a heavy burden on their finances; they are cocky, pugnacious and anxious to use them on somebody; their courage is far in excess of their prudence or discretion; and they are ready to drag their new and shaky ally into hostilities. In the present military and financial condition of England, Japan's war- like zeal is Avorse than embarrass- ing. Japan Will Be Spanked. Russia has looked beyond the treaty to the utterances of these al- lies and accepts the document as a challenge, and when Russia reaches that stage there is trouble ahead for somebody. The Government of the Czar has not been idle; it has been preparing for the struggle M^hich it considers inevitable, and when it strikes it will strike hard, fast and effectively. Because of the prospect of war, it is the business of the United States to stand hrmly aloof and let the al- lies get what is coming to them. We want to give England a fine sample of benevolent neutrality, an attitude which will enable us to re- ceive our lost command of the seas and its carrying trade, wdiich were filched from us by England during the Rebellion. It wmII be Russia and France against England and Japan, with a battle-ground all round the world. England's military prestige is gone; if w^e are to believe Admiral Beres- ford, her naval prestige is likely to go the same road, since the major- ity of her ships are old and obsolete types. With India, Africa, Ireland and her other possessions to watch against eager and active enemies, England will not be in much of a position to keep her ally, who will be left very much to her own re- sources. Einancially Japan will be in a bad way, as she depends on England .to finance the situation. England's own financial condition is not the best; her debt is increas- ing by leaps and bounds; she show^s a deficit in her revenues this year of 1100,000,000; her consols are down to 88, and her capacity to borrow is not what it was. Japan's ability for mischief will be limited at the best to a couple of months, and unless she accomplish something in that time she must collapse. Russia wnll be just beginning to fight by that time, and those who fight her must do it on the groimd of her own choosing, and she knows how to choose. India, financially hard up, THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. 1') can be set allame in a month and British sovereignty threatened. Meantime France will be heard from. Her swift cruisers, with French and Russian letters of marcjue, can light a torch with Brit- ish commerce all round the seven seas, as v^ell as pen her army up in South Africa, with interrupted com- munications and a wrecked system of supplies. If the French naval programme be followed, her battle- ships will keep to the fortified har- bors of France, while her numerous and splendid submarine fleet will play havoc with England's channel tleet. That fleet once crippled, or demoralized, it will be surprising if a French army does not dictate terms on British soil. Meantime, with industries crippled and food supplies scarce and dear, England will be a dangerous and unhappy land, with an ignorant, debased and hungry population. Under such pleasing conditions such neutrals as America and Ger- many would reap the just rewards of neutrality— the trade of the world and the pleasant opportunity of selling all hands war material for cash. Those robust American pa- triots whose conscience and patriot- ism are centred in their cash tills will do well to restrain their pro- British ardor in view of this allur- ing prospect, and stand aloof in the virtuous consciousness of duty well done. The ordinary American, who has a memory and recalls the vicissitudes through which his coun- try has passed, will have no difli- culty in remembering what Power was our enemy and what one our friend in the hour of trial; and that America will hold fast to the friend who never failed us — Russia — and say "Gel thee behind me, Satan!" to the hy[)ocrite, who never missed a chance to injure us — h'ngland. When the storm Inu'sls in the ]{ast, as l)urst it will, a very pretty i^ghi will be on, and when the cur- tain goes down on it, Japan will awake rudely from her dreams of empire and England will have reached the end of her tether. The recent announcement by the Governments of Russia and France in answer to the bluff of the Anglo- Japanese treaty is signifi- cant and dignified and has back of it the heavy hand of those Powers. It is a warning to Eng- land and Japan that France and Russia stand ready to give them all the fight they need whenever they want it, and possil)ly before they want it. It must also put strengtli into the arms and courage into the hearts of that gallant little band in South Africa w4iich has dealt the most serious blow to English pride and prestige the century has seen. A little longer, a few more sacri- fices, and the British wolf w'ill be past fighting. To such straits have the fighting Boers brought Eng- land, that she enters eagerly into this perilous treaty with the Jap, in a vain effort to guard her endan- gered interests elsewhere. Perilous indeed is the treaty w'hich carries with it the dark shadow of the great- est empire on earth. More Work for the Paid Journalists. Meantime the campaign of slan- der and vilification of Russia goes bravely on in the mercenary pro- British press, and it is the duty of true Amiericans to treat it with 16 RUSSIA, THE VISITED STATES AND scorn and to repudiate that press and its falsehoods with indignation and contempt. The vigilance and prompt action of the friends of America can render this new in- trigue as vain and humiliating as the one just aljout to close with the retirement of Lord Pauncefote from America. The "Friendship Fake" has proxen an ignominious failure, a lunui Hating defeat for British di~ l)lomacy and intrigue; but no one is foolish enough to imagine that the creatm-es who coddled and exploit- ed that scheme will be less industri- ous in this new issue. The "New York Tribune," the "New York Times," the "Mail and Express," the Boston "Herald," the Cleveland "Plain Dealer." certain Chicago papers, the uns])eakable Smalley, Abe Low, Juliananias Ralph, and all their breed and generation, will still keep up their pro-British and anti-Russian campaign, for with them it is simply business; the inter- ests of the Republic are not as im- portant to them as the contril)u- tions to their pockets. We can con- fidentlv look forward from now on to a rare catalogue of massacres in Russian China, Russian insuUs to America, Russian custom-house ex- actions, massacres of Russian stu- dents, outrages on Jews, education, rehgion, etc., and all the stock ')f antiqne lies which are used to dis- credit Russia. Simultaneously we shall read of England's efforts to foster American trade in the Ori- ent; we shall get the race and re- ligious humbugs served up con- stantly; Joe Chamberlain will em- brace us metaphorically at dinners, and Edv.ard the Fat will chuck the daughters of Western parvenus un- der the chin and speak feelingly of the President. The New York Chamber of Comiuerce will toast England and insult America, and the stale old programme of Anglo- mania will have a fine anti-Russian, instead of anti-German, tone. Let us get ready for it and meet it with a chib. Meantime our man- ufacturers, who are not New Y^ork importers and middlemen, will learn to appreciate the substantial gains of the Siberian and Manchurian markets and they will learn how dif- ficult it is to sell a dollar's worth of American goods in British India. The friends of America and freedom can read the concrete proofs of I>ritish friendship in Canadian fort- itications and provincial insolence; and they can estimate the value of the British love of liberty by the rotten reconcentration camps of South Africa. Irish-Americans will stand by Russia first, last and always. She is the Nemesis of England; the power that will give the coup de grace to their ancient foe. Ad interim let us keep an eye on the pro- British press and England's liired man in Washington, John Hav. JOSEPH SMITH. THE ANGLO-JAPANEfiE TREATY. n HAY'S SERVICES FOR ENGLAND.-HE WILL BE PRESIDENT IF ROOSEVELT DIES. Professox- Gi-osvenor, of Ainlierst At the meeting of the Commer- cial Chil), Boston, March 27, at vvhicli President Lucius Tuttle pre- sided, Prof. Edwin A. Grosvenor, of Amherst College, who spent many years in the East as a teacher in Robert College in Constanti- nople, delivered an able address upon "Russian Expansion in the East." Speaking of the policy of the United States, in view of Russian expansion, he said: "The course pursued during the last few years by the American De- partment of State toward Russia in political questions concerning the extreme East has been peculiar. The miore thoroughly that course is investigated and understood by Americans, the more it will be re- gretted. An American should i)e neither a Russophobe nor an Anglo- phobe; neither a Russophile nor an Anglophile. The American doctrine is that this country shall work out its destiny without entangling alli- ances; that in foreign matters which do not primarily concern us, but do concern two antagonistic States like Russia and Great Britain, America shall be the tool or the satellite of neither. And so it is regarded the more surprising that, while regard for American interests is the flag under which the State Department is supposed to sail, a constant and solicitous regard for British inter- Collofec, oi> tlu- .State I)«'inirt«ii«'iit. ests seems to be the rudder Ijy which it steers. ' 1 am n(jt referring now to the first liay-Pauncefote treaty nor to the practical surrender in the Alas- kan boundary disi)ute, nor to plain precepts of international law over- ridden to the advantage of Great Britain in her war with the Boer Republics. I am referring simply to our relations with Russia in the extreme East. As far as our own interests are concerned, it would not be difficult to prove that the attitude of our State Department had l)een ill ad- vised, and even puerile. Friendship with all the world, including Rus- sia, should be our constant aim. Unless we receive affront or some moral principle opposes, from that aim we should not swerv^e. In the regions opened up by Russian en- terprise and activity is our market. With the growing prosperity of Russia that" market must expand. High tarilT or low tariff or no tariff — as far as competition with other national producers is concerned — it is all one. That market must grow constantly more lucrative. A man or a nation will buy of a friend rather than of a stranger, provided the quality of the goods is the same. J-ie will even prefer to Iniy an in- ferior article of a friend to a su- perior article from an enemy. But the policy of the State Department 18 RUSSIA, THE VWITED STATES AND has tended constantly to alienate the friendship of the nation whose friendship for us was traditional and who opens before us that ever en- larging market. How many notes of an un- friendly or suspicious nature have been addressed by our Department of State to the Russian Govern- ment? How ostentatiously has been flaunted in the face of Russia our in- timacy with Great Britain, Russia's chief and almost only antagonist? It is ill-advised for a parent or a nation to nag. But those successive notes have been diplomatic nagging. We have uttered threats against Russia as to her possible doings in Man- churia. But does our State Depart- ment really mean to go to war with her, whatever she does in New- Chwang or Seoul? Are we partners in Anglo-Japanese alliance? We shake our fist at Russia. Do we in- tend to follow up that shaking of the fist by a blow? By war? And so these American notes to Russia are only puerile. For the threat is but empty sound, but it lowers our dig- nity and weakens our influence and tends to alienate the one Power which has been our consistent, per- sistent friend. THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. 19 A Last Word On Paiincefotc— His American Champions Utterly Routed.— British Duplicity During the Spanish War. An attempt has been made by certain pro-British weekly pubHca- tions, notably the "Independent," the "Outlook" and "Frank Les- lie's," to explain or excuse Lord Pauncefote's action in connection with his proposed collective note of April 14, 1898. These organs in- sinuate that the British ambassador merely acted as doyen of the Diplo- matic Corps and at the suggestion or instigation of Baron Hengel- muller, the Austrian Minister. The Austrian Foreign Office has promptly and emphatically denied any responsibility for Lord Paunce- fote's now memorable note, and in- controvertible testimony has been disclosed in corroboration of that official denial. The notes to the Am- bassadors inviting them to the con- ference at which the intervention proposal was sul:)mitted were signed by Lord Pauncefote. They were asked to meet at the British Em- bassy, "to-morrow morning at ten o'clock," the notes being dated April 13, to consider a proposition in regard to the Spanish-American difficulty. The notes did not state that the proposal emanated from or had been prepared by the Austrian Minister, nor did Lord Pauncefote make any such suggestion to the conference. The German Ambassa- dor was not alone among his diplo- matic colleagues in believing that the note originated with Lord Pauncefote, and there is no doubt now that all of them telegraphed their governments in similar lan- guage to the historic dispatch of Herr von HoUeben, who said, "The British Ambassador to-day took in a very surprising way the initiative in a new collective step on the part of the IMinisters." Referring to the conference the "New York Sun," in a well in- formed Washington dispatch re- viewing the discussion in its issue of Feb. 14, says: "Even more interesting and im- portant than any of the above asser- tions is another attributed to more than one source of authority. This is to the effect that when the repre- sentatives of the Powers assembled in the British Embassy on the morning of April 14, 1898, they found that the proposed collective note to the United States, which thev were called together to con- sider, had been prepared in writing, and that it was in English. Lord Pauncefote was the only representa- tive of an English-speaking people who was a party to the conference. This, taken in connection with the fact that no statement was made that the proposal came from the Austrian Minister, was pretty 20 RUSSIA, THE imiThlD STATES AND strong evidence that the note was submitted in behalf of Great Brit- ain." If tlie note, as has been claimed by Lord Pauncefote's apologists, had been presented in behalf of Austria, it is remarkable that it was written in the English tongue, and not in the diplomatic language, French. Baron Hengelmuller has neither the tluency nor facility in English to prepare a note of such importance in that language, and if it was inspired by him it certainly would have been written in French, with which all the diplomats are familiar. There is no doubt, therefore, from all the undisputed evidence that the note was the conception of Pauncefote, and no diplomat of his experience wx)uld have assumed the initiative in such a matter without communication with his Govern- ment and being satisfied that it co- incided fully in its purport. It is fruitless, therefore, for Lord Salis- bury's ministry to throw the sole blame on his Majesty's representa- tive at Washington. The real facts of the case are that when the foreign ministers assem- bled at the British Embassy on April 14 Lord Pauncefote took from a drawer in his deck the now famous note which was in his hand- writing, written on the Embassy paper and in the English language. He then requested the French Am- bassador to translate it into French, which was done. The English text of the document was as follows: "The attitude of Congress and the resolution of the House of Rep- resentatives, passed yesterday by a 'arge majority, leave but little hope of peace, and it is popularly believed that the warlike measiu'es advo- cated have the approval of the great powers. The memorandum of the Spanish Alinister, delivered on Sun- day, a[)pears to me and my col- leagues to remove all legitimate cause for war. If that view should be shared by the great powers the time has arrived to remove the er- roneous impression which prevails that the armed intervention of the United States in Cuba commands, in the words of the message, 'the support and approval of the civil- ized world.' It is suggested by the foreign representatives that this might be done by a collective ex- pression from the great powers of the hope that the United States Government will give favorable consideration to the memorandum of the Spanish Minister, of April 10, as offering a reasonable basis for an amicable solution, and as remov- ing any grounds for hostile inter- vention which may have previously existed." Herr von Holleben, in transmit- ting the note to the BerUn Foreign Office, made the following signifi- cant comment thereon: "Personal- ly I regard this demonstration somewhat coldly." The German Emperor having read the docu- ment, appended the following mar- ginal note: "I regard it as com- pletely futile and purposeless, and, therefore, prejudicial. I am against this step." The other Powers and their Ministers adopted a similar at- titude. But we have further informaticni in regard to the conference. The Washington "Post," a most careful and conservative organ, has THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. 21 charged our State Department with having knowledge that Pauncefote said to the foreign envoys: "In case a concert could be arranged, his Government was prepared to mo- bilize a fleet in the Gulf of Mexico to enforce its demands."' The "Post" has repeatedly made this statement on the highest authority, and it has remained unchallenged. The "Post" has also charged Lord Pauncefote with having made the following" remark to a certain envoy: "I hope we now have these brigands (United States Govern- ment) where w'e want them." Now just a word in regard to the attitude of Russia. Julian Ralph, of unenviable notoriety, lately wrote two columns in the New York "Mail and Express" to prove that Russia was the real culprit and chief organizer of the coalition. A few dinners at the mess table of Kitch- ener and Buller purchased the pen of this renegade American, who ri- vals the lowest British jingo in his foul abuse of the patriot Boers. The official journal of the Russian min- istry pul)lished on February 23 an account of the actions of the am- l)assadors at Washington which al- most textually corroborates Herr von Holleben and the Berlin For- eign Office. The Russian statement concludes as follows: "Russia did not agree to the pre- senting of the note drawn up by Lord Pauncefote, April 14, because she did not regard it as being in the nature of an amicable appeal, but considered that it tended to be an expression of disapproval of the United States policy, and that to have ])articipated in such a note would have been contrary to the at- titude of most scrupulous neutrality maintained by Russia throughout the war, her conduct in this respect Ijeing renewed proof of the tradi- tional friendship of Russia and the United Stales." I do not think that even Julian Ralpli will have the audacity to again impugn the good faith of our traditional friend. Great Britain's base anxiety to dampen the ardor of American friendliness for Prince Henry and the German people has proved her undoing and exposed her own du- plicity. Her impudent pretensions to our friendship, based on the most contemptible fraud and cheat ever ])erpetrated on the credulity of a gulhl.ile people, have been at last unmasked. She stands pilloried as a hypocrite before the world, again convicted of brazen falsehood and treachery to the American Repub- lic. Thank Heaven! this chapter is closed. We have heard the last of the fake "How Britain saved the United States from the great Pow- ers during the Spanish War." T. ST. JOHN GAFFNEY. The question as to who were our friends at the time of the outbreak of the war with Spain is set at rest by a statement received by "The Expansionist" on unimpeachable authority. The note, which, after the rejection of the first by Presi- dent McKinley, was intended to be the prelude to direct intervention in some form in favor of Spain and against this country, was conceived and elaborated in confidential com- munications that passed between the British Government and its am- 99. RUSSIA, THE UNITED STATES AND bassador at Washington. When the ambassadors of the powers at the capital, who were convened by Lord Pauncefole, had assembled at the British Embassy, they and their g-overnmcnts were in complete ig- norance of the proposal that was al)ont to be made to them. It was onlv after they were in the ambas- sador's room at the Embassy that they learned the object of their con- vocation, and Lord Pauncefote, taking a document from his desk, handed it to the French Ambassa- dor with a request that he would turn it into French for the benefit of his colleagues. This fact fixes the responsibility for the authorship of the note where it properly belongs — on Great Brit- ain. The reasons why the British Government refuses to publish the correspondence between it and its ambassador at Washington, to which it has been challenged by the German Government, are obvious, and need not be further commented on. — "The Expansionist," March. Canada and the Monroe Doctrine. We find in the New York "Sun" of a very recent date a communica- tion which has the merit of broach- ing a question of novel character and undoubted interest: "To the Editor of the Sun: "Sir: The report that Great P>ritain has called upon Canada to furnish 2.000 additional cavalry for South Africa suggests some grave considerations for the American Government. 'Ts not the employment of Ca- nadian troops in a war with which this hemisphere has no concern a source of danger to the Monroe doctrine? "The Dominion, having volun- tarilv involved itself in a predatory war in behalf of England, cannot avoid being called upon to give mil- itary aid to the imperial authorities in the future. "Under the Monroe doctrine we claim a paramountcy over this con- tinent, but we cannot object to Russia or France invading and holding Canadian territory, should Canadian troops be employed against them. "The conduct of Canada herself gives the United States the su- premest right to intervene in South Africa, because it has imperilled the traditional policy of our govern- ment and estopped us from the right of protest, should her soil be seized by a continental power. "Congress should protest, there- fore, without delay against the drafting of Canadian troops in Brit- ain's wars, unless it is prepared to abandon the rights wx claim under the most vital and fundamental principle of our national policy. "Should our government now by its silence seemingly admit the right of Great Britain to recruit her armies from her American depend- encies, we may yet have to face the prospect of the dismemberment of Canada and her apportionment among the European powers when the inevitable day of reckoning comes for the British Empire, •T. ST. JOHN GAFFNEY. "New York, March 27." THE ANGLO-JAPANESE TREATY. 23 The matter is one which we shall have to refer to the great constitu- tional and international thinkers of Congress, or, barring them, to the debating society of the Columbian or at least its logic, when we wink at such proceedings as those to which Air. Gallney refers in his coninuniication? If the Dominion to our north is capable of contribut- University school of diplomacy. As ing to England's military power for one purpose, why may it not bo used for any other purpose? If Canadian troops can be emjiloyed to make war on the South African republics, why may they not be used to mnke war on France, Rus- sia or Germany? And if the United States .sanctions this, with wdiat jus- tice can we oppose measures adopt- ed by those countries in retaliation? The question, as it seems to us, is whether we can invoke the Monroe will be seen, JMr. Gaftney puts a jnirelv hv[)othetical case — offers a mere suggestion. He raises an is- sue which can be decided only by the highest authority. England has I)een recruiting her armies on American soil for the purpose of waging war against a foreign coun- try. Suppose that country, either directly or indirectly — of its own strength or through the strength of allies — should invade Canada bv way of reprisal or as a means of in- Doctrine only wdien our pleasure or tensifyiug the efifect of hostile oper- our profit is involved and be free to ations elsewhere; could the United ignore it when we have no selfish States properly invoke the Monroe personal interest at stake. In a doctrine to antagonize that inva- word, is it a principle or only a pre- sion? We have declared in effect text — something which we can that we will not permit the strength- ening or the extension of foreign power in the Western Hemisphere. Do we not abandon that position, -something change as we do our coat to meet the emergency at hand? — Wash- inofton Post.' I < '4' ••"'•* '^^ *_/?