The Commoner,
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1904.
3
The War in th East.
The remarkable press censorship
maintained by Japan, and the difficulty
In obtaining reliable inlormation from
Russian sources renders it difficult to
xnalco an accurate, resumo of the week's
events in .the Russo-Japanese "war.
Enough has been made known, hov
ever,to show that Japan's long run of
successes has Deen interrupted, and
the Japanese have sustninod some se
vere losses. A Russian torpedo plant
ed in Kerr bay destroyed the Japa
nese cruiser Miyako. but the crew was
saved with the exception of fix peo
ple. On Friday, May 21, it was ie
ported officially at St. Petersbuig that
two Japanese battleships. had been de
stroyed at Port Arthur by iloatmg
mines sent out by the besieged garri
son. The Skikishima and Fuji were the
two battleships lost, and the news
caused great ent! usms n throughout
Kussia.
On May 21 it wes also officially re
ported in St. Petersburg that the Ja
panese undertook a sortie near Port
Arthur and wore repulsed with heavy
" loss by the Russian troops under Gen
eral Stossel. At other points slight
skirmishes took place, the advantage
being generally with the Russians, al
though the skirmishes were of small
moment.
During the week the Russian battle
ship Bogatyr stranded near "Vladivo
stok, and was blown up to prevent it
irom falling intc 'be hands of the Ja
panese. A sinister appearance is lent to the
war by the fact that China is showing
a disp'ositlon to enter the contest on
the side of Japan, and already rumors
of Chinese attacks on Russian out
posts are coming in numeroimly. Chi
nese bandits are ravaging the Man
churian border and committing great
, depredations.
The czar Is making a long journey
through Russia, and his every appear
ance is the pignai for demonstrations
of loyalty and enthusiasm. On Sat
uiday, May 20, ho reached Moscow, the
ancient capital, and wab greeted bj a
demonstration uneaualled in feivor.
On Sunday relsious services weie
held, to deums sung, and prayers of
fered up for Russ'an success. In his
address to his subjects the czar ex
pressed the belief that the turning
point in the war had come, and that
from hence forward the Russian arms
would achieve signal success.
The Japanese made several attempts
to tear up the Siberian railway dur
ing the week, but were unsuccessful.
General Kuropatkln thvurted two Qr
thice of these attempts, but the best,
work was done by General Stossel,
who seems to bae evidenced more
ability as a strategist and a lighter
than any other Russian general yet
prominently connected with the cam
paign. A Diamond Trust.
' Cable advices have been received
from London, Antwerp and Amster-
dam by New York diamond importers
and cutters $0 the effect that the dia
mond selling syndicate of the De Beers
company has advanced the price of all
grades of rough diamonds 5 per cent.
The De Beers company produces about
93 per cent of the diamond output of
the world, and the recent advance,
which is the fifth since February, 1903,
aggregating a total increase in the
price, of diamonds of 30 per cent on
small stones and 35 per cent on the
larger ones, has awakened unusual in
terest in the diamond market of New
York. Even before any of these live
advances was made diamonds were
selling for moro than they had
brought at any time since the consoh-
. datlon of the Kimberley mines, more
than a quarter of a century ago.
The real cause of advancing the
price of diamonds at this time is de
clared by some of the importers to be
an attempt on the part of the dia
mond comblno to put on the screws
and exercise its monopoly to tho limit.
Something of a mystery is thrown
about tho advance .also, as maricot
conditions do not warrant an increase
at this time, and many diamond deal
ers who have made a life study of the
diamond market declare that they are
at a loss to account for the last move.
They say that they cannot understand
why a company which is producing
more diamonds this year than it did
last can, in tho face of a dull market
in the United States, which uses about
65 por cent of all tho diamonds mined
in the world, and labor difficulties
which have tied up about one-third of
the diamond cutting factories in Am
sterdam and Antwerp, order another
advance of 5 per cent.
'These advances are coming so rap
idly," said a prominent diamond im
porter yesterday, "that wo hardly
know where wo are at. We cannot
bank on anything one day abcad on
a market which jumps so radically as
this Is doing. One would think that
the only thing to do would be to buy,
buy, buy, trusting to the rising con
dition of the markot to land us on top
somehow, but it takes a big capital
to do a diamond business, and when
we tie it all up In goods wo haven't
any left to carry our customers, near
ly all of whom buy on credit. If there
Were some element in the market
which would make for it stability we
could take these advances with much
more grace and assurance, but as it
Is we can count on nothing. The dia
mond combine has us, and we must
follow on, taking what they deal out
to us with the best grace we can."
The De Beers company has a capi
tal of $12,500,000 common stock, on
which it pays a dividend of 55 per
cent, and $10,000,000 preferred stock,
entitled to a fixed cumulative divi
dend of 40 por cent. In 1901 tho com
pany entered into a contract with a
diamond syndicate of London, which
agreed to advance the price of dia
monds, sharing . the profit with the
company. How well it has done this
is shown by the fact that in 1901 tho
average price of diamonds por carat
sold by the company was 43s 7.0d. One
year later, after the selling syndicate
had handled the output for 12 months,
the average price was 46s 5.7d. New
York Sun.
The Judge's Way.
Some years ago George R. Peck,
formerly of Kansas, after he became
general solicitor of the Chicago, Mil
waukee & St. Paul Railway company,
was called to douth Dakota to argue
an Important case before the federal
court. He was accompanied to tie
seat of justice by Alfred Beard Kit
tredge, the local .attorney of tho com
pany, who has since become a United
States senator.
Mr. Peck made a fine argument and
afterward walked to the hotel with
the judge of the court. "I liked your
argument this forenoon, Mr. Peck,"
the judge said; "it was a masteily
presentation of your case. I don't
think you left anything unsaid that
could have been said"
Mr. Peck- thanked the judge for the
compliment '"and afterward went to
Mr. Klttredge, elated. "I am going to
win that case, Kittredge," he said.
"What makes you think so?"asked Mr.
Kiltredge. "Why, I'll toll you on tne
quiet. Walking with me to tho hotel
today, the judge complimented me
and added that I had left nothing un
said." "Oh, Is that all?" Mr. Kittredge said.
Don't let him fool you by that kind of
talk. We all know him out here. I'll
tell you a story.
"Once there was a lion tamer whose
duty it was to o into the cage and
put his head in a big lion's mouth
twice a day. One day, after he had
gotten his head in the animal's mouth
ho asked tho Ueoper in. a low voice?
is tho lion wagging his tall?' Ho is,
replied tho keeper. 'Then I'm gone
said tho tamer, and tho next moment
tho lion closed his jaws and killed tho
tamer."
It was both a story and a prophecy.
Mr. Pock lost bis case. Kansas City
Star.
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LIFE AND SPEECHES OF
William J. Bryan.
Illustrated, Octavo, Cloth Bound, Published in 1900.
Nothing later in print.. A limited number of copies,
while they last at $ 1.25. Postage Prepaid.
Address G. H. WALTERS.
2245 Vino Street, Lincoln. Neb.
The Prairie Farmer.
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