Russia Likely To Remain In Manchuria

Russia has given assurances that she intends to stay in Manchuria and she practically says to the United States, What are you going to do about it? The empire is evidently well fortified in this province of the Celestial empire, she seems to feel that she has the power to hold her own against all comers. As a response to the notes of the powers and the refusal of China to grant the Russian demands, Russia has re-occupied New Chwang with a powerful military force. Of course this is taken as a defi of China and the powers. It is likewise said that the bear has been collecting large stores of provisions and military supplies in easy reach of the strategical posts in Manchuria which she has just re-occupied. All this goes to prove that she never has had any real intention of surrendering her holdings in Manchuria and that her evacuation of New Chwang some time ago was but a feint.

There may be good reasons for Japan to fume over this action and perhaps Englang, situated as she is in the far east, may have something at stake, but just why the United States should fuss and fume over the matter is not clear. But it is in keeping with the new imperialistic notions to poke our nose into affairs which do not concern us. This nation may have some interests there in a commercial sense, but scarcely such interests as will warrant entering into an alliance with European nations to help pull their chestnuts out of the fire. Besides, we should live up to the letter and the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine. So long as we demand that foreign nations shall make no effort to seize territory on this continent, we should keep out of all schemes of that kind on the other continent. He is a good physician who takes his own medicine, but the influence of this nation will be greater if it follows this principle. The interests of this nation in Manchuria are not such as to warrant any aggression on that side of the earth.

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The blue book just published at Washington gives same interesting matter bearing on the negotiations at Washington for the settlement of the Venezuela dispute with the allied powers relative to claims. From this publication it seems that the allies might have secured preferential treatment in the settlement of their claims had they stood for such settlement at the outset. This they did not do, however and when they did raise the question, it was too late and the matter had to go to The Hague for determination. The publication before mentioned, in so far as its contents have been made public, does not indicate that the allied representatives of the powers got the better of Mr. Bowen in the negotiations. Apparently he was big enough to hold his own with them. He seems to have had two sets of instructions - one set authorizing him to conduct negotiations exclusively with the allied powers and the other giving him authority to effect a settlement with all nations having claims against Venezuela. He presented his credentials giving him full powers expecting to fall back on his other credentials, if the allies refused to consider these full credentials. To his surprise, the representatives of England, Germany and Italy accepted the general credentials and thus the opportunity of receiving preferential treatment at the hands of Mr Bowen was lost. This seems to indicate that Mr. Bowen was a bit foxy and able to take care of his part of the busines ins hand.

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Washtenaw's representatives in the legislature are with the people in the matter of primary reform. This was of course to be expected for they do not belong to the machine made members of the legislature. Unfortunately, however, their kind is not in the majority in the legislature. They are likewise on the right side of the new normal school question. 

A. W. Machen has finally been forced out of his position of superintendent of the free rural delivery bureau of the postoffice department by Jos. L. Bristow, who is conducting the investigation of the scandals in that branch of the public service. Whether this suspension will be permanent remains to be seen. But Bristow represented to the postmaster general that the retention of Machen would block the investigation now being conducted. It is supposed that the hand of Postmaster General Payne was forced by higher authority as he has been disposed to stand by Machen even though his bureau is under suspicion of selling appointments, tipping off appointments of mail carriers to favored builders of mail wagons, etc. It is thought that Senator Lodge, next friend of the president has possibly influenced the president in the matter of the removal. 

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How little dependence is put upon the word of the politician is shown by the reports that President Roosevelt's friends in Ohio are determined to get an endorsement of the ambition of the president to succeed himself from the Ohio state convention next month as ahead off of the supposed ambition of Senator Hanna to go after the nomination. The Ohio senator has said again and again that he was not a candidate for the office but the president's friends do not believe this to be the fact. They think Mark is flirting with the labor element for the purpose of lining labor men up for him for president. It is a peculiar thing that at the same time the Ohio senator would be entirely satisfactory to the Wall street element which is bitterly opposed to Roosevelt. Senator Hanna is said to be the only republican, according to the view of these kings of finance, who can defeat Roosevelt for renomination. However, the republicans of Ohio may not be willing so long in advance to commit themselves to the president, especially if there be a chance for an Ohio man to succeed him.

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When Uncle Sam gets his forces into shape to dig the big ditch across the Isthmus of Panama he will have there an army of at least 30,000 men armed with the latest and most improved tools to be had anywhere in the world. The big ditch to be dug is 49.09 miles long and it is estimated that there are 43,000,000 cubic yard of earth to be removed. It will take eight years and maybe more to complete the work. It will cost according to estimates $184,000,000 including the $40,000,000 paid for the French concession. This great undertaking is destined no doubt to greatly extend the political prestige as well as the commercial power of the United States. It means to the South American republics even more. The presence of Uncle Sam in this region of the earth is destined to change many things and bring the countries of the other American out into a better civilization. This is not to come about through the assumption of political control by this nation over the nations of Latin America, but through the influence sure to flow from the presence within the region of the canal of a different civilization of a higher type.

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A negro rural mail carrier near Gallatin, Tenn., has been held up by masked men and his life and that of his sub-carrier threatened, if they do not resign. This is a bad state of affairs and just what there is for the government to do except to protect the carriers with all the power necessary is not apparent. These men are United States government officials and having been regularly appointed under the laws should not receive protection. Of course the route can be suspended, but that is a rather unsatisfactory way of getting out of the trouble. The government should be in position to protect its officials in the performance of their legitimate duties. It is a grave question, however, whether it be wise for the government to appoint colored men to public positions of this kind or any kind for that matter where such a sentiment exists against their holding office. It is not done in the north and yet there are colored men at the north who are just as well qualified to hold such positions as those in the south. It may be pointed out that there are more colored men, a larger percentage of the entire population, in the south than in the north and that for this reason they are appointed in the south. But this is scarcely a satisfactory reason. There are other reasons for not appointing colored men at the north. There are many places in the north, no doubt, where colored men in such places would be strongly objected to and the point in it all is that in the north these objections to the colored man entirely because of his color are never challenged. Why does not the administration try to same policy in the north, if it be acting entirely on the question of the principle involved?