Preface 



SURELY we have reason for gratulation that 

 the United States of America and the Empire of 

 Russia have always been on terms of amity, of 

 which fact the coming to us of their warships in 

 our time of threatened disunion; the sending to 

 them of our relief ships in their time of famine; 

 their people's beautiful expressions of gratitude 

 through our Commissioners, and the coming to 

 Philadelphia of their fleet of battleships in 1893 

 with splendid gifts from their Emperor to the 

 Commissioners to Russia for relief of their famish- 

 ing peasantry, are happy indications. 



And may we not link up with this gold chain 

 Russia's sale to the United States of Russian 

 America Alaska? A possession of Russia since 

 its discovery A.D. 1741, with an area of 590,884 

 square miles, they let us have Alaska by treaty 

 of March 30, 1867, for the insignificant sum of 

 $7,200,000. 



Equally good tokens of friendship have followed 

 these long-gone years up to the present day. 







in 



