1904] The Treaty of Portsmouth 



smoke so that their guest should feel more at home. 

 Unfortunately my first request on entering was that 

 the windows might be opened to let out the smoke ! 



Though having no first-hand knowledge of the 

 Russo-Japanese War of 1904, concerning the Treaty 

 of Portsmouth I afterward secured some inside 

 information from Dr. Toshiyasu Kuma,^ a former 

 student, who accompanied the delegation from 

 Japan as reporter. 



Roosevelt called the peace conference at the critical 

 moment; As to this there is good reason to believe 

 that he acted on a confidential appeal from Japan, 

 which country, though winning every battle, was Empty 

 bound to lose in the end, her resources being inade- ""^'o"" 

 quate for prolonged contest. Even with the best of 

 generalship and scrupulous care of her soldiery, she 

 had almost reached the limit. She was out of supplies, 

 out of money, and could borrow no more anywhere. 

 Mr. Jacob H. Schiff of New York, who had negotiated 

 most of her loans, declined to proceed farther. Her 

 envoys knew that unless hostilities ceased General 

 Oyama's army must actually disband within five or 

 six weeks. At the conference, however, they were (/,„„. 

 handicapped by the fact that the Japanese people did /"""^-^ 

 not know the truth, and looked for sweepmg terms ^ 

 and indemnities big enough to cover all costs. 



Russia seethed with unrest. The war had no 

 popular support from the country at large, suffering 

 helplessly; as for the intellectuals, they rejoiced over 

 Russian reverses as foreshadowing the downfall of the 



1 See Chapter xxxviii, page 352. 



C 153 3 



