But no matter how effective might be the measures taken by Admiral Alexeieff to give the Yalu enterprise a purely commercial character, I still feared that this undertaking, which had obtained world-wide notoriety, would continue to have important political significance. In my report of July 24, 1903 (August 6, N. S.), which was presented to the Emperor upon my return from Japan, I therefore expressed the opinion that an end should be put to the operations of the timber company, and that the whole enterprise should be sold to foreigners. _"Must We Break the Russian Empire?"_ The thought that our interests in Korea, which were of trifling importance, might bring us into conflict with Japan, caused me incessant anxiety during my stay in the latter country. On the 13th of June, 1903 (June 26, N. S.), when I was passing through the Inland Sea, on my way to Nagasaki, I wrote in my diary: "If I were asked to express an opinion, from a military point of view, with regard to the comparative importance of Russian interests in different parts of the Empire, and upon different frontiers, I should put my judgment into the form of a pyramidal diagram, placing the least important of our interests at the top and the most important at the bottom, as follows [Illustration: Our interests in Korea Our interests in Manchuria Military district of the Pri-Amur. Safe-guarding of this territory for Russia. Defence against China and Japan Securing the safety of Russia against Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Great Britain, and China. Military districts of the Caucasus, Turkestan, and Siberia Maintenance of domestic peace and order, by the forces of all military districts Maintenance of the territorial integrity of Russia against the Powers of the Triple Alliance. The foundation of Russia's safety is her western boundary]