The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-01-12
CHE COREAN MUDDLE..
An Interesting Interview With
Admiral Shufeldt.
INFORMATION FROM AUTHORITY
How Corea Was Opened to the World
Its Fate Hangs Upon the
United States.


WASHINGTON, Jan. IL, 1SS9.-fSpecialS
telegram to THE HERALD. The little
kingdom of Corea is in greater danger
than ever of being swallowedu up by China
1t is now said that the kingdom is prac-
tically insolvent and that the King, tired
of the plottings which surround his throne
and Disguised with the emptiness of his
treasury, has resolved to aodicate in favor
of Prince Min Yon TX and that Doctor
Allen. the American secretary of the
Corean legation at Washington is now at
Hong Kong in conference with this Prince
at the instance of the King. The present
King is
TIRED OF HIS FIGHT
with Ii Hung Chang, the vice roy of China.
For the past four or five years China has
= been plotting through its agents at the
Eorean court and otherwise to make Corea
y a province of China. She already controls
its customs, revenues and all of the duties
Of the ports are collected by Chinese
custom officers under the control of Sir
Robert Hart, the head of the foreign
customs of China. All of the money which
the king gets from such sources thns
and China knows to cent just what the
country is worth. There is a sort of
system OF taxation in Corea but little is
known about it, and where the kings
revenue comes from is uncertain. That the
funds in his treasury are very low is well
known: and the fact that he has not been
able to pay the American officers, whom he
employed TO reorganize the Corean army.
has been made the subject of complaint
iron Secretary Blaine. The Corean lega-
ton here has steadily fallen off in numbers
fnd II is rumored that it is not long before
1t will be w,a,,, ,,,., ,-....
1t is now only about eight years since
Corea was first opened to the world by the
United States.
Rear admiral Shufeldt made the first in
dependent treaty with Corea and he was
sent from the United States to China ia
accomplish this end. He spent some time
at Peklng as naval attache of the lega-
ton, and then taking ship he sailed to
Corea and on June IA, 1882 consummated
the treaty at Chemulpo in the very house
which is now occupied by Mr. Schonic5e.
the Chlnese customs officer. Admiral
<AShufeldt is great friend of the present
VIKING Of Corea. He has lived for some time
I'm the Corean capital and he knows per.
3Rps as much about Corea and its affairs
IS any speaking man in the world
He has just returned from japan to the
United States and / called upon him at his
residence last night and asked him as 10
THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY.
He said:
The future of Corea as an independent
country hangs upon the United States. as
emma mas nothing to fear from the inter
ference of either Germany, France O,
England. These countries are already tief
up IN their business interests with China
France has three million dollar contract
to build an arsenal at Fort Arthur. Eng
land is indebted to China for its release al
its sovereignty over Burmah. and il has
large business interests in every Chinese
port. The Germans are trying to max,
business deals with the Chinese and the,
are culuyatng them. Italy has few
interests in the far east. and tn,
only other nations are Russia. lana,
and the Uuited States. Russia already Ina,
an independent treaty with Corea and sh,
might object to its being swallowed nm h,
China, though l hardly think she will
Japan Is so much interested in pushing her
self to the front as modern civilized
power that she does not want to enter int,
war with the Chinese. The only natio,
left is our own. So far as | have seen
however, the state department does not an
pear 10 DE pioneering itself about Eastern
questions audit looks as though the
UNITED STATES WOULD LOSE THE CHANCE
she has now to make herself felt in tho 70,
east and 10 make connection with Core
which might be invaluable to her tvvent-
= Years from now. We lose every wear h,
a falling to protect and push our Interest
eAsbroad 1t was through Commodore Perr-
I'd the United States that japan wa
eSspened to the world. and had we pushe
our trade and taken advantage of the stu
ations presented to US, we might contro
the trade of Japan today. AS it is. tn
Germans, the French and the English ee
all the big contracts given ont nv tn
Japanese government, and America get
nothing but compliments. These countrie
control its foreign trade, and the immeus
imports which we get from Japan come il
foreign vessels
"Do you think that China has anv RICH
to claim Corea as one of its tributary pro
yinces 90
Il do not" said Admiral Shufeldt. 9Th
United States, Russia and Japan hay
recognized Corea as an independent king
NJ dom, ana whenever Corea has gotten int
Y trouble in the past the
CHINESE HAVE WASHED THEIR HANDS
of its affairs and told other nations thu
they had nothing to do with it, This wa
so at the time of the massacre of the Frenc
missionaries in 1866. The Chinese the
said Corea was free, and that it must settl
its own troubles. Ii was the same in II
gard TO the General Sherman affair wit
us, but when L made the treaty with Core
the Chinese wanted me to make it OF
TO them as an independent government {
China. 1 refused TO do this and Corea wa
acknowledged by US as an independer
power. 1t would be so acknowledged b
the whole world to-day if America d,
manded it. 1t would take no fighting, br
merely the assertion that we had recos
Nnized their independence and propose
Abat the recognition should be respected
Xhe Chinese would not dare 20 insist upo
y fffeir demands. They are not a tightin
nation and are nota naval one. They hap
SOME GOOD WAR SHIPS
but as soon as a gun was fired at any {
their ships, all of their naval officers an
sailors would run ashore"
How about the present king of Corea
Where do his revenues come from?n
''No one seems to know where they CON
FROM SAID Admiral Shufelt. There is