The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-09-02
gHEKOREANPREMIER
pos He Has Squeezed Millions
Out Of the People.
.ccra BOSS THAN DICK CROKER
~~many's Corrupt Gosevnmsnt Of
York Not 10 Be Compared win
r.s.mons Rule OF Min Yunx Jun.

-. g.
/ 20 VS. 70 large extent the cause Of the
/ ..seIl,on. Il going about Seoul to-day With
I s~rarsds Of followers. He rides In a
/ .s.ir seated on a leopard skin, and be has
i .heass containing scores OF rooms. He
..sd 20 be q millionaire. few years
- he gas worth practically nothing. He
/ - made bis immense fortune By squeez-
/ - The people. and by bis relationship 10
/ - oseen. His name Is Min Yung Jun.
/ H.ts nov about - years old. bat he 10 one
/ Z he greatest political strikers of the
| I'D. and he j. an adept in the selling Of
! sAees and in getting money out
/ & sAs people. A part OF his re-
/ s<sp,s have gone 70 the king. but
/ isrre amount has stuck To his own
/ esoshes. lie iirst showed his efficiency in
/ shEs lsne a. governor Of Pingyang, a eity OF
/ ..rhaps l50, 0o0 inhabitants, which lies
/ sitbsn hundred miles Of Seoni. Here he
/ sm nlcknamed by the people as Stove
/ Nia, because he burned up everything he
tuurhed, and he is nov called Buddha
Nc. probably for his supreme cheek Of
sssorbiHg everything about him into bis
N ssa nirvana. | have secured q photo
/ sssph Of him. with a lot Of bis dancing
l s.sss behind him, and bis son at his side.
l Ess feet rest upon q Leopard skin. and he
/ ! by no means a bad-lookIng Korean.
/ he has evidently great organizing powers,
/ aaa be has brought Office brokerage down
l ps systsm.
LAND or soUEEzEKs.
Korea like China, Is a land OF sqaeezsrs.
0aelals who are paid something like $500
= year are expected 10 squeeze about
SOD annually from the people. There Is
20 security Of property in Korea, and
ksnee no incentive for the people TO ac-
ranulaie. II man lays up money and
lie magistrates find il out they have one
! Il their uader strappers accuse him of
yoms crime. False witnesses are plenty.
snd shey can whip tie man or torture him
aasii he pays something to be let go
/ ssmstimes poor men are arrested on
sch ehyrges. When tortured they
/ sg they have nothing and can give
/ soshing. Tho reply often is, ''You
/ have a rich uncle, or a rich cousin, and he
aust pay this amount for you" As 30
1 tie officials, they must get their money
enl Of the people. and IL they pay high
/ Friees tor their Offices they have got 20
/ cypress their subjects. Until within the
lsst year or so the magistrates were al
/ hssd 10 have terms OF from two TO three
rsara The prices Of the ofiicos were
/ high. BY iudIcially apportioning their
/ bppressions over this time they could
/ squeeze enough TO make profit and still
81 the people live. The wants Of the
court and the officials. however. have
decreased within late years. The debt 10
1 China has eaten up great part of the
myenue. and Min Ynng Jun has supplied
lie deficit by cutting down the terms for
| shich the magistrates are appointed. Al
be same time he has not decreased tie
Eice of their offices. and they have had TO
sqaeezs all the money they could possibly
ct out OF the people ia order To come out
fsen al the end OF nine months instead of
| tAree years. The result Is that tn some
parts Of Korea starvation practically stares
sks people ia the face, and this was the
esnss Of the rebellion.
The rebellion was not against the king,
bat against his officials, and had the king
hoi fooiishly sent his troops against the
'shels he might have escaped his present
troubles and the war between China and
Japan deferred.
now THY SQUEEZED Mr. oARrEsTER
This squeezing. which exists among the
Magistrates, runs. in fact. through the
skols OF Korean society. You remember
Salts lines:
$50 nAtnralstn observe, a flea
TIA. smaller hess that en- him prey,
Aud these have smaller sslil 20 bite EN-,
AID 80 proceed, al tnanitnm.t
Well, the Korean official flea Is OF all
sires from this great prime minister, Min
faag Jun. down TO the kesos who tFot
song beside your chair when you go
through the city Of Seoul. | had four
ehair-bearers to carry me. aud part Of the
tine there was a soldier on each side of Us.
II sddiuon, there was Gen. +" Pax aud
mt hat faf haFt -
percentage out of everything | bought
had 20 have the money paid over In my
rfesenee 10 be sure thatit would be paid
a all, and when PAX bought a cigar for
he venture he always received a cigar
ssis ~ his commission on the purchase.
Tbs Chtnaman who kept house for Mr..
rover, the electrician TO the king, with
shom | stopped. got his percentage GA
he price Of every moathful OF food sc
ale. and Of everything we bought.
eoaid not hire horse, that the man who
fsa behind az aud acted as nay groom, did
Let set his percentage of the hire Such
saHgs are perfectly legitimate ia Seoul
he man who keeps the gate OF your
hesse Il given 10 per cent. Of the amount
al purchases made. This. OF course,
zones cut Of the landlord. Who j. charged
g. additional pFice II the percentage is
~ PAID, the seller viii get no more busi-
asst and he will be boycotled by all the
FAssnen Of the town.
The Legitimate squeezing is awful You
Aass 10 watch all the tims for fear some
eae else Is being cheated or oppressed
htesgh you. The servants OF foreigners
Ass not subject 10 the ordinary Korean
avs, and our legation 10 h0Ees found not
iang ago that the kesos connected with the
sssaoliahment al been selling certificates
q men about Seoul stating that they were
saRloyed By the legation. and they had re-
ssSfed from one thousand 90 twenty thon-
saai cash apiece f0F these. Each Of tho
asslga legations has a number OF these
Asse soldiers which are detailed 10 u from
NAesegylee Of tue king. and my soldiers
fs q this character. An outrageous
Instance OF squeezing occurred not long
seo N connection with the Russian iega-
saa. sna ia was carried on a long time
ssiese TIE Russian Minister found IL oaL
sesss kesos went cut into the country aud
sslAa men eho we're IA debt 90 people IN
Se2L Iaey tod them thas the Russian
@sAisisg bal bought the claims against
sssa, and Ihat they must be paid with
sssa Interest. They put them IN chain.
80 brought tbem right 20 the legation
A2a kept them IN The outh0Bses. shlch are
essrved for she kesos. and SHEA sur
.and every large korsan establishment.
asfe they whipped them froa zine 20
sass Nth paddles
They souid stElp them half naket, sGs-
Fsac them hv their elbows, and torture
sat@ ey touching their bare legs With red
ses pokers. AeW and ghen they souta iet
Asa eat la the yard and II sAa minister
sAase la siSht woald warn them that they
81 better te qeiet foy he las danger
- msG and wNs already inclined % cat
49, beads o6 for their nou-p1y&euf q
s@e money. Ihlnx of sach = saing &etG-
~ song on for weeks Without the