The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-07-20

progress is the custom of living upo,
more prosperous relative. 1t is called
"sorning.' No odium attaches to wha,
we would call sponging. When a mar
feels overbufdened with his own OF
his wife's kindred and has himself no
lltlcal influence he says to the govern
ment: Here are some relations o1
NINE who cannot make living. The,
must have political office" And the
Office is granted. The word for work
in Korean means "unfortunate;" to d,
! nothing is to be genteel. Yet to gair
living is not difficult. Scratch the
soil and enough to live on springs IN
Wealth anyway is discouraged. If rel.
at1ves do not swarm about to suhsist
upon what man has earned the gov.
eminent steps in to relieve him of his
Accommodations
Thus one man (this happened to q
friend of the editor of the Korean Re.
view who was known to have come
into possession of $4,000 was one day
waited upon by an officer of the EN-.
pire.
Il congratulate you" said he.
"Why?" inquired the man.
The emperor has conferred upon YOU
the Order of Something or Other. and
am here to give you the insignia and
to collect the $4,000 which it is Gus
tomary to pay"
but have only $4,000 to my name.
Besides, l don't care for the decora-
ton"
What! Reject distinction confer
red by the EMPEROR" exclaimed the
messenger.
ut was leze majesty. The offending
citizen was brought before court, the
magistrate was paid 5000 to render
Judgment of $1,000, and the man had
to empty his house of goods and yield
up his bank deposit and go penniless
into the country to live off the soil
There is wooded hill on the en-
peror's farm which it costs a head to
cut tree from. The crime is capital
owing to the tradition that when trees
are all cut there the Korean nation will
disappear. The time is approaching.
1t is declared by persons daily in con
tact with the cabinet and the emperor
that one of the things Marquis Ito
came to request was that Korea should
grant to Japan the mining, forests and
fisheries concessions. Ito let's it be I'M
derstood that his mission was success
full He threatened, one hears, that
unless Japan's desires We're met there
would be troops in Korea to enforce
them, and the wabble kneed emperor
gave in. He has subscribed also to
the Tusan railway. and the crown
princess, who was slashed with q Jap
enese sword, has contributed to the
Japanese Red Cross society. These are
politics so high and so interesting that
hesitate to write them till am surer
of my facts. Against what would be
the supposedly human prejudice
against the traditionally hated nation
there is to be weighed the overpower.
ing physical presence of its people and
armed forces. Hundreds of new i'm
migrants recently arrived at Chemulpo.
and if the rate keeps up till midsum-
mer Korea's gentle 100000 inhabit:
ants will be outnumbered as well as
oyerawed by their aggressive historical
enemies.
Immense works are being pushed I'M
der the energetic, strong, peasant bands
from Japan. Hills are being lowered
into the valleys to form new rich rice
fields, and the railway to Phyongyong
is being graded and laid by countless
men with remarkable vigor, even sol
diers taking picks and spike hammers,
the wish being to have road from Tu-
san up the peninsula clear to New
chwang and the Yulu open at once and
to Picking a little later.
Japan is prevailing over Korea
through sheer self assertion although
that is a quality which Japan as yet
has no word to eXpress), and Korea is
pitifully nonresistant AS one of the
observers in Korea puts it, ITO take
over this whole government and coun-
try would be merely like stealing can
dy from blind child