The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-27

VI SGnlQIAGS AOIGd mas DG6H over
run by the contending armies of Japan
and China: and while the national
dress in Korea is pure white, only the
children wearing colors, according to
American standards it should be
mourning black.
Nor have the enemies of Korea lived
only on her east and west sides; the
Manchu conquerors, who spread south
and east to conquer China and Russia,
overran Korea and starved one of her
old-time kings out of his fortified capi-
tal Nom-hou.
Korea is once again in the track of
contending armies; once again her rice
fields are to be ravaged, her cities
despoiled and her people driven to the
bitterest of extremities. Little do the
contending armies care what the Ko-
reans think: but the world naturally
asks, whom do the Koreans fear,
and what do they desire?
In the first place. the people. as a
people, don't know any more about
the burning question of Far Eastern
politics than the dray horses in New
York know whether Tammany Hall,
or their political opponents, rule the
city. So far as their practical knowi-
edge of the situation goes. they are
without consciousness; and, once
given their choice between Russian
rule and Japanese domination and to-
tai ann1-1lation, the nation, as a ma
tion, would choose annihilation simply
because they did not know what it
meant; whereas, they have had several
tastes of japanese rule, and one good
strong dose of Russian domination,
and are sure that they never want
either of these again.
Under Japanese Sovereignty.
Japanese sovereignty in Korea has
been spasmodically exercised through
out the centuries of the Christian era;
for many years a long, bloody con-
fiict went on between Japan and China,
and Korea was the mutual battle
ground; just as in early American his
tory, Kentucky was the battle-ground
between the Iroquois Indian nations
of the North and the Cherokees mad
Creeks of the South. And, as Ken
lucky was known as the Bloody
Ground" even before the white mans
day, so Korea has been the Bloody
Ground" of Asia for five centuries.
China claimed Korea, and has been,
for the greater part of the time, her
nominal master. From China Korea
has received her literature and official
language, most of her customs, her
court and official methods, much of
her architecture, her military stand
ards, and a thousand odd customs
which will hound her for as many
years to come. Yet the Koreans are
not in any sense Chinese, any more
than they are Japanese; the difference
between the Koreans and her two
neighbors is so great that it may be
stated with certainty that the people
came originally from the Malay Pc
ninsula, by way of the islands along
the Chinese coast, until they entered
the peninsula on which they are to-
day.
No Racial Connection with Manchus.
This is to be remembered as a point
in the case; the Koreans cannot and
do not favor one of these nations be-
cause of any racial connection; there
is none. Nor is there any racial con-
nection or sympathy between the
Koreans and the peoples to the north.
the Manchus, with whom Russian
statists have long affirmed that Russia
will assimilate, because the ancient
Manchurians under Ghengis Khan con-
quered European Russia. The Man.
chus are distinct from even the Chi
nese proper; they are pastoral peo-
pie and speak an agglutinative Ian
guage Containing declensions and con-
jugations) which far removes them, so
far as basic traits can do So from the
real Chinese. The Koreans are not of
Manchu stock and have no aff1liation
with il. In fact, Ghengis Khan. who
broke down the Great Wall and
stretched his conquests to the Atlantic,
never subdued Central and Southern
Korea.
A Strange People.
Thus, the Korean people are as
strange, considered historically, as is
their position politically. They have
fought Chinese, Japanese and Manchu
as far back as their hoary records go.
And now. passing down into modern
days, there has been no assimilation
and no change In the depth OF their
hatred and distrust OF the people who
surround them. Japan. always teg,-
Gus OF China's claim as suzerain over
Korea. jumped at the chance IN 1896
&c free Korea. Internal trouble In
Korea gave her an opportunity 10
throw her troops into that land. pre-
clpitafing war with China. Korea
ala not resent Chinese suzeraiDty,
Tor Il Was only nominal. and she d,d
not ask on want japan 10 free her from
China. And this a. n remarkable fact
that cannot be forgotten to-day -
Throughout the JaDon- China War, IN
,-skiah rnnan fraaa Enran from China