The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1905-08-24
JHE MAN OF THE HOUR,
BARON JuTARo KoMuRA.

| Z Komurs San, plain Mr.. komura, Tor
have not as yet accustomed myself to hi
new aud ratber.un-Jspanese title Of baron
Is the mental aud physical antithesis Of N
witte, bis great Russian antagonist In ths
diplomatic armament opening at Ports
mouth, n. II. M. Witte Ia q thick set
burly mar, something OF "slugger," men
tally and physically. Like Daniel Web
ster, he has been pronounced to be "hu'
man engine" aud again "a great force OF
nature" Baron Komura, on the other
hand, is a little slip Of q man, not weighing
a hundred pounds, and with voice so soft
and 81 ken that he is condemned to whis
pered conversations. CoDfessedly, he is
poor man on the stump, but wonderful In
flueuce in council. He has all the leaders
Of the imperial japanese Diet under the
spell Of his intellect, ard there can be no
reasonable doubt as to the fate OF any trea-
ty be may see fit to negotiate when IL Ia
presented to the legislative body for rati-
flcstion.
N. witte has risen over the bodies Of
those who opposed him. Baron komura,
at least In his own land, never had an
enemy or stumbling block to overcome.
Everyone spoke we'll Of him, but until
eleven years sgo. when his really astonish-
Ing career began, bis life was a failure, and
an insigpfesnt failure at that. Or the
thirty young Japanese who had been sent
to America to flush their education 10 1873
he WAS certainly the least prominent in the
government servlc', to which upon their
re urn to their native land they were all At
tsched In the race for honors and promo
don 10, which these government students
entered under such favorable auspices he
had Jagged far behind, and when the year
1894 opened, so memorable for the Far
East In general and for japan in particular
Mr. Komurs, not very young any longer,
WAS simply chi,f translator to the Foreign
ONE. He WAS hardly considered In the
diplomatic service at all, and most certain,
was mot regarded "a man who would at
tain high oflict Indeed, the hi CHEST Ia the
Ia nd open to achievement, which he reach
ed seven years later, in 1901, when be be-
came Munster Of Foreign Affairs.
HIS HARVARD DAYS,
There 10 q letter IN existence penned
sbout this time which Baron Komura has
read With much Amusement. IL
clearly shows the poor prospect Of promo
iion which he had, even 10 the eyes OF his
friends The letter WAS written to an Am
ericsu classmste OF the Harvard days who
bad kept up his interest In the Young stu
dents from the Island Empire, then an exo-
lie State and not, ~ today, an over-shad.
oxipg world Power. The letter IL said to
have contained textuslly the following pro.
phecy Dear little Komurs 10 still with
~. We have forc,d him up to the position
,f chief translator IN the Foreign 0ii'ce, ,and
10 ths, pos, he ~il probably remain to the
md of bis dsts, though he would much
prefer TO BE- siapis assistant translator, ss
be Was for msny yssu Psrbsp' there 10
1o'hing 10 him, a. you nv In Aperics.
serisinlv 'hs'e Ia m an bltion
yourg kamats'. failure 70 advance and
he rpeued dlsapp,in'mant' whlch he
lrepsr d ti. friends IN he ~ twenty
f-ar. OF hI. oifi1Isl life sre rot difficult to
Irplaln TO those who ureerstand the me-
hodIcsl ~ays RI n" J-pansse and their
want Of charity for T. rsonsl idiosrncrasies.
from the day The ,psrg Jspauese students,
si.h their COVER mFnt stipends, were sent
o Arer,cs, III, professional career OF each
,pe Of them was uspped out 10 advance.
a this wsy young komura was booked to
e a lodge, ard with this end 10 view be
,rsdusae r. IN the Harvard Law school 10
SIS, ard then eon,inued bis legal s,udiss
o ihs fice OF M. Davenport, once Attor.
q. @ aersl OF the State OF New York, and
gaia urder Peshlne Smith, Of Rochester,
I. L.. who Vas for some time legal sdviser
o ,he japanese government. After this be