Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-11
Admiral Togo.

| very existence of Japan depended upon Ad-
miral Togo during all the months of the far
eastern conflict. Without her navy Japan,
an island empire. would have been prac-
tCally at the mercy of her foe. Defense
might have been possible but that would
have been all. and in the end it would have
meant the termination of the war in but
one way. Without her navy Japan would
| have been helpless. her commerce destroyed.
her ports blockaded, her daily bread in dan
ger With the aid Of her navy Japan has
demonstrated her powers of conquest on sea
and on land. And in the hands of Togo
rested the fatal balance, the great alterna-
ttves of success and failure, the vast posi-
! bilities of aggression and of defense, the
| fate and future Of his country, the happi-
ness of his exalted emperor, the welfare of
| his beloved people.
That Togo has done all that was required
of him, and more, needs not the telling
| The work of the Japanese navy has been
the work Of Togo, and from first TO last
| Togo has worked fer the navy. And now,
since the last, his last and greatest battle,
| entitled TO be truly called the master of the
eastern seas, the interest of the civilized
world in this new figure of history. in this
wonderful product OF q wonderful people in
this new personality from out of the far
east, has grown by leaps and bounds, until
no man of today occupies more prominent
place in the public eye than the famous
japanese admiral.
Americas Naval Heroes.
The American people have their own naval
| heroes. Loved and vencrated and respected
are the names of John Paul Jones, of
Stephen Decatur, of cambridge of the Con-
| stitution, OF Stewart of Farragut of Dewey
and of score of others who have served
! the country well in time of need. The
names and deeds and fame of these men are
| known throughout the land, and their dis
| tinguishinS characteristics may be said to
| be public property. But of Togo the man
| OF the hour, the man of unexamplcd mod
| esty, who credits to the virtues of his en-
| peror the success his feet has won very
niue Is Known. To most of US he is
| name not personality, a comma ndcr-in-
| chief. not a fesh-and-blood sailor. But
! there are few persons in Washington who
know Admiral Togo personally and well,
ana what they have to say of ia pans great
sailor, their estimate of his character and
! description of his personal appearance, is
of vastly more than passing interest.
Snort and slender. grave and bearded,
| there Is nothing of the fighter apparent in
the personal appearance of Admiral Togo.
| Quet and reserved in manner chary of
words, modest To a fault. there is nothing
OF The quarter deck air about Japan's naval
nero. But his patriotism and religion are
undoubtedly linked together and every act
of his life is dictated by a stern devotion
TO duty that is remarkable even among the
people of the island empire
sketched by One Who Knows Him.
Mr.. Eki Hioki, the first secretary of the
japanese legation. is one of the few men
In Washington who are personally ac-
quainted with Admiral Togo This is what
Mr.. Hioki told a Star reporter the other
day in a brief appraisement of the adj
niiral:
During the Boxer troubles in 1900 said
Mr.. Hioki, Il was ordered to Peking to sue
coed the then first secretary of the Jap
anese legation. But when l arrived at
| Taku I found that communication with
| Peklng not vet and that | WOnII
| have to delay my trip for some little time
| 1t was then | visited Admiral Togo, who
was in command of the japanese fleet
| there and remained four days his guest
| on his flagship. During that time l had
the opportunity of closely observing the
| admiral and it gives me pleasure now to
| remember that l did
Admiral Togo is small of stature and
thln. and wears little mustache and
| snght chin Whiskers. He is very quiet.
| polite, hospftable gentleman. AS l have
| indicated, he does not talk very much, but
| is always amiable and never shows ex-
| element under any circumstances He is
| kind and just with his subordinates and
| all of them from his staff officers to his
ordinary seamen. give him their love and
| respect l observed that aboard his ship
| everything was in the most absolute or
| der and that the discipline perfect.
| During the four days remained with him
| there not the slightest noise or dis
| order on that big ship
Belongs to Big Warrior Glass.
Admiral Togo is member of the Samu-
| raj of Satusma, one of the four big warrior
| clans of Japan that brought about the res
| toration in the island empire. A good deal
| has been published of late concerning Ad-
miral Togos cosmopolitanism, his Euro
| pean travels and the knowledge he has
gained away from home. AS matter of
| fact, Admiral Togo is japanese of the
Japanese; he has never been to America or
to Europe, and his education was gained
| solely and entirely in Japan. This does
| not mean that he is not progressive In
| fact, in his case it has operated just the
other way. In the great fleet under his