Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-18
THE KOREANS APPEAL
TO PRESIDENT SAYS
JAPANESE ACT LIKE RUSSIANS

syngman Rhee and the Rev. P H. Yoon,
the former Korean and the latter a
native of Hawaii. who came to this country
to present to President Roosevelt a me-
mortal addressed to him by eight thou
sand Koreans living In Hawaii. are at Ocean
Grove, N. j.. and they are the largest pur-
chasers of newspapers in the place. They
buy every paper and magazine that has
anything in 1t bearing on the Russian
Japanese conference at Portsmouth. Mr.
Rhee yesterday authorized the publication
OF the memorial which was presented to
the President at Oyster Bay on August T.
Mr.. Rhee said that the President tooR
the document unoficially and promised to
read 1t. He says he has sought to have
the Korean minister Mr. Kim. present the
memorial, but the latter refused on the
ground that 1t did not come from his gov
eminent. Mr.. Rhee takes the ground that
the President can receive the memorial
coming from residents of the United States
as many of the natives of Korea inter-
ested are permanent residents Of the terri
tory of Hawaii.
The Memorial.
The memorial was worded as follows:
We, the Koreans Of the Hawaiian Islands.
voicing the sentiments of twelve million Of
our countrymen, humbly lay before your
excellency the following facts
Soon after the beginning Of the war be-
tween Russia and Japan, our government
made treaty of alliance with Japan for
offensive and defensive purposes. BY vir-
tue Of this treaty the whole of Korea
opened to the Japanese, and both the gov
eminent and the people have been assist
ing the Japanese authorities in their mill
tary operations In and about Korea.
The contents of this treaty are undoubt-
eddy known to your excellency, therefore
we need not embody them in this appeal
Suffice 1t to state, however, the object OF
the treaty was to preserve the independence
of Korea and Japan and to protect east
ern Asia from Russia's aggression. Korea
In return for Japan's friendship and pro-
lection against Russia, has rendered numer-
Gus services to the Japanese by permitting
them to use the country a base of the
military operations.
When this treaty was concluded the
Koreans fully expected that Japan would
introduce reforms into the governmental
administration along the line Of modern
civilization of Europe and America, and
that she would advise and counsel our peo-
pie in friendly manner, but to our dis
appointment and regret the Japanese gov
eminent has not done a single thing In the
way of improving the condition of the
Korean people. On the contrary, she turned
loose several thousand rough and disor-
derby men of her nationals in Korea who
are threatening the inoffensive Koreans in
a most outrageous manner.
The Koreans are by nature not q quar-
rPlSOrnp or aggressive people, Out deeply
resent the high-handed actions Of the Jap
anese toward them. We can scarcely be-
lieve that the Japanese government APP
proves the outrages committed by its
to prevent this state of affairs. They have
been, during the last eighteen months.
forciby obtaining all the special privi-
leges and concessions from our govern
ment so that today they practically own
everything that is worth having in Korea.
No Confidence in Japanese
We, the common people of Korea, have
lost confidence in the promises Japan
made at the time of concluding the treaty
of alliance, and we doubt seriously the
good intentions which she processes to
have toward our people. For geographical,
racial and commercial reasons we want to
be friendly to Japan, and we are even will
ing to have her as our guide and example
in the matters of internal reforms and ed
ucation, but the continuous policy of self
exploitation at the expense of the Koreans
has shaken our confidence in her, and we
are now afraid that she will not keep her
promise of preserving our independence as
a nation nor in assisting US in reforming
internal administration. In other words,
her policy in Korea seems to be exactly
the same as that of Russia prior to the
The United States has many interests in
our country. The Industrial commercial,
religious and educational enter prises I'M
der American management nave attained
such proportions that we believe the gov
eminent and people of the United States
ought to know the true conditions Of Ko-
rea and the results of the Japanese be-
coming paramount in our country. We
know that the people Of America love fair
play and advocate justice toward all men.
We also know your excellency Is the
ardent exponent Of square deal between
individuals as well as nations, therefore
we come to you with this memorial with
the hope that your excellency may help
our country at this critical period Of our
national life.
We fully appreciate the fact that during
the conference between the Russian and
Japanese peace ENJOYS, your eXcellency
may not care to make any suggestions to
either party as to the conditions of their
settlement but we earnestly hope that
your excellency will to it that Korea
NAV preserve her autonomous government,
and that other powers shall not Cypress
or maltreat our people. The clause in the
treaty between the United States and Ko-
rea gives us a claim upon the United
States for assistance, and this is the time