The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-05-01

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knowledge of the American political
situation was complete and accurate,
and no man was better informed on
the strength and weakness of the re.
public.
1t had been largely through his adj
vice that the dispute between the two
nations, trivial in itself but porten.
tous in possibilities, had been used as
. pretext for war. Thoroughly con
versant with congressional methods
In the United States, he had watched
year by year the q%uibblings of legis-
lators over naval bills which usually
ended in inadequate appropriations.
OF broader mind that they, he had
long foreseen that a country which
had come into distant colonial posses
sions must of necessity enlarge it's
navy and augment it's efficiency, e
pend money in unremitting streams
for maintenance, and stimulate its
men to seek individual excellence in
gunnery and drill. He had observed
the growth of conceit, which, like rust
beneath a coat of paint, led men to
believe so devoutly in American s
periority that they neglected to ana
lyze the actual power which could
positively be developed. By a process
Of elimination he estimated the fight
ing value of the American navy, dis
carding vessels still in service but
obsolete, and others still on paper but
looked upon by the unsophisticated as
a part of the nations strength. Ma
tional prowess he regarded as a small
factor when granting equality.
Seigo's observations had been so
careful and his conclusions so logical,
that reports sent to and passed upon
by the elder statesmen of Japan had
led them to feel certain Of victory
long before war was declared. Nor
had his predictions in the opening
events been unfulfilled. True he had
not expected the abandonment of the
Philippines; but he had confidently
foretold the period of %torpidity, Of con.
fusion and lack of cohesion, which had
followed. 1t was with satisfaction,
therefore, that he observed the trend of
events when hostilities were finally
declared, and from the quietude of his
study saw the whole country waiting
for the government to act while ap.
parently it remained somnolent.
The surrender of the islands came
as the first perplexing problem for
which he could neither account nor
understand, and his activities prior to
that event were nothing when com
pared with those subsequent. He was
too adroit ever to have appeared as a
laborer in the limelight, and was
therefore eminently fitted to drop from
sight at the outbreak, when his fel.
low countrymen were leaving by hun
dreds seeking places Of refuge across
the border lines north and south OF
embarking on the high seas for for.
eign ports. Singularly enough, race
prejudice in the eastern states had
n~ever~reached the point of acute dis
elimination which made the denizens
of that section classify the japanese
and Chinese in one broad category as
orientals; it was therefore easy for
Seigo to don the garb of a laundry
man in the city of Washington, i'm
provise a pigtail, and without inter
ruption assume to pursue this voca'
ton.
Fertile of resource, he readily dis
covered that in a situation where an
archy might thrive the followers OF
the red flag would be his most val
liable spies. Without difficulty he
allied himself with this element, and
gained a friendly footing with them by
ostensibly favoring the advancement
of their cause in Russian domains
Their confidence in him was strength
ened by the fact that he was accom-
plished in their language, which he
spoke fuently, and was q liberal con
tributor to their treasury.
Having thus ingratiated himself
the next step was made easy. He "
lected such. tools from the ranks Of
these. indictments az seemed best
fitted to his hands, and thereby es
tablished q means Of securing new
that would have been impossible II
any other way. From his little hove|
he directed these men as seemed best
assigning them to tasks Of more q
less magnitude. and paying lavishly
for anything Of value; and to his OBJ
scure place there came divers mel
when night time offered the cloak o.
darkness to the furtive:
Seigo's most valuable ally was one
Meredith, of English parentage, and 8
man who for years resided on Cross
street, Paterson, N. j., that .unfor
tunate city whose very industry and
peacefulness had made 1t the gather
! ing place of the Reds. Meredith was
a machinist by trade, and an employs
Of a supply house; SO it was not sur
prising that he brought news o.
strange and unusual purchases made
through many sources by the United
/, States government. In this there wal
nothing alarming, and it was rather
with curiosity that the astute De
scendant of a Samurai looked ovel
: these reports and vaguely wondered
whether they might have bearing OF
war. He was sufficiently painstakins
to ask for others and check them up
but in this he gained nothing beyond
.o+.frfv that the navy depart