Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-22

I down the wide main streets of the city
makes one think or one Of the larger
| towns of our country, for the lights
alone are to be seen, and the low one
story buildings are lostin the darkness.
Seoul has now an electric! car line run
by Americans. 1t was put in long be-
fore the Japanese took hold of the gov
ernment, and about half of the stock
belongs to the retired emperor, who has
refused to sell out to tho Japanese cap
italists. The Koreans are now patronIz-
ing the road. AT first they said 1t was
magic, and q mob destroyed some OF
the cars Their theory was that the line
would prevent the spirits giving them
rain. They said the cars were boats
and that the gods, looking down from
The skies, seeing them swimming to and
fro through the streets would say:
These people need no rain, for their
city is swimming in water"
A somewhat similar feeling prevail
ed as To the magic in the telephone
and telegraph systems Many of the
Korean women, Knowing that speech
went over the wires. thought the poles
must contain spirits and that the
sound buzzing on the wires was their |
voices. Indeed. some said their pray
ers to the telephone poles at the time. |
cH1N-Go -KAI
tilSSs YOU GyeT5f HGttTu OF NtIllH-bIp-EI
Kai? 1t is d section Of Seoul which
contains 10000 Japanese people. 1t
has big official buildings. many two
story houses and long streets of stores,
which would be a credit to Toxic
Some Of the stores have plate glass
windows, ard nearly all carry large
stocks Of goods. Here everything Is
clean Tho roadways are swept, and
most of them are as smooth as Il floor.
There are banks, brick school buildings.
a fostoffice and all sorts Of business
establishments.
At one side of this section is a great
frame office structure devoted to the
resident general, who governs korea-
with the emperor rs the nominal head;
and back OF it is the home OF the high
official. with a thousand acres or more
of Nam-San mountain about 1t. The |
old mountain had lain there a wilder
ness for a thousand years 1T had
seen the wall built more than 500 years
ago and had watched the generations
for the Japanese to make 1t
a beautiful park. They have cut roads
the pines and have built many
until now 1t Is one of ma
ture's most beautiful gardens.
I had the good fortune to be invited
to a garden party given the,e by the
resident general the other day. More
and Japanese officials were present. His
excellency received US out in the open,
and there were lunchroons and tea
houses throughout the grounds whose
walters We're beautiful Japanese maid
ans At the close we had dinner IN Il
1 great tent, covering tables sufficient |
to seat the 1000 guests and the jap
anese military band sang a song COM | )
posed by Viscount Some in honor of
the occasion.
MUD VS.. BRICK.
Twenty-Five years ago there was not \
/ brick in Korea. The houses were
III made of mud, of wood or of stones !
,iled up one on top OF the other and a
covered with roofs Of heavy black tiles, p
opes. When I visited the city 20 years v
lgo outside of the homes of the mis-
onaries and the palaces Of the king 4
here was not q two-story structure to +
70 seen anywhere. The place contain- 1
d two Oh. tfrae hundred thousand peo- 1,
de the most Of whom lived In mud /
luis with roofs OF straw thatch. The !
nuts We're all made in the shape OF a <
with quarters at the back for u
he women. There were larger houses e
'oofed with tiles which formed the .
ZONES Of the mobiles and these We're :,
hut off from the streets by low stable :,
Ike structures IN which the servants :
ind retainers We're qIartered. The :,
louses We're all heated by tiues which e.
an under the floors and eInptfed their =
moke into the streets through open :,
ngs cut at about the height OF one's
waist from the ground. At meal times, 9.
nd more especially MORNINGS and q
venings. these holes poured forth vol