The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-27
MEMBERS OF PARTY INJURED
Assassin With Two Companions Quickly Taken Into Custody.
Murderer Tells Police He Committed Deed to .Avense wrongs ef Koreans, ss wen ss Execu- tien of Friends at order
 of His Victims.

1aliway station here today at the mos ment the Japanese diplomat was ac- knowiedging the noisy welcome that had greeted him as he stepped down from the coach that he had occupied in the railroad train.
 Smiling and lowing, he turned to make his way toward ; the Russian Finance Minister. M. Kokovsoff. who was awaiting him on the station plat form few paces distant.
 Suddenly half-dozeu revolver shots. fired in quick succession. were heard. followed by the cries of those standing near the Prince. who had either been wounded or imagined themselves to be.
 At the second report. Prince Ito staggered and fell fainting. It was found subsequently that he had re- tered the abdomen. Prince Ito did not recover consciousness and died twenty minutes later.
 The fusiiade of shots threw the crowd into atpanie and 1t was some time before it could be determiSed who beside the Prince had suffered. |. When the excitement had subsided 1t was found that three other members of the party on the platform had suf- tered.
 Prince Ito's private secretary had received e bullet, as did Japanese Con- sul-Generai Kawakan and General Manager Tanaka of the South Man churia railway. who had moved closer to the Prince as the firing be- gan. It Is thought that these three are not mortally wounded.
 Assassin Defzes Crowd
 The perpetrator of the outrage was pot hard to locate as he stood defi- antly in the crowd. revolver in hand He proved to be Q Korean. and with two companions of the same. national fly. hfasted sof . cosspirzey to take the life of the former resident general of Korea in satisfaction for the alleged tyranny of the Prince over Koreans.
 As the police pounced upon the three Koreans, the one wto did the shooting exclaimed. dramatically: 1T came to Harbin for the sole purpose of assas- sinating Prince Ito, to avenge my
 None of the three Koreans attempted to escape. The assassin, while claim ing to have been inspired by patri- otic motive and to believe that Japan ese wrongs to Koreans Justified his actions. admitted under examination that he had a personal .grudge against the Japenese statesmen. who. while resident general in Korea, had caused the execution of several of the mur- derer's friends.
 It had been supposed that the police protection for the Prince were ade- quate, but the police stated later that they were unable to distinguish the Koreans among he many Japanese who had been admitted to the railway station to welcome the Prince. The Russian police stated that Japanese Consul General Kawakan had re- auested them to permit entrance to the station of all Japanese who sought admission. A great crowd gathered, among them being the three Koreans. whose nationality passed undetected.
 Body Taken Home.
 Very soon after death the body of Prince Ito was made ready for re- nnovai home and placed upon rail- road train. The casket was covered with flowers and in other ways the sorrow of the official and public life was manifested.
 Prince Ito had come to Harbin to meet M. Kokovsoff, the Russian Minis ter. of Finance. for what was believed to be an important conference. The conference was suggested by Prince Ito in his capacity as President of the Privy Council of Japan. The sub aects to be discussed were not defi- were supposed to concern affairs Of administration in Manchuria.
 Kokovsoff had previously declined an Invitation to visit Japan for such a conference, and Harbin was agreed upon as a meeting place. Tn accept ing the invitation, the Russian Minis. ter said that political questions must be barred. as he was competent only to discuss financial and technical sub jects, these concerning the status of the Manchurian Railroad. The con. ferene had been announced widely in advance, and 1t was generally known ,rhen the diplomats woSsj reach Har- bin.
 Statesman of New Japan
 Prince Hirobumi Ito was perhaps the x-reafest statesman of the new Japan. He framed the imperial constitution bv virtue of which Japan took her place for the first time in the rank of modern civilized states. and won her present place in the worlds powers. After the Russo-Japanese war he was capacity he became the object of hatred of the Koreans. He was es years old.
 Ito's spirit awakened the Japanese from a sleep of ages. and imbued them with a desire for civilization like that of the Western nations. He founded the public schools. in which inc young men who manly compose inc Japanese army ana navy were educated. He built up the Japanese army and navy
 Under the feudal system which pre- vailed in Japan less than forty years ago. the Samurai were a privileged ciass. which supplied the great lords who ruled the country with their sol diers. their scholars. their priests. Ito was born into this privileged class His feudal lord was the Prince of rhishu. Japan had for two and half centuries been sealed against foreign CTS. when. in 1852, Commodore Perry. of the United States navy, entered Yeddo Bay. The Shogun was induced to make treaties with the United States and other Western nations. The people hated foreigners and stoned and set fire to their shops and lega- tions, intending thus 70 drive them out of the country, Ito saw that the foreigners could not be expelled by such crude means, and he and his