Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-10-28
The alton of Prince Ito.

!: a great loss in the assassination of
Prince Hirobumi Ito, whom the world
has long regarded as its ablest and
most far-seeing statesman. Ito has
been called, and with good reason. the
Bismarck of Japan. Undoubtedly it
is very largely to his genius that his
country owes it's emergence from the
mists of Orientalism to the recog-
nized place it occupies today among
the great civilized nations of the
learth-an acknowledged world power
whose marvellous achievements in re-
cent wears have compelled the wonder
and admiration of the race. Ito was
one Of the first of the statesmen of
Japan to clearly recognize the superior
lsweep and potentiality of the West
ern civilization, and to appreciate the
lfact that Japan must adopt Western
methods if she were to take place
among the great nations of the world.
| This fact was impressed upon him
in early manhood by visit to Eng
land and was later emphasized by
visit to the United States, of which
country, it may be said in passing, he
has always been a consistent and
steadfast friend. In the forefront of
the marvellous movement in which
the Japanese people turned their backs
| nf
| the past, and set their faces resolutely
toward the rising sun of Western civil
lization was Prince Ito, its acknowl-
edged pioneer and leader. 1t was his
/ brain that devised the present constl-
| tutional form of government in force
| in Japan, and more than any other
statesman of his day and generation
he was the trusted friend and advisor
of the Emperor. His loss will certain
to civilization in general. In a broad
sense, however his life work had been
accomplished. There is no reason to
believe that Japan will depart in any
degree from the course he mapped out
for her Her policies are too sharply
defined and we'll developed to admit
of any reaction at this stage Of her
progress
Naturally enough the COrean people
against the japanese under whom they
have lost practically all pretense of ma
tionality and become, to all intents
and purposes, a mere dependency.
That this resentment has a tendency to
vent itself in acts of violence, was dem
onstrated a little over year ago
when Durham Stevens who had been
associated with Prince Ito in diplo-
matte and administrative work in
by Corean conspirators, and there as
sassinated.
COrea itself has absolutely nothing
to gain by this ill-timed act of vio-
lence. Indeed of all the japanese
statesmen Prince Ito was the one who
best understood the Corean character
and needs, and in whose keeping the
interests of that people would be best
cared for. Indeed the sharpest criti-
cism which he ever encountered in his
official life came from people in his
own country who felt that his admin
istration as Resident General in Corea
was altogether too conservative and
conciliatory. 1t may be truthfully
said that, in the stress of the most
narrowing and exacting conditions, he
showed himself to be Corea's best
friend
There can be no doubt but what
Corea will be the greatest loser by the
death of this great broad guaged
statesman. Indeed Japan may well
make his summary taking-off the pre-
text for depriving Corea finally and
irrevokably of the last vestige of ma
tionality, and openly reducing it to
the status of a Japanese province To
such program it is not likely that
the powers at this time and under
existing circumstances would offer
much if any objection
While Western civilization would be
disposed to content itself with the
punishment of the assassin the Oren-
tai mind will probably be more dis
posed to regard this deplorable event
to hold it against the Corean people.
At all events it is entirely safe to
predict that they will be the chief suf-
ierers from this mad act