The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-17

to his history. He is now 70 years of age, but is as straight as an arrow, and his mind is as clear as it was when as c-p- tain of the Choshu Clan, he fought against the Shogun invasion more than 40 years ago. He is tall for a Japanese, Is slender and wiry, and so gentle and quiet in his manner and conversation that one would never imagine that his life had been that of minister of war, an organ izer of armies and a general in command.
 Prince Yamagata was born at just about the time Andrew Jackson left the presidency of the United States. He was 16 years old when Commodore Perry pre- scented the letters he brought here from President Fillmore, and made the treaty which opened Japan to the world, and he was a man of 30 at the time the Elm peror was brought out of his seclusion to be the ruler of the new Japan. At that time he had already made military repu- tation and soon thereafter he was ap- pointed major general and then minister of war. He was acting as the war min ister at about the time that General Grant ended his term as President of the United States, and after that held many civil as we'll as military positions. He aided in organizing the government, and has sev- eral times been at the head or IL as premier He attended the coronation of
  the treaty with Russia, which goes by his name. He was for time commander-in- chief of the army of Japan in its war with China, and was made chief of the general staff during the war with Russia.
 Japan and the United States.
 With a record like this one would lm- agine that General Yanlagata would be an advocate of military aggrandizement and tT, l,; ,o,a ,ntt1d far n1GhlnU of Japan to the front as military na- ton. did not find him so. When l asked him whether there was any feeling here in favor of a war with the United States. he replied:
 "No, there is nothing of the kind. We do not want war with any nation, and most certainly not with our old friend, the United States. On the other hand cannot believe that there is any such sentiment in your country against ours. . We Japanese have always looked upon you as our great and good friend. You are a sort O. mother country to us. The Japan of today is a child of America. It was you who opened our ports to the world and it was from your teachers that we took our first lesson in the arts of modern civilization Throughout our new national life you have always stood by us, and we have felt that we could rely
 
 believe but that the general sentiment of your country is friendly to us
 A Nation of Peace.
 Resides" continued his highness, .Japan is not anxious to be considered warlike nation. Our military establish ment was created for defense and not for We hope to continue our na- tional life along the lines of peace, not of war;
 But your military establishment is so large that other nations fear that you may need to make war to occupy it. Do you thing big army necessity in these modern times?"
 "As your President has said the best guarantee of any nation against war Is the fact that that nation is prepared for war if it should come. This we believe to- be the case, and I see the United States believes likewise, for 1t Is now talking of it's army and navy
 twill the time ever come when war will be done away with? When such peace conferences as that of The Hague ,yin settle all international difficulties by