Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-08
1snenin1 c.n,.resnnnhence.

tspecial scorrespondencel
N E0Jj1a 1901 have Just returned
: Voc, from an audience With his impe-
NJ rinl majesty 9-i#Chok. the eniperor
of Korea. 1t was held in the East
palace, one OF tbs four great establish
sments which his majesty owns in and
about Seoul, and as we talked I could
hear the hammers Of the carpenters
who are building Il great audiences hall
nearby for the receptions of the future
My meeting With the emperor had been
arranged by NisGount Some the acting
japanese resident general, ut the sug-
gestion OF Prince to- of whom had
lssdue4stGd an audience when / met
him at his villa near Toxic, some
months ago. THE emperor Of Korea Is
nov under the absolute control OF the
Japanese government Prince Ito is his
adviser, and the country is ruled by
Japan. with his majesty as the nominal
head. In othe! letters I shall show
whether this Is for the good or i'll of
Korea. Today write of his majesty
alone and of the royal family to which
he belongs
"A Blue, HOODED MONARCH.
If blue blood means anything VI ChoH
ought to be one Of the strongest mon
archs on earth. Tfsre Is no doubt but
that he is the weakest Nevertheless.
his veins are sticaked with a cerulean
fluid which Logan It's royal flow a.
hundred years before Columbus discov-s
cred America Many generations before
Shakespeare was born a hundred years
before the first Bible was printed and
hnf fj,r.,
many with his preaching the ancestors
of this young man sat upon the I'M
perlal throne and governed their mil.
lions of gcream-fat,sd. Acknowledged sub
Jects. VI Ghok is the th.rty-iirst ruler
of the present dynasty, which began
to reign in 1892. His father was VI
Hung, the. man whom the japanese
forced to abdicate in July, 1907. and his
mother was the famous queen whom
the Japanese assassinated shortly after
the close of their war with China.
The king and queen We're somewhat
related to each other, and vi Chok Is
the offspring of the intermarriages of
many cousins during these past genera
tons. He came into life weakling,
mentally and physically, One of our
early ministers to Korea, writing to
our tie department concerning his au.
diennes with this mans father, men,
lions In Il footrote having seen the
crown prince When the state paper
was printed this footnote. which was
intended only fol. the secretary's eye,
was added to the bottom OF the mes
sage 1T stated that the crown prince |
was weak mentally and that, In the
opinion Of the minister this was an evil
dance OF tile evil effects Of the inter-
of near relatives.
lis majesty father has never been
noted for strength of character, and |
he has evidently inherited nothing from
his mother. who belonged to the Min
family, and was one of the most force
ful women who have ever been connect
I'd with an Asiatic throne.
"A BABY OF, THIRTY FIVE.
H The weakness or the emperor,s mind
has long been matter of relnarisa
among both Koreans and foreigners. lie |
has littleh more intellect than baby,
although, 1t is said, his mind has bright
ened since he was chosen emperor, now
only a little more than q year ago. He
Is man OF no education to speak OF,
and his life in tho palace, where he
has been surrounded by eunuchs and i
the vicious servants of a deprayed
court. has not been conducive to mental
growth Ills first wife was only twelve
wears of age when she married him.
and the present empress is only few
years older. AT the time Of his last
he was crown prince, and
when a wife was sought for him.. ao-g
tording to custom, a notice was sent
Jut to all the nobility OF the empire
that they must suspend giving their
in marriage until the en-.
perors son had selected a wife. Cou-
pied with this was an order for all who
had eligible daughters to send in appli-
cations, describing the maidens and
showing what they had to offer.
AT first only fifteen OF the noble ia
miles responded and this. + am told,
was on account Of the weak mind of
the crown prince and his apparent un-
fitness to manage a household. Then
The governmental officials sent out a Sec
md order, urging more applications. IN
reply to this, fifty We're sent In. and
from these the old emperor picked out
thirty The girls represented by them
We're directed 70 come to the palace.
md in due time they appeared in great
state. Each was horne in II gorgeous
closed chair, consisting of Il box, about
three feet square and not more than
that high, i'll which the maiden sat
cross-legged on the floor. These boxes