The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-22
ROUNDABOUT IN COREA
By BISHOP E. E. Hoss

stretched endlessly across the valleys. Nothing but grass Is allowed to grow upon them, and that Is cut once or twice year for forage or fuel. Such vision of the prevalence and domin- ion of death, I never saw before though 1t Is still more marked in China where I visited later. Ancestor worship has been for ages virtually the only relig- ion of the Coreans, and this accounts for the great care that Is paid to the sleeping places of departed souls.
 My business took me to Songdo, 50 miles northwest of Seoul The two cities are connected by rail, being both on the main line from Fuson, which Is an important link in the all-rail route across Asia and Europe. The country between these cities Is even better than that through which I had already passed. She valleys widen ing out at many places and offering the best possible opportunities for agricul- ture. Nothing but a just government and a wise use of the natural resources of the land are necessary to give prosperity Further on in the neighborhood of Ping Yang there are extensive beds of good coal, and In the north American conccs- sionaries arc finding immense profits in the mining of gold. The Coreans them selves hesitated to dig into the bowels of the earth for fear of cutting the backs of the dragons that lie concealed below; but the Americans are not afraid of dragons, nor even of their chief, the devil himself, when they are In search of money. Nothing stops them. The gold is coming out in great quantities. but the natives are the last to be profited by it.
 Arrived at Songdo. 1 had a brand-new experience. My old student in the days when l was a professor in Vanderbilt university. MT. T. H. Yun, known in Corea as Yum Chi Ho, had come down the line to meet me. It is scarcely say ing too much to declare that he is the foremost man in all Corea His own countrymen recognize him as such, and respect him without measure Both In his intellectual grasp of the national problems and in the simplicity and prob ity of his personal character he Is worthy of the honor that is so freely showered upon him. That he has turned aside from the possibility of political prefer ment and given himself to the work of Christian education, Is greatly to his credit an instance of unselfishness that gives us new sense of the dignity of human nature. His whole school, more than 200 strong, fine looking body of boys and young men, was drawn up at the station to meet me. This distinction quite surprised me, but more was yet to come Four or five hundred Christians were also there with sedan chair, and insisted that I should get in 1t and ride at the head of the procession into the city. That was the limit. I simply couldn't make up my mind to comply with their wishes though well aware that my declnation might be construed as a lack of common politeness on my part. As it turned out, no harm was done. l am not the first man that has had to go away from home to be treated as dig nitary, and I suppose that I shall not be the last one. Any sensible American must feel little queer when he is asked to become part of a spectacle.
 Songdo was for many centuries the capital of Corea. and the tombs of the ancient kings are still pointed out It has a present population of about 40,000, though one finds some difficulty In believing it till one has noticed how the houses are packed together on the narrow streets. and how full they are of men, women and children. Of old this was commercial center for a large region roundabout. and its mer- chants had a proverbial repute for their thrift and enterprise. But nowadays, for some reason or other. they seem to have lost their lead. The Japanese are present in full force and pushing for trade. Here as elsewhere they are letting no grass grow under their feet. For one industry, Songdo has wide reputation, the growing of ginseng. This. plant which grew wild in the woods of Tennessee when I was boy and which I have plucked up and thrown away, Is most highly prized by the Chinese, who pay enormous prices for 1t. The doctors tell us that 1t real ly has no medical qualities, but the ChineSe think differently, and are will ing to support heir opinion with their money. That makes trade. So for a long time company at Songdo has been cultivating the plant for exporta- tion to the celestia! kingdom. It is not done in open fields but under sheds that give the landscape queer sort of appearance. Something in the soil, which is decomposed blue granite, furnishes the requisite conditions for growth and artificial manipulation does the rest
 Here also Is the chief center of the missionary operations of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. south, which has several thousand members in the close neighborhood, ard an investment in schools, hospitals, churches and mis- sionary residences of perhaps s150.000. It was my duty to preside over the annual gathering of the mission, and found 1. to be a pleasant and profita- ble. experience. But I have already consumed a considerable portion of this letter in matters ecclesiastical, and I SHailp tHeTelOic, HOl idN ny TeducTS with anything more in that direction. After the meeting was over, I had most charming excursion with MT. Yum, MT. Collyer and other friends into the adjacent country. Twelve miles distant is an ancient Buddhist monastery, one of the few left in the country. and for that reason all the more interesting. Tn going thithsr. MT. Coilyer took horse; MT. Yum q jinrikisha, and I a ir Act nf nn xx,4v on foot As we pa ssed down the city's streets. and out into the open coun- try. we made rather strange ap- pearance. The people paused to look at us, and the children followed us with all sorts of comments.
 What chiefly desired was to get glimpse of rural Corean life. and that I got very satisfactorily. All along the way we passed through a farming region with f3e1ds of rice. rniIlet. hearS., ca bbaRes