Norwich bulletin., 1912-11-13
THE ORIENTAL cHEssHoARo.

THE ORIENTAL CHEss6oARD. Problems of the Far East Discussed by
 Hon. Homer B. Hulburt-Light Shed
 on the Situation by One Who Has
 Rare Opportunities to Know.
 There was another big audience in the Central Baptist church Tuesday evening for the second number in the Y. M. c. A. entertainment course, an address on the Oriental Chessboard, by Hon. Homer B. Hulburt. Rev. |. H. Ricketts presented the speaker as one eminently fitted to talk upon the problems of the far east, owing to his long residence there, during which he was for a number of years the confi- sdential advisor for the Koreon empe- TOT. MT. Hulburt's remarks met with an enthusiastic reception and he held the close attention of his bearers throughout his address, which proved as novel as the most entertaining TO- nance.
 Vital Problems.
 In opening his remn~ks he said that one of the salient characteristics of the American people was that they minded their own business. This fact,
 
 me, owing to the unsual vital prob lems which of late held the entire at tention of the country However, l feel tht when you learn of conditions in the far east you will feel the fact that the destiny of this country is bound up with that of little Korea. Anyone who claims to be unbiased is falIir. One cannot live in the east for 23 years throw himself heart and soul into the problems of the land, and not take sides I do not claim to be un- biased.
 have announced my subject as the Oriental Chessboard. and conditions in the far east may well be likened to that game, In the center are the king and queen, and the more important of the two is the queen. Next is the bishop, which represents the church; the knights which represent the diplomats | the castles, as the army and navy, and last of all the poor little pawn, which in the east is the people.
 China, Russia, Japan.
 There are three great powers in the | east-China, Russia and Japan. Then | there comes little Korea, which Is in some ways a power The American people are desperately interested in the fate of China. The American eagle ] was born on the eastern coast o4 l North America and has worked west ward to the Pacific coast, working tEi mines and despoiling the forests, pro- ducing far more than has been con- | stunned, and now it is necessity to our economic life to seek abroad mar ldets for the products of American en ] ergy. In Europe there is no market that will begin to fulfill our demand for a market. The only place on the 1 globe today that can consume the pro- | ducts of the United States is China where there are 450 millions of people demanding our goods. We often heal of the extreme poverty in China bu there are just as many m1llionalres If China as there are in America The average wealth Is much less, but tht money is there ready to be spent Even in the farthest corner of Ch1nl there are people eager to buy the pro ducts of American industry, but a present the high cost of transporta tion prohibits the bringing in of thes' goods in many parts of the country When there are railroads across Chn; the country will be ready to use al and more than America can nroduce
 China Conservative and Democratic. ] On account of the congested popula' tion. China is conservative, as every little disturbance of conditions causei A maelstrom of difficulties. The Chines' are regarded as filled with the olt ideas and ideals of the past, but
 know personally that no god, no tradi ton or no superstition will stand be tween a Chinaman and a bargain There is no conservatism that VII stand between a Chinaman and S5C as I have proved to my own satisfac tion. Today China is the most dem ocratic country in the world. Ther are no castes there; man can ITS from the bottom to the top. The lat empress dowager of China at fiv years of age was a slave girl. Throug her natural ability alone she rose an became the wife of the emperor an on his death was the empress dow ager. The only aristocracy in Chin is the aristocracy of real brains, edu cation and sheer ability. Another evl dence of the democracy lies in tn fact that when a man considers an important step, such as marriage or business venture, the clan is called to gether and the whole family consider the matter in a manner similar to tn old fashioned New England town meet ing, which was, in my opinion, tn nearest approach to ideal governmen
 If a governor does not please the peo ple they rise and pull him to piece and burn his house. The people ther are the court of last appeal. China splendid in her abilities and looks for ward to certain great success as
 republic.
 China and Japan Unlike. In all the world there are no tw countries more unlike than China an
 Japan, and the difference for this lie
 in the fact that Japan 700 years az
 became a feudal land. The countr . was divided into smaH scatos with
 governor over each. In Europe feud alism resulted in separation. in tn establishing of little baronies every
 where But there the power of tn
 Catholic church served to bind theI together again The salvation of tn , country lay in the fact that the inteI ) lectual power was in the monks an l monasteries. while the. physical powt ) was in the knights. In Japan theI |, i was no Catholic church to bind togetf } CT the people, and there was no ser r aration of knowledge and power, bot B belonging to the samurai, the retain g CTS of the governors or feudal lord t Thus the samurai developed gres g pride which raised them far aboV I menial labor, and caused an immens r gap between themselves and the con : mon people, which has never bee
 closed. There, there is no democrac
 a man cannot rise above his caste.
 the top are the samurai, and folloWir , them are the farmers, the artisans, u merchants, and finally the beggal