The Ely miner., 1915-12-17

lomatic circles, the Household Plot
How nearly it succeeded in embroilini
the United States and Japan only tiv'
men know in detail. The first o
these is Sir Arthur Sturt, the British
ambassador to the. mikado's court
The second is the Chinese minister
The third is myself. The fourth i!
Count Okuma, the astute one-legget
statesman, who has been a moving
power in Japanese affairs since the
reform era began-or was, until thu
events that / shall describe occurred
The fifth is Doctor Fong, and where
he is nobody knows.
was not In Japan in any Official
capacity. l was there renewing my &C
quaintance with old scenes and per
sons, when Sir Arthur, from whom
had parted the night before, on the oc
casion of Lady Sturt's reception, and
rs I thought, probably forever-since
was planning to sail for Shanghai
sent for me by special embassy mes
Benger.
| knew that some matter of the
gravest import must have happened to
cause him to summon me at eight
o'clock in the morning. The cause
was partly revealed, however, when,
on bringing me my breakfast, my Chi.
nese boy informed me that his NAL
esty, Mutsuhito, emperor of Japan.
was dying.
hod Of hn rinnC n
dition of his health, and that the fatal
climax of his wasting disease might
occur at almost any time; still, the
shock seemed to have been very sud-
den, for when | said good-by to Sir
Arthur, the evening before, his
majesty was reported to be in excel
lent health.
/ had a ricksha called and hastily
made my way into the embassy COM
pound, where the ambassadors secre-
tary was awaiting me with a very
grave expression upon his face.
you have heard the news" he
aSked. His majesty"
'TS dead," l exclaimed.
'He has been dead two days." he
answered
This news was confirmed by Sir Ar
thur, who looked even graver as he
motioned me to chair.
81 have been told, Mr. Z" he
began, that you have more intimate
acquaintance with the court life of
Japan than any man since Bertram
Milford"
Your excellency is very kind" l
began, but Sir Arthur cut me short.
This is no time for compliments -
ne interrupted brusquely. 81 have
Just been informed that the emperors S
death has been kept secret these two
days for the gravest reasons. You
are, l believe, personally acquainted
with Count Okuma?"
"As everybody is," l answered. For
Count Okuma, stumping around on his
wooden leg-the other was destroyed
years ago by a fanatics bomb;
Okuma, the friend of foreigners, the
NAH whose affectation of the simple
life led him to carry home his own
laundry; Okuma, the patron of west
ern learning, the wiliest and most
astute of the complex-minded advisers
of the late emperor, was the most ac-
cessible and friendly of men.
81 am informed, beyond the possibil-
ity of doubt" said the ambassador,
"that Okuma has now in his pocket an
ultimatum to be presented to the
American minister this afternoon, at
the palace"
saw at once the meaning of the
conspiracy of silence. Mutsuhito, of
course, would never have sanctioned
war with the United States; and
Yoshihito, his heir, and now In theory,
though not in fact, emperor of Japan,
was even more firmly pro-American.
The interregnum, thus artificially Gre
ated, was to be utilized by Count
Okema and the caSal which he had
formed for the purpose of an attack
upon the Philippines.
"rhe name of his late majesty was
, forged to this document, which is writ
ten on the regulation thick red state
note paper" continued Sir Arthur.
Japan demands that the United States
evacuate the Philippines within
week. And you see how this affects
Great Britain"
l certainly did. AS treaty ally of
Japan, England would be compelled
to stand aside, If she did not partici-
pate in the attack, impotent to aid
America. Her action would doubtless
be construed as an alliance with
japan, or at least participancy in
her treachery, and the people of the
United States, stung to the quick,
would certainly declare war upon Eng
land, with results incalculably evil to
humanity.
And. with all respect to the valor of
American arms, to hold the Philip
pines against Japan -7ould be, as all
strategists are aware, a military i'm
possibility. Manila must fall long be-
fore re-enforcemehts arrived; and,
without base, without adequate
transportation facilities, how could the
United States hope to throw an army
Of half a million men into the archi.
pelago. to cope successfully with the
war-trained veterans of Japan?
Nay. assuming base on a nearby
island. how could that country trans
port more than fifty thousand troops
at a single voyage. ard how could
these fifty thousand hSld out while
the transports went back for more?
1t is the old story of the fox, the goose
and the bag of oats.
On this account I have always
strongly urged the abandonment of
the Philippines. which will one day
prove q bitter disillusionment to the
United States.