New Britain herald., 1916-02-28
POLITICAL FUED |S
 FIERCE IN JAPAN
Results in Attempt on Life of
 Prime Minister
Correspondence of The Associated Press

ruffians are believed by the police to be the perpetrators of the attempt to assassinate the prime minister. Count
 Shigenobu Okuma, on the night of
 January 12. The premier was re-
 turning from grand state banquet
 offered by the Emperor in honor of
 the Czar's cousin, the Grand Duke
 Michaelovitch who came here to con-
 vey coronation congratulations from
 the Russian court.
 As for the attack on mvself-that
 is a mere nothing," said Count Olzu-
 ma, but what I deplore is the spirit
 of commerc1allsm and envy which
 breeds such coWardly doings as as-
 sassination or assault. These a cts are
 a remnant of the past and cannot be
 tolerated in this advanced stage of
 modern civilization. am anxious
 that we should show maenanin7o,,s
 attitude worthy of great power dur
 ing the stay of our distinguished guest
 and that nothing happen to mar his
 pleasure.
 In Japan there exists a class of
 men which can hardly be called crim-
 inal and which yet contributes noth- ing to society. They are known as
 'soshi' and usually. take leading part in political riots and other dis turbances. They are popularly sup posed to be hired by political groups when any public violence is conspired. The word "soshi" literally means "use- full samurai" and in former days sig nficd brave young patriot. Gradu- ally the term like the man degenerat- cd and today in popular parlance it means "strong-armed men," AL though no arrests have been made up to today the police are inclined to lay the crime at the door of these individuals rather than to an anar- chistic organization.
 The belief entertained in some quar- ters that the attempt may have been made by German spies or Chinese revolutionaries is not generally held and the popular idea is that the crime was the work of Japanese malcon- tents.
 Chauffeur Saves Life.
 Count Okuma's escape which was exceedingly narrow was undoubtedly due to the extra ordinary presence of mind of his chauffeur. The driver noticed a man suddenly emerge from a dark alley between a toy shop and a confectioner's. He was waving his arm as he ran toward the automobile and the next moment d heavy missile struck the motor case of the car. glanced off to a window, which it broke, and then rolled to the street. By the time the missile had struck, the chauffeur had pulled his levers and the limousine bolted forward with tho speed of an express locOmotiv ;1o, T bomb imm ediatelv after the first but it struck the ground behind the car exploding with a terrific detonation and only a few of it's fra gm ents did 1 some slight damage to the cover of l the limousine. The street was de- l serted at the time but the noise of 1 the explosion caused residents to draw ! aside their Japanese shutters and peer 1 out anXiously. One householder de- l
 clares he saw man in western l clothes slink away into a. narrow pas l ge to be swallowed up by the ob- scurity.
 The limousine stopped shortly aft arward and the detective who accom- panied Count Okuma picked up the uneXp1oded bomb. It was taken to 1 the Tokio military arsenal and here 1t was found to consist of a copper kettle full of small pebbles, pieces of lead and a small quantity of eXplo- slVe. There was a fuse of powder attached. Plainly the internal ma chine was the creation of an mex perienced hand, yet had it exploded IS intended it's effects would undoubt- edly have been disastrous.
 Threatening letters were received oN Count Okuma and by the house. hold department just prior to the and threatening placards were posted in one of the parks of he city. Also the public recalls newspaper reports that a small quan ,ity of explosive had been previously stolen fro mone of the military depots. t is not improbable that the bombs lsed two days ago were manufactured rom this expl losive
 Most Prominent Politician.
 Count Okuma's frequent utterances Seep him in the eye of the public $ he most prominent Japanese of to- lay, next to the Emperor. He was everely attacked by the opposition l ,roups when he withdrew his resigna- ion as premier last year at the re- ueSt of the Emperor. Political Op- 'onents declared his act to be against l he constitution and the discussion which took place at that time may ( rave awakened a feeling which has l nly been slumbering and which l ound expression in the recent at empt to slay the premier.
 Countess Okuma was unm owed y the incident as her premier-hus- ] and. She told an interviewer that he was not surprised for she always cit that her husbands life was ex- Osed to danger-at danger. which,, 1 he said. she was always ready to c hare with him.