The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-01-26
COreas Last Emperor.

WOuu pe unuululOus.
The decease, announced on January
-, Of the former Emperor of the Land
of Morning Splendor recalls historic
and career to which
fairy tales or opera bouffe can fur
nish few parallels. In fact. the des-
patch from Toxic is itself hardly more
than a caricature of reality.
In 1855 the dynasty founded in
] 800, when Buddhism as the state re-
liglon was crushed and Confucianism
made law and cult. came to an end
in the male line. The Salic law was
Corean also, but no fewer than three
royal widows, all childless, were then
living. One Of these Immediately pro-
ceeded to pull down the blinds" No
American slang but good Corean
idiom is here made use Of. She took
all authority In her own hands and
nominated both an heir to the throne
and a Regent Of the kingdom. The
former was boy Of or 10, the
latter was his father. and over 40.
He took the title Of Tai Wen Kun. or
Great Palace Prince, the first and last
words in this title being the same
as the Tycoon. or Tai-kun, Of the
Japan known to our fathers.
For centuries the court in Seoul,
consisting of probably as many as
four thousand persons, mostly women,
had been a hotbed Of intrigue and
the battle-ground OF the contend
ing mobiles, ranged in clans and fac
tons. Each Of the Vaughan (civll
and military notables had an enor-
nous clientage Of dependents, follow
ers and parasites Of every descrip-
ton: but the Government had few OF
the features necessary in modern
State. Apart from pull" power of
patronage and influence at court y
votes Of censure or lack Of confidence
in the Ministry usually took the form,
as in old Japan. of assassination--by
internal or external application. Mod
ern methods, the practices Of enlight'
ened craftsmanship, We're not in evil
dence. Corea was the Hermit ma
ton. and its rulers were satisfied with
their lot.
1t was according to time honored
precedent then for the Regent. an OBJ
scure person dragged out Of rural Sc
clusion into court life, to unfold the
pinions of vast ambition. 1t was
with him "Corea for the Corean'
with a vengeance. He ordered to In
slant death the French missionaries
fourteen IN ALL and all their con.
verts. He sent a defiant and insolent
message to the Mlkado. He laid un-
heard Of taxes upon the Coreans
Even when his son took the throne
it was for him merely a transfer OF
hostilities from the open to the
trench. Queen MIN, whom the oppos'
Ing clan had dictated in marriage tC
the young King, proved a match fol
the ex-Regent. In the battle between
bull and tigress the feminine element
won out At last, however, this wo
man, one Of the ablest in the Fal
East, who was able to checkmate tn,
Mikados brilliant statesmen lNoUYi
and ITo and even Japan's military
captains, while foiling also her father
| in-law--"the man with heart Of stone
| and bowels of iron"---waS eliminated
from the scene. A mob of rufIians
| chiefly japanese, invaded the palace
at night with swords and oil cans
Murdered. and her corpse drenchet
with petroleum and cremated, only ;
few Of her bones were recovered for ,
funeral Of barbaric splendor and {
gorgeous mausoleum.
The sorrows Of royalty wer,
drowned In the glamour Of imperial
ism. The widower King created him
self an emperor" He sent legation
| to Europe and America-but withou
money to pay their grocery bills. HI
established a bureau of decoration
that soon drained the treasury. III
gave his people constitution" Com
prised In six or seven articles, 1t ma,
be summed up In the monosyllabl
and personal pronoun "I." Later, Il
misery and fear, amid the vultures
native and foreign, waiting for hi
corpse, he fled for safety to the Rus
sian legation. remaining there on
year. Then he returned to his pal
ace, depending on the American mis-
sionaries for Imprisoned food.
The story Is too long and too ric,
in comedy and tragedy to narrat
here. 1t awaits the pen of some Rich
ard Harding Davis for verbal repro
duction. After a real estate agen
had endeavored in Washington an,
at The Hague to regain for Core,
her lost independence, Chosen. unde
her own ancient name, has RENAME,
a prosperous province Of the Japanes
Empire. We neither extenuate no
set down aught in malice when W
state n commonplace fact The dit
ference between the condition Of Core
to-day and in 1900 IL that between
healthy, fruit bearing tree and on
dying of internal rot and almost II
visible because Of nests and clouds O
destroying vermin.
1 Japan's policy with Corea and Chin