Evening star., 1923-09-02
CLAN, THROUGH
YAMAMOTO, RULES AGAIN
Japan Long Has Been in Throes Of
=, Feud Between Rival Houses for
Political Preferment.

or the Seiyukai and Satsuma. Seiyu-
kai leaders endeavored to persuade
Count Iamamoto to join the party,
but he steadily refused because that
naval post.
Katsura Fall DRAMATIC.
The fall Of the Katsura ministry
had been dramatic in the extreme and
was due to a popular outbreak against
the militarist domination Of the gov
ernment. Mobs stormcd pro- Katsura
newspaper offices IL Toxic. Kobe.
Osaka and utheI 1arg. cities. Several
lives We're lost and many persons
wounded. In Toxic two of the larger
police stations We're raided. In one
case the police dispersed the mob with
streams of water. but in the other
the mob gained the building and then
burned 1t. The damage to property
ran into the thousands of dollars,
while several hundred persons We're
arrested.
:, Count Yamamoto advised Prince
katsura to resign. which he did on
February II, 1913. one of the great
n1udays OF Japan. The following
ceived in audience by the emperor and
instructed 10 form Il new ministry.
For more than Il week the battle
between the Satsuma statesman and
finally resulting in compromise with
the odds in favor of Count YamamotO.
lie agreed that all but the portfolios
OF foreign affairs, war and navy
should go To Sety ukai men, and on
this basis the new cabinet was for
mally invested February 20. 1t was
the first cabinet with members who
frankly and openly owed their port
folios to their party affiliations.
Tho new premier at once began
- M
ing many supernumerary officials, in
accordance with popular demand. His
Satsuma training and the control his
clan had over him, however, caused
him to increase plans for naval ex-
penditure to such an extent as vir
tually to offset the saving in other
departments. Admiral Takarabe. re-
Gently appointed minister of the navy
by the late Baron Kato, held the post
Of vice minister at the time. The
following spring when Count Yama-
moto submitted his budget to the Diet
II was passed by the Sriyukai in the
lowe, house, but met defeat in the
house OF peers. Nothing remained
but for Count Yama1noto to resign.
A scandal OF the tirst magnitude had
recently come to light regarding graft
in the letting Of naval contracts. Al
though both the premier and the min.
lister OF the navy, Admiral Satto. Were
personally eXonerated of completely
in it. the cloud has ever since hung
over their names.
Name Brought Forward.
Al each OF the more recent cabinet
crises in Japan Count Yamamotos
name has been brought forward as
a possible candidate for the premier
ship. Until last week hts candidacy
failed to materialize. When Premier
Hara was assassinated on the eve OF
= t,N :, g,
and Chosiu eyed each other wariiy
to see that neither gained the ad-
vantage. Count Yamamoto and Ad
miral Baron Sa ito We're the two Sat
suma possibilities; Eiscount Kiyoura
the chosiu. The Seiyukai. of which
Mr.. I1ara had been the leader. held 4
substantial majority in the lower
house then. as it still does today. Be
cause Of this. If for no other reason.
Tiscount Kiyoura could not hope to
before, at the time that Count Yama-
motO's first ministry collapsed, but
had then been blocked by Admiral
Baron Kato. Prince Yamagata was
cient to keep any. Satsuma man out
Of Office. AS consequence. i nom
clan man. a Seiyukai member. Vis
count Korekiyo Takahashi, went IN
temporarily.
viscount Takahashi was forced out
Of office I Year ago last June. and
again Count Yamanoto figured as ID
possibility. Prince Yamagata had
died and Chosiu influence was wan
ing, but compromise was effected
in the person Of Admiral Baron To-
mosaburo Kato, friendly to Satsurna
but not OF the clan. and acceptable
to the Seiyukai majority. All this
sounds strange, but it must be re-
mernbered that little group of men.
or rather, several small groups. have
the real power Of choosing who shall
or shall not be premier Of Japan.
Again Chaos Reigns.
The death Of Premier Kato again
threw the situation into turmoil
Prince Yamagata, for years the
..strong man" of Chosiu. was gone;
Premier Hara. the only real boss"
the Seiyukai has known, was dead;
Satsuma had no single outstanding
figure. But Satsuma must have been
stronger than its rival clan, for Count
Yamamoto has been given the post,
and Satsuma must have been able to
come to u compromise with the
Setyukai. for Count Yamamoto would
not think of assuming Office in the
face of a hostile diet. His first min
istry was such a compromise and now
he is to try 1t again. Times have
changed for Japan since 1914. Her
naval program cannot now be de-
termined solely by financial resources,
but must conform to the Washington
treaties. Satsuma may be in the sad
die, but SatSuma cannot ride rough
shod over all obstacles. The clans
still dominate in Japan and the rivalry
between Satsuma and Chosiu deter
mines the premiership, but party gov
ernment has made some advances
during the past half century and even
the proud Samurai Of Satsuma must
compromise with the Seiyuka. There
is no reason to expect any drastic re-
versal Of governmental policies A
bureaucrat and clansman to his
finger tips, Count Yamamoto would
naturally incline toward militaristic
methods. but the party control of the
lower house will act as a cheek on
him. Clan government still controls
in the empire. 1t is true. but the peo-
pie have moved forward politically.
albeit their power Is one Of negation
rather than Of constructive action.