THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE : MAY .10, 1000.
44
Mailed Fist of the Mikado" Tells of Japan's Police Work in Korea
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GENERAL HASEQAWA, "THE M AILED FIST OF THE MIKADO."
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(Copyright, 1900, by Frank Q. Carpontpr.)
iiSULL, 1909. (Special uorrcBponu-
S ence of The Bee.) Have you
I ever heard of Yong-ian?
li ! Hrrui. viiy ill un in
ning. ThouMndi of workmen
are now building It and
the structure! being erected will,
when completed, coat mHllona. It
has one palatial residence which
111 be finer than any other building In the
fur east, outside of that of the crown prince
nf Japan. It will cost 600,000 yen, and it
could not be built for that many dollars
on United States soli. This will be the
home of the commander-in-chief of the
Japanese army In Korea, and It will be
equipped for grand entertainments of every
description. It will have ftfty-stx rooms.
Its dining tables will seat 300 guests at one
time and its dancing hall will accommo-
much the snmo way that the Russians
built their new town of Dalny at the end
of the Manchurlan mllrpad, which is now
owned by the Japanese. In the shuffling
of the international cards for the stake of
Korea there Is a bare possibility that at
some time in the far future Tong-san may
bo one pf the prizes which will go Into
the hands of Russia taking the place that
Dalny has now In the hands of Japan.
At the preesnt Tong-san Is about the
liveliest Japanese spot In Korea. A great
deal of grading Is being done. Korean
laborers, under the direction of Japanese
overseers, are cutting down the hills and
leveling the valley. They are putting up
dirt walls about some of the big build
ings, which look almost like fortifications.
They are making drains and digging
foundations. A system of water works
has been put In which supplies the mill-
several thousand of these are here In
Seoul. There are a score or more of
great two-story brick structures already
erected, which are now occupied bv the
men, and there are similar buildings for
the subordinate headquarters filled with
offices and barracks for non-commissioned
officers in every branch of the service,
I doubt If Uncle Sam houses his troops
anything like as well ns the mikado dues
young Japanese. The barracks are
stantlally built as any structures In
Ited States. They are well de-
and well lighted, and every man
right amount of air space. They
sire heated by Russian stoves which are
built up In the corner of each room. The
soldiers sleep on spring beds, they take
hot baths once & day and their food Is
carefully prepared.
MILITARY OFFICES AT YONQSAN.
another street mnny other large ibrlck
buildings are rapidly rising, and on the
sides of the hills, overlooking this mngnlfl
cant country, are long lines tif cottnges,
built In Japanese stylo, but much warmer
than those of Japan. They are the homes
of the colonels, captains and lieutenants.
The palace of the commandcr-ln-chlef,
referred to at the beginning of my letter,
Is still farther on beyond the army head
quarters, which In else correspond some
what to that of one of the great govern
ment buildings at Toklo. This residence
Is being constructed of steel and red
brick. It Is of three stories and basement,
as Prince Ito says. There Is no doubt,
however, but that he believes in a strong
hand belrg tired In Korea, and that he Is
able to wield it If the same should be
ordered.
The main object of my visit to Yong-son
today was to meet the general ad have a
talk with him. My audience took place In
hlu headquatters, and we drank tea and
smoked cigarettes as we chatted together
through the medium of Mr. Kouroda.
General Hastgawa Is now 69 years of
age. He began his life In the army at 22
as a major and rose to be a colonel six
years later. He was a major general In
1880, and he commanded a brigade In "lie
and It Is by the far the finest building japan-Chlnrf war. At that time he -was
ever begun In Korea. It will have every noted as a hero of Port Arthur, and In the
modern Improvement and will be one of war with Russia he again won his spurs
the wonders of this part of the far east, as the commander of the Imperial guards-
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During my stay I went through the kit- The building Is still in the scaffolding, but men under General Kurokl. leading It to
date a crowd of 900. Yong-san la to be the tary ctty wlth pure water from the moun.
muiiary capuaj oi .orea, ana aajoining it talni neai.DV( and ,treets, crossing
Is a large territory which will be devoted nother at right angles, have been
to the railway officials and other such men. UId out ooverng almost the whole ter-
Altogether the settlement will form the rltory- Roughly speaking. I should ssy
nucleus of a great Japanese city, which there , room on the lte for geveral hun.
will extend toward and embrace Seoul, ,,.,, .ni0 Br.A v,n ,
which is now two miles away.
The Tokyo of Korea.
It was to see Yong-san and to have an
Interview with General Haaegawa, the commander-in-chief
of the Japanese forces In
Korea, that I rode In company with Mr.
Takouma Kouroda out from Seoul In my
Jlnrtksha this afternoon. Our way was
through the wide street which leads to ihe
gate known as Kandalmon, a mighty struc
ture of stons, with two heavy roofs of
black tile, one above the other, eoch deco
rated with demons. The crowd waa thick
all the way to the gate, nd there we had
to turn and make our way around nt the
side, the gate being now too small t ac
commodate the traffic. The wall of Seoul,
Which extends clear around the city, a.nd
hleh, until lately, was closed every nlsht
by great doors plated with Iron, has ha
to bo cut at this point, and two wldo roads
mart.? nt each aide. These go right through
tl-.o xvpY, and the gate its If has been built
shout with granite so that It stands there
t a beautiful monument. It has gorgeous
electric lamps at teach entrance, both In
liud outside the city, and It is a fit mark
f the union of the past and the present.
A few years ago the only buildings
beyond this gate were scattered thatched
huts hugging the wall. Now. the wide
roid which has been made from there to
the niver Han is lined for a mile with
Japanese and Coroan buildings, and there
are many foreign structures as well. The
Corean electric street car line, belonging
to an American firm, has a reijular serv
ice, which takes one to the Han, which
Is about three miles away. And not far
from the gate Is the chief railroad depot
of Seoul, at which one can get cars for
Chemulpo to take ship for China, or go on
tho trunk line about 300 miles north to the
edge of Manchuria, or by an equal dis
tance south to Fusan, where a night's ferry
over the Strait of Corea will put you In
Japan.
We passed many soldiers on our way
down this road. There were cavalry on
horseback crowding the Corean traffic off
to the side, and now and then a oompany
of Infantry, dusty and tired by their long
march from the Interior. We went by
scores of bullocks loaded with fuel, great
bundles of overgrcen branches, a half ton
in weight, which rose high over their
heads and hung down at the sides almost
to their feet. We paused carts of lumber
the boards tied up in strings, and bullocks
drawing all sorts of building materials.
There were many women, both Japanese
and Coreans, and gorgeous batted yang
uans or Corean nobles, on foot. I remem
ber one who dashed by me riding a bicy
cle. His long pink gown floated out on
the air, his black hat wobbled and his fat
feet of padded cotton went up and duwn
on the pedals.
Japan's Military Concession,
We went fully two miles before we
reached the limits of the military conces
sion. Here the street car line branches
off and goes on under the railroad to tho
right, making Its way down to the river.
The wide roads leads straight pn through
the new city. At the right Is a large
drill ground where several regiments of
troops could exercise at one time, and
above It are hills spotted with grave
mounds so thick that they seem to bo
sown and grown as a crop. From here on
fur several m.les on both sides pf tho
road all the land has been granted to the
Japanese. The area covers thousands of
acres, and It is some of the most valuable
laud In the vicinity of Seoul. It originally
btiloiiged to the emperor, but be sold It to
the Japanese hjt less than KO.OuO gold
dollars. The sale has been much criti
cised by the Koreans, who claim that the
ground waa worth sev ral millions and
that the sale was a forced one. Never
theless the Japanese government has now
clear UUo to it, auil is exulwiUiva it U
chens of some of the establishments. It
was was about time for dinner, and great
tubs of steaming rice had Just been taken
from the fire, while fried fish and vege
tables were being ladled out on the plates
of polished aluminum. In order to make
the camp equipment as light as possible
all the dishes used by the men are of this
metal, the rice for each 'being served in
an aluminum box of about the sise of that
which holds 100 cigars. Each man gets
such a box of rice at every meal and a
fixed supply of fish, vegetables and sauce,
which Is varied in character from day to
day. The food woe put up in such por
tions on trays, each of which carried
twenty-four plates and rice boxes, and
these trays were carried by men to the
dormitories nearby. All of the Japanese
soldiers now wear European shoes. I
Judge they still find them uncomfortable,
however, for I noticed at the entrance to
each barracks great rows of these shoes
outside In the halls, and that the men, as
as they Jumped from their couches and
the walls have been finished, and It Is victory at tho Yalu and the battle of Liao
about ready for roofing. It will probably yang. He was made a general In 1904, and
be completed during the year. The com- after that battle was appointed head of the
mander-ln-chlef of the army of Korea Is
lower In rank than the resident general,
and I am wondering what will be the
home of the latter when It Is constructed.
It may be that It Is to add to the Impres
sion that prevails here as to the mighty
power of the Japanese army, and be a
living evidence of Its unlimited riches and
strength.
Mlkado'MUliiry Flnt.
The hand of the emperor of Japan In his
ruling of Korea Is for the present, nomln-
army In Korea. He Is now practlcAlly at
the top of the Japanese military regime,
and should there he a war with any for
eign power the probability Is that he would
be in command.
General Hasogawa looks like a soldier.
Indeed, he reminds me much of our Gen
eral Lawton, who was killed In the Philip
pines. He has the same slemrer figure,
the same erect bearing and an eye which
Is equally piercing. He has a Jaw of Iron,
high cheek bones and a high, broad, but
rather receding, forehead. His eyes are
almost straight, and his nose is larger than
ally at least, gloved with velvet. Inside that of the ordinary Japanese. His face try will be practically quiet."
GUARD AT THE GENERAL'S HEADQUARTERS.
world, and they have not been appreciated they died off and gave workers a free
even by the government at Seoul. For gen- field for themselves. At present the brlg-
erations bands of brigands have Infested ands are being recruited from this Idle
the mountains and have come out now and class. They fight not so muoh on grounds
then to prey on the lowlands. They have of patriotism aa because they will do noth-
held up the farmers and blackmailed the lng else."
villages. If they were Informed upon the
Informers were sure to meet wtlh death Korean Sodlers.
sooner or later and the village might bo "What will Japan do as to the soldiers
burned as a matter of vengeance. These of Korea T Will It train the boys hero
bands are generally without organisation, so that they may form a part of Japan's
but there Is one chief who has many fol- army of the future? Tho Koreans num-
lowers. His home Is in the mountain fast- ber about 15,000,000, and If they will fight
nesses between here and Gensan. We know they will make quite an addition to your
who he Is and hope to catch him. At pros- already large army." The geilcral laughed
ent our soldiers are after these robber aa he replied:
bands. They are so scattered that it will "I should not encourage such a plan,
take a long time to wipe them out, and we and It Is not In accordance with our
believe that there are thousands of thorn, scheme for bringing about the Indopend-
When we have disposed of them the coun- ence of Korea under Japanese protection.
that all the ground not devoted to the stood at attention as I passed with their
military establishment will be
with Japanese buildings.
taken up colonel, were In their stocking feet.
Japan's New Barracks.
The new barracks now going up, many
of which are already completed, show that
the Japanese Intend to keep a large mill-
Homes for Officers.
The barracks I have referred to are built
around a great parade grounds, at one side
of which Is an office building, where I
was presented to the commanding general
the glove, however, there Is a fist of Iron,
and the man who represents this ir Gen
eral Haaegawa, one of the most famous
soldiers In his majesty's army. He Is
commander-in-chief of the garrison In
Korea, and as such has entire oontrol of
military affairs on tho peninsula. He be
lieves In ruling the people with a strong
hand, and if he had his will he would. I
am told, Institute a military directorship
and stop what may be called the humanita
rian foolishness now carried on by Uncle
Sam and the emperor of Japan in trying
to train up weak and corrupt nations to
the ability of governing themselves. Gen-
Is full of red blood, but It Is bronsed from
his life In the field. He wore today his
military uniform, which is the color of
khaki, and on the breast of its coat I
noticed eight silk loops, upon which he
hangs his principal decorations of honor
Korea's Idle Officials,
"Do 5'ou mean that tho Koreans will atop
fighting and go to work?"
"Not altogether," waa the reply. "They
The Korean soldiers might do well
enough In the rear, and we could use
them for the heavy work of our military
operations, as transports and laborers.
We would not dare put them at the front"
"How about tho charges that your sol-
repiy. iney nerg ar0 oppressing tha nconle and kllliinr
when he appears before the emperor and 8tP "shtlng. but many of them will them wlthout cauB,?''
upon state occasions. never work. This Is so as far as the pres. "There Is no truth In such atatemenU
S ent generation Is concerned. The nobility ,ad Qe Hasegawa! "We havT to n.
Genera llsaegaws Tnks. have considered It disgraceful to work and BovorB , " w nave t0 ba
During our conversation, which lasted for the hangers-on of the official circles who order tQ malnta, "l " l" Tl'..
perhaps half an hour, I asked the general
to tell me something of the military situa
tion In Korea. He replied that the situa
tion was steadily Improving and that the
rebels who are such on patriotic grounds
tary establishment In Korea for a long of the division. This building must cover
time to come. They now have 20,000 men a quarter of an acre, and It was filled
In different parts' of the peninsula, and with clerks who were working away. Up
eral Hasegawa would not acknowledge had practically disappeared. Said he:
this to the public. He Is here as the as- "The actual conditions of Korea as to law
slstant of Prince Ito, and as such must do and order have never been known to the
have lived by squeezing the common people
ire the most difficult element we have to
deal with. We have tried to give them
work, but they will not take it. I asked
one of the missionaries how he would
settle the question. He replied that ho did
not think they could be made to labor
and that the trouble would continue until
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ruiy element in check. War Is a serious
matter, and such conditions havo to be
handled In a serious way. Otherwise wo
could do nothing with the country. Wo
wipe out the Insurgent when they aro
found, and It may be that when we are
misinformed as to who are Insurgents
some Innocent men may be killed. At
present we are using many Koreans in our
police force, und the pro-Japanese Koreans
are aiding us to put down tho rebellion."
"Is It true that a band of your soldiers
recently killed twenty such Koreans, sup
posing them Insurgents?"
"I know of the case to which you refer,"
uld General Hasegawa. "We are not yet
sure whether those people were Insurgents
or not. The killing occurred In a part of
the country where there were bands of
rebels, one of which contained about thirty
five. Our troops were on the track of that
band and had been Informed that It wus
In a certain Inn. The officer In command
caught one mun coming out and he had
papers on him showjng that he wits an
insurgent Ho then ordered those within
the building to come out or he would
shoot. They did not reply and he com
manded his soldiers to fire. Upon going
in later twenty were found dead. We still
believe that they were largely Insurgents.
They certainly should have answered whin
the soldiers ordered them out."
"Is not Korea a difficult land to po
lice?" "Yes, exceedingly so. The country Is
covered with mountains. There are no
roads whatsoever over which troops can
be marched. The only routes from one
place to another are bridle paths, which
become streams and rivers whenever It
rains. There ure practically no bridges and
the country is so poor that It is difficult to
provision the troops except by carrying
food everywhere with us. Another annoy
ance to which the men are subjected is
the universal presence of vermin, owing to
the personal uncleanllneps of the people.
There are lice and bugs of all kinds, and
it is almost impossible for the troops to
keep themselves free from thorn."
Wew n s'odlrr Should Die.
I here asked the general as to tha
health of his troops. He replied that it
was excellent and that the troops had not
had the fevers, dysentary and smallpox,
o common among the Koreans. He said
the nien were well cared for. and I com
plimented him on the healthful arrange
ments of his new barracks, saying that
Japan a leading the world In matters of
military sanitation, and that the low death
rate from disease among the Jupane.se
troops in Manchuria had been less than
that of any great war In the past. Tho
guneral acknowledged Hint this was true
and significantly added:
"We Japanevo do not believe that a sol
dler should die in his bed."
I then broached the subject of Russia,
asking the general whether he thought
there would be another war later on and '
whether he would build fortifications along
the northern borders of Korea. He replied
that he would not and that xuch fortifica
tions on the frontier would he contrary to
the treaties between the two countries. As
to another struggle with ltusxla, he would
not answer, saying that he hoped there
would be peace between the two nations
from now on. He raid Japan did not want
trouble with any mm, hut that If war
came she would have to do what she could.
"We must ftjrht Jimt whenever our honor
Is at stake. There are occasions when to I
live without flvlitlng would be to suffer'
more than to die " i
I then SHked, "What about the bhargo
that you are preparing to flKht America?" '
To Uils the general seinl-facetlously re-1
plied: 1
"You people must consider us very war- ,
like to think we want to fight you. In-,
deed, we would like to live a while yet.'V
With that we both laughed and the In
terview closed. !
FRANK O. CARPENTER. .
