Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 9, 1909, Page 17

» ! { & THE OMAF SUNDAY BEE [ght, 1909, by Frank G. Carpenter.) g EOUL, 1909.—(8pecial Correspond- ence. of The Bee.)—Have just returned from un audience with his imperial majesty ¥i Chok, tho emparor of Korea. It was hell in the Past Palace, one of the fobr great establishments which his majesty owns In and about Seoul, and as we talked I could bear the hammers of the carpenters who are building a great audi- ence hall nearby for the receptions of the future. My meeting with the emperor had been arranged by Viscount Sone, the acting Japanese resident general, at the sugges- tion of Prince Ito, of whom I had requested an audience when I met him at his villa near Toklo some months ago. The emperor of Korea I8 now under the absolute control ¢l the Japanese government. Prince Ito is his adviser, and the country is ruled by Japan, with his majesty as the nominal head. In other letters I shall show whether this is for the good or ill of Korea. Today 1 write of his majesty alone and of the royal family to which he belongs. it Blue Blooded Monarch. If blue blood means anything ¥i Chok ought to be one of the strongest monarchs on earth. There 1s no doubt but that he is the weak: Nevertheless, his veins are streaked with a cerulean fluld which began fts royal flow 100 years before Columbus discovered America. Many generations be- fore Shakespeare was born, 100 years before the first Bible was printed and 200 yegrs before Luther stirred up Germany with his preaching the ancestors of this young man sat upon the imperial throne and governed thelr milllons of cream-faced, almond-eyed subjects. Y1 Chok is the thirty-first ruler of the present dynasty, which began to relgn In 1892, His father was Y1 Hung, the man whom the Japanese forced to abdlcate in July, 1907, and his mother was the fa- mous queen Whom the Japanese assassi- nated shortly after the close of their war with China. The king and queen were somewhat re- lated to each pther, and Y! Ohok is the offspring of the Intermarriages of many cousins during these last generdtions. He came into life a weakling, mentally and physically. One of our early ministers to Korea, writing to our State department concerning his audiences with this man's father, mentions in a foot note having seen the crown prince. When the state paper was printed a foot note, which was In- tended only for the secretary’s eye, was added to the bottom of the message. It stated that the crown prince was weak mentally, and that, in the opinion of the minister this was an evidence of the evil effects of the intermarriage of near rela- ves. His majesty’s father has never been noted for strength of character, and he has evi- dently inherited nothing from his mother, who belonged to the Min family, and was qne of the most forceful women who have ever been connected with an Aslatic throne, Baby rty-Five, The weakness of the emperor's mind has ¥ 1ong been a matter of remark among both Koreans and foreigners. He has )ittle more intellect than a baby, although, it is said, his mind has brightened since he was chosen emperor, now only a little more than & year ago. He ls & man of no education ey to speak of, and his life in the palace, where he has been surrounded by eunuchs and the viclous servants of a depraved court, has not been conducive to mental srowth. His first wife was only 12 years of age when she married him, and the present empress Is only a few years older. At the time of his last marriage he was crown prince, and when a wife was sought for him, according to custom, a notice was sent out to all the nobllity of the empire that they must suspend glving their daughters in marriage untll the emperor's son had selected a wife. Coupled with this was an order for all who had eligible daughters to send in applications, describing the maidens and showing what they had to offer. At first only fifteen of the noble familios responded, and this, T am told, was on ac- count of the weak mind of the crown prince and his apparent unfitness to manage a household. Then the government officials sent out a second order urging more ap- plications. In reply to this, fifty were sent in, and from these the old emperor plcked out thirty. The girls represented by them were directed to come to the palace, and in due time they appeared In great state. Bach was borne in a gorgeous closed chalr, consisting of a box, about three feet square and not more than that high, in which the malden sat cross-legged on the floor. These boxes were carrled by servants in livery. The man servants of each girl went in front and hef slave girls followed be- hind. When the procession arrived at the pal- ace the thirty maidens were carefully looked over by the emperor. who has since been deposed, and the poorest ones to the number of fifteen were weeded out and sent home. A day or so later another in- spection was made and the marriageable ladies reduced to seven or eight. After this there was a third examination, and a young girl of about 13 or so, belonging to the noble Yun family, was chosen. Contrary to the usual custom in Korea, which provides that the groom has nothing to do with the selection of his wife, the crown prince him- self made the final decision. The girl plcked out was the youngest 3t the whole thirty. She was small for her age, and ‘when the crown prince pointed her out his father sald: “You had better take one of the others. That girl is too small “Oh, as to that” was the reply of his majesty, “she will grow.” He Insisted upon her at the second selection, and also at the third, and finally got her. He was right as to the growing. She is much larger now, and has developed Into a fine looking Korean woman. She is very bright, and the Japanese are glving her an educa- tion which is in advance of that of any Korean queen of the past. She is studying Japanese under the wife of the vice minis- ter of the household department. I am told the emperor likes her much and that the two live together. LT On the Way to the Palace. Before 1 go farther, let me tell you about my sudience with his majesty and describe how he looks. The, time fixed for the interview was 11 o'clock in the morning and 1 was instructed to appear in full evening dress. I understood that I must g0 in state, and our consul geperal kindly = — ONVERTING his engine whistle into a steam calilope and play- ing thereon such tunes as “Home, Sweet Home," “In the Sweet By and By,” “Wil You Remember Me?” “'Way Down on the Suwanee River” and many other simple ballads of long ago, Robert Freeman Ellington of Richmond, Va., en gineer on- the Southern rallway for more than twenty e desplte the fact that he Is stll a young man, wou for himself & pretty young wife, who first became attracted to him after hea ing his weirdly fantastic melodies as he drove his iron steed through the stillness of the night. Mrs. Ellington, who was Miss Marga- rette Angel, a belle of Manchester, across the James from Richmond, coyly confessed that she was in love with her husband's accomplishment before she loved the man. When she and Bilington first met It was after she had waited night after night to hear the uncaany plpings as they carried to the window of her room. Then began the courtship, during which Ellington played to her and her alone. She knew 1%-his engine—as many another knows a pet horse or dog and mever a night but 1% brought her messages from her sweet- . ‘mfl told n the langusge of music, when he himself, with hand on the throttle, was driving the engine on to Its destination. Eliington's accomplishment — probably possessed by few rallway engineers in the world—was first gained, according to his own story, when during the long stretches of & lonely ride he wanted companionship. He would try one tune and then another. Finally music came from the steam throat of the siren, first timidly, then gaining courage by his first faint success and be- coming more bold, the engineer would give louder blasts, sounding the entire scale of music and last of all blending his notes in such a manner as to form the tunes which captured first the ear and then the heart of his bride. Ellington s at a loss to ex- plain his success. He plays no other mu- sical instrument, though fond of music A glamour has been thrown around his playing because of the fact that it is against the rules of most rallways to sound other than stipulated signals upon the whistle of a locomotive. For many years all roads entering Richmond have vainly tried to capture the gullty man, but Ellington's brother engineers, knowing the romance and sympathizing with the sen- timent contalned therein, have continually come to his assistance, when detection seemed imminent, by imitating as nearly as they could his airs upon their own whistles. In this way rallway officials and detectives have been baffled. Now it s thought that the Southern, having heard the whole story, will, because of the winsomeness of the pretty little woman in the case, shut their officlal eyes to Elling- ton's practices and infractions of the rules and allow him to continue notifying his wife of his arrivals and departures.—Pitts. burg Dispatch. F gave me his chalr and the officlal bearers of our government. I started at 10 o'clock in the morning and in the bright sunshine rode through Seoul in tall silk hat, swallow- tall coat, white necktie and the other ap- purtenances which we at home wear only after 6 o'clock In the evening. I had to stoop low to get my tall hat Into the chalir, and ducked when the bear- ers raised me to their shoulders. The chalr was. not higger than a dry goods box, of atout four feet cubed, and It was about the same shape. It was open at the front, and the upper part of it was walled with glass so that I could look out as I rode. The chalr was upholstered in lllic satin and had a rved flannel cushion It was slung between two black poles about six- teen feet long, and at each end of these I had two bearers in livery to tote me along. At my side walked the keso, or guard of the consulate, dressed in a long blue gown, fat drawer-like trousers tied at the ankles, and a flat felt hat, upon which was a dingy American eagle. The bearers had blue gowns lined with red, and their white trousers completed the colors of the American flag. The sleeves of the keso were bordered with red, white and biue. Thus carried, I went through the forelgn section, between the high brick walls sur- rounding the compounds whero the mis- sionaries, consuls and other officlals live, on by the palace of the deposed emperor, who is now a prisoner under the guard of the Japanese, and Into the Japanese part of the city. I passed the finance depart- ment and finally came to the residence of Viscount Sone, the acting resident gen- eral and the real ruler of the country. After a short chat with him, it was ar- ranged that we were to meet within a half hour at the palace and my bearers were soon again on the way. We now crossed the whole of Sepul, going about two miles, from one side to the other. The way to the palace led up a wide street walled with squalld houses, roofed with thatch or black tiles and interspersed here and there with petty stores, where white- gowned, big-hatted merchants squatted among the goods and waited for customers. The street was filled with the traffic of everyday Korea, and my keso had to go in advance to clear the way. Bullock carts carrying great loads were turned aside, women with green coats over their heads rushed into the houses and even the jin- rikishas veered off to the right and to the left. We stopped a moment before we reached the red gate with its double roof of black tiles which forms the entrance to AT THE PALACE GATE. the imperial grounds. The soldiers there had been warned of our coming, and we soon went in and up to the palaces them- selves. These consist of a large number of low buildings. They are of only one story, but the floors are well up off the ground and they have arched roofs of heavy tiles which extend far out beyond the walls and make them quite picturesque I cannot tell you how many bulldings there are in this palace, but the number is enough to form commodious quirters for his majesty and hie retinue. When I say that he has two thousand servants and that the most of these eat and sleep Inside the walls, you will see that they must be extensiye. ‘ —e— Palaces 300 Years O1d. The bulldings of today are a strange combination of the old and the new. The rulers of Korea have had a palace on this spot for more than 300 years and the build- ings have been patched up and remodeled from time to time. Just now new struc tures are being erccted, and the audlence hall, In which his mafesty will recelve In the future, will be far different from that in which,I met him today. The waiting room, where I was recelved by the court chamberlalns in company with General Okesakl and a number of other Japanese officers, wis evidently the result of forelgn graft, and it made me think of the Penn- sylvania state house where the furniture was paid for by the Inch. Outwardly it was Korean, but the interlor was of the cheapest forelgn style as to its decoration and furnjture. It had green pine doors, such as one buys at a dollar each at our lumber yards, and the doorknobs were of the plain white porcelaln varfety. The paper on the walls and celling did not actually cost those who furnished it more than 15 cents a roll and the yellow velvet carpet on the floor would be high at §2 a yard. —— Talkk with the Emperor. In striking contrast with this plainness were the uniforms of the Korean officials and Japanese generals. All were of Bu- ropean cut, but they sparkled with gold lace and brass buttons. The master of ceremontes wore a gold-hilted sword at his side, and he had a black hat trimmed with ostrich feathers under his arm. The Japa- nese arfny officers were clad In fine cloth uniforms of a khaki color, but all wore decorations, according to rank and service, ranging In size from the dlameter of a red cent to that of a pint cup. When the time for my audience came the master of ceremonies took me through a long hall into the audience room proper. This was, I judge, about fifty feet wide and a hundred feet long. The emperor of Korea, several of his cabinet and Vis- count Sone stood at the opposite end of this room, facing the door. The emperor was In the center of the party, and accord- ing to etiquette I marched forward ten steps, and then bowed. 1 then went on until T reached his majesty, when I bowed agaln. To my surprise, the emperor bowed, 0, and held out his hand. I took it and we shook. 1 wish you could have felt that hand. It was as soft as cotton and warm and pleasant to touch. The man who had been recefved before me had merely bowed upon his reception and turned away. I supposed this was proper, and started to do llkewise; where- upon the emperor motioned me to stop, and the master of ceremonies sald that his majesty wished to speak to me. The emperor then asked how long I had been in the country and when I was golng away. He wanted to know whether I had had an audience with him before, and when I replied that I had met him four- teen years ago, at the beginning of the war between Japan and China, and diplo- matically added that his majesty looked as young today as he did then, he per- ceptibly smiled. This encouraged me to beg him to send m age through me to the United States. The master of cere monies pretended to submit this request, but whether he did so or not I do not know, as he spoke In Korean. At any rate, his majesty did not answer, but in reply sald that he was glad that I had come to Korea, and that he hoped I would have a pleasant tour. through Manchuria and China, where, he understood, I was golng. This was a signal for leaving, and 1 backed my way out, bowing batimes. —— ' How His Majesty Looks. As 1 stood before the emperor L had & chance to study him. He is not bad look- ing and appears tall in contrast to the Japanese generals about him. He has & large head, rather high over the eyes. He wears a black mustache, just large enough to enable it to be waxed, and his hair, strange to say, is cut short. His complex- fon is cream yellow, his eyes black, his helght five feet seven and his welght, I judge, about 170 pounds. When I saw him today he was clad In the uniferm of a Korean general, which is now cut foreign style, and the contrast of the whole audi- ence with that which I had with himself and the former emperor, his father, was First Church of Christ, Scientist, Nebraska City “‘Except the Lord (Love) bulld the house, they labor in vain that build it —Psalm 137 : L il sy LEVEN years ago a few adher- entes of Christian Sclence re- siding at Nebraska City organ- ized the First Church of Christ, C.“*D Sclentist, of that city. Since that time their number has in- creased to such an extent that it became necessary to procure permanent quarters. This was accomplished so quietly and har- moniously that people wonder how it came about. Sunday, May 3, services were held in the new church bullding, and the opening was attended by visitors from various parts of the state, a number attending from Omaha. The edifice s constructed of ce- ment block. The exterior is designed in classic style of architecture, the same be- Ing brought out in detall throughout the interlor. On elther side of the entrance are two large columns and two sets of triple doors In heavy plate glass give easy \access to the auditorium. A gallery at the front of the bullding provides space for two reading reoms beneath, and over the reader's desk, In letters of glit, is the foundation stone, 8o to speak, of the Chris- tlan Sclence falth—"God is Love.” The Interior, as well as the exterior, is finished. in up-to-date, modern style and the ediffce will compare favorably with bufldings of greater pretensions. The cost of the bullding will exceed $5,00. In giv- ing a brief description of the edifice and the throwing open of the doors to the pub- lic it is not out of place to quote the words of welcome to the citizenship of Nebraska City expressed by the reader as showing the gratitude of the congregation for its handsome new home, as follows: “It gives me great pleasure,” announced the reader, “on behalf of Its membership, to open the doors of this beautiful church edifice this morning to a truth-loving and a truth-seeking world. We acknowledge and are grateful for many helpful thoughts and deeds from those outside our own membership, and we realize that only through following the teachings of the Bible, as explamed In the Christian Sei- ence text book, led by divine Love, has this beautiful demonstration been made." This announcement was followed by read- ing & selection from the church manual en- titled “A Rule for Motives and Aots:"” “Neither animosity, nor mere personal at- tachment, should impel the motives or acts of the members of this church. In Solence, Divine Love alone governs man, and a Christlan Sclentist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness and forgive- ness. The members of tiffs church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counselling, influencing or be- ing influenced erroneously.” This concluded the unostentatious open- ing ceremony and the remainder of the time was taken up with the usual read- ings of Bible passages and their correlative passages from the denominational text book. The services are conducted by reuders, designated first and second. CHURCH EDIFICE AT NEBRASKA CITY WHOSE DOORS WERE THROWN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SUNDAY, MAY 2, 190, YOUNG EMPRESS OF KOREA. striking. It shows the changes which are golng on in Korea. My last audience was In the palace in which the deposed emperor is now living. The man who introduced me got down on his knees and crawled over the floor, bumping his head on the carpet when we entered the chamber. He tinued to crawl until he reached his majesty and then got up and bent half double, whispering my question to thé em- peror and in the same way conveying his answers to me. That interpreter was a noble Korean, dressed in Korcan d 8, with a horsehair hat on h head. The master of ceremonies who acted as inter- preter today stood straight up and looked the emperor in the cye. He wore Buro- pean clothes and was so dressed that he would not have appeared out of place at & diplomatic reception ut the White House, When I met the crown prince at my last audlence he wore a long gown of red silk, with a stiff hooplike belt running around his body, under the armpits. It was so large that it extended out six inches from the dress all around. This belt had deco- rations of jade and precious stones and it was a mark of high rank. His gown was high at the neck and embroidered with gold medallions big around as a tea plate. There was one of these on each of the shoulders and one each side at about the fifth rib. His feet were shod with heavy cloth boots and his head was cov- ered with a navy blue cap of horsehair net, which was at least five inohes high. This had no brim and it came well down over his forehead. Inside the cap I could see his topknot. His majesty then wore his bair long and put it up in Korean style on his crown. Today the barber keeps 1t cut to the length of two Inches or less, and the horsehair hat has disap- peared, while in place of the gown he wears a foreign dress. During my audlence in 18% this young man, who was then twenty-one, was sup- posed to be too holy to stand alone, and he had a eunuch on eacly side of him, who held him up by placing thelr hands under his arms while he talked. His father, who was then king of Korea, had the samo sort of support when I appeared before him, and at that time no prince of noble vauk walked without having servants on each eide to help him along. If he went on horseback thert was & man on each side of the pony to hold his legs in place and keep him from falling. These eunuchs were almost as gorgeously dressed as the crown prince. They wore hats and gowns and blg boots and had great gold embwoid- ered squares on their chests and backs. The highest of them had golden buttons behind thelr right ears, attached to their headgear, and they had long wings on each side of their caps, which stood out like ears, denoting that thelr owners were always listening for the commands of the king. There was nothing of the kind in our interview today, and the audience, all told, was not different from that of the principal courts of Europe, and the dress of the officlals and of his majesty was about the same. audience con- s Emperor and the Athletes. It seems to me that the emperor is much brighter today than when I saw him as crown prince. The Japanese officials tell me he appears to be waking up, and that he shows more and more ability trom day to day The Japanese are ruling the em- peror through Lis cabinet, but there are many papers ho has to sign and some doc- uments which require his official sanction. He has been taken out of the palace and has visited ons or two of the nearby towns. lle does some things which show the existence of humor in his makeup, and he s anxious to know what is going on in the country. The other day, for instance, there was an exhibition of athletic sports here in Seoul in which all the schoolboys took part. There were foot races and other contests, with appropriate prizes, and the people in general came out to see, About ten thousand were present. The contests created a great sensation and the emperor, hearing of them, ordered the prize winners to be brought to the palace to run before him. As they did so he was de- lighted and laughed and applauded. At the close of the races he ordered his high- est court officlals to come out and run & race among themselves. Many of these men are old fellows, accustomed to being held up by the arms, as I have described. Some had never done a stroke of work in thelr lives, and none had ever run be- fore. They tried to beg off, and one or two attempted to hide. They were all dragged out, hoWever, and made to run, while his majesty uproariously laughed. —d wa by New Palaces. After leaving his majesty 1 met the vice minister of the household department, who has charge of all the palaces of Seoul, and is practically the business manager and adviser of the emperor. We went together through the audience hall which 18 now being repaired, and afterward visited the museum which the Japanese have estab- lished in one of the old palace bulldings, and the zoological gardens, where his majesty has a tiger, a camel, and the be- gining of a collection of the Korean fauna, The audience hall is several hundred years old. It is one of the finest bulldings of Korea, but it was going to ruin when the Japanese took hold. They are now rebullds ing it and adding many improvements. Imagine & great temple with a double roof of heavy tiles, rising more than 100 feet above the ground. Let it have a ridge roof, curving after the old style of Korean archi- tecture, and decorate its many rafters with carvings painted blue and red. Let wide stone steps, beautifully carved, lead up to the stone platform and on into o hall, and you have the back of this structure. At the front and on the sides are long halls sur- rounding a court which -covers perhaps a quarter of an acre. These halls are being reconstructed, and they are to be used for the imperial receptions and dinners. The court 18 to have a fine garden, in which fountains will play. The interlor of the audience hall, which hds a floor about 100 feeta square, is being lald with mosalo flooring. It has a celllng wonderfully carved, which rises about seventy-five feet above the floor, being upheld by many red plllars, each as big around as a flour ‘barrel, but In one log as cut from the tree. The carvings and decorations were made by the Koreans of 20 years ago, but the floors are being put In by Japaness car- penters. When completed this structure wili be one of the finest audience halls of the world, FRANK G. CARPENTER. HEN his the telephone volce of a little girl greeted his ears. “Hello! ‘Yes," he ““Well, do you know anything about where butcher responded to bell the shrill Is this Mr. W—?" answered kindly grandpa’s liver is? We've looked every- where, but we can't find it.” bt Teacher—Johnny, where is the North Pole? Johany—Dunno. Teacher—You don't teaching? Johnny—Nope. If Peary there's no use of my trylng. know after all my can't find it “What Is a shephera?” of the juvenile class. The class falled to respond “Well,” continued the “suppos you were all lambs—thas is, little sheep— what would I be?" “A big sheep, foot of the class Little Eva—Johnny, strike the hour with. 8mall Johnoy—Why, bands, of course. asked the teacher teacher replied the boy at the what does the clock it strikes with its Fond Mother—Johnny, I told you that you might have a plece of cake, but I see you have taken two pleces. Why did you do that? Small Johuny—Well, mamma, I've been making belleve there was another little boy visiting me, so, of course, I had to give him & plece, too Small Tommy (after the slipper seance) ~Mamma, I'm glad I'm not a girl. Mdmma—WQy, Tommy? Small Tommy—'Cause I'd be ashamed to grow up and become a ehild beater. —- Small Boy—Papa, where does leather come from? Papa—From animals, my boy—thelr skins being tanned Bmall Boy—And does sole leather come from their souls, papa? Dorothy, aged 5 after watching her mother making a pencll sketch, sald: “Mamma, I know what drawing ls" “Well, what it it, dear?" “IU's just thinking, and then making & mark around the think.” 8mall Kenneth w versary of his birth. asked a nelghbor. ‘I'm 4, replied Kenneth of it. I was getting awfu 3 all the time.” celebrating the anni- How old are you “and I'm glad ly tired of being I 80 one day when his sister Eloise, told him a certain man who had 1l them was dead, he sald, dead?” After a few minutes’ hesitation, she sald, “To be dead, well—that's when you are all w aged &, ed near What 1s it to be