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Show KOREAN DISCONTENT. The Koreans continuo to appeal to tho world against Japan. They insist that Japan is oppressing them, is setting aside their dynasty, and, in effect, is so shaping .matters as to mako Korea a province of the Island Empire, and they remonstrate against it. And very much in the way of pathetic appeal goes with this remonstranco ' of the Koreans. It is not easy to see, however, why tho world should bother much about Korea. For ages Korea has been impoverished, im-poverished, has been the prey of scandalous, scan-dalous, ruthlc6a robbery on the part of its native rulers and its native clan chiefs. Tho people have been kept in abjoct poverty and distress. Cruelty, outrage, extortion, and all forms of villainy and official oppression have been put in force against tho people. It Is natural onough that this hercdi-tary hercdi-tary villainy in official position and in clan headship should mako an outcry at boing deprived of great hereditary privileges- of robbery, -pillage, outrage, and murder. Undoubtedly these nativo authorities would keep Korea for sue-coeding sue-coeding centuries in precisely the same wretched condition in which it has been kept for centuries past, if they could. Wo say ngain, that Korea under their administration and manngomcnt would continuo indefinitely, wretchedly poor, with the peoplo serviceable only to tho brigand officials who use them for their vile purposes of outrngo and extortion. .Japan comes in, undertakes to inau-guruto inau-guruto a now era and lo make of tho Koreans a redeemed and uplifted people. peo-ple. "Wo do not believe that anything has been honrd from the Korean peoplo at largo on this matter. Wo beliove that the nntivc chiefs who tare making this outcry against Japan would be just as eager to suppress any native sentiment senti-ment or native expression among the lower classes the masses of the population popu-lation as they are to oppose Japan's taking charge of tho administration. It is very likely, too, thai, tho Koreans, being ignorant, fanntical, prejudiced, would en niasso oppose nn3' change. It invariably happens that peoples who have been ground down, oppressed, and abused for ages, look upon every change with suspicion and as probably a now dovicc to further oppress and wrong them. The experience of tho ages with thorn always has boon that any chango is for the worse. Therefore, There-fore, they dread it, protest against it, and do everything to prevent it. But when they fully sense Ihc proposition, pro-position, as no doubt they will in time, that tho .lapauese usurpation, so-called, will emancipalo them, will develop and enrich their country, and will mako of them a self-respecting and comparatively comparative-ly independent people, they will be the first to rccognizo tho benefits con- luiri'u. oapan win no no light taskmaster, task-master, to bo sure. But at least Japan or tho Japanese cannot possibly bo worse than tho native Korean officials, and they will develop the country, ns the unlive rulers would not. It is altogether al-together likely that the Kore.-ins will be helped, and that tho masses will faro better under tho Japanese than under their own native rulers. Tho outcries come, of course, from these native rulers, rul-ers, and not from anybody else. They are being doposed. set nsidc. and superseded. su-perseded. Unquestionably any fair government gov-ernment would find it necessary to do this, because tho nativo rulers arc as used to rapine, rapneity, and dishonesty dishon-esty as tho sparks to fly upward. Tt is natural to them; they know nothing else and can conceive of no other form of government than ono of give and take; that: is to say, tho lower classes give and they take. Neither in Korea nor in China can there be any permanent perma-nent improvement until the old order is absolutely set aside. And tho Japn-ncso Japn-ncso in Korea aro setting aside that old order of personal graft and pillage. That is all there is to it, and that is what is making the uproar in and from Korea. |