763.72119/4013
The Consul General at Seoul (Bergholz) to the Acting Secretary of
State
Seoul, January 29,
1919.
[Received March
6.]
No. 5
Sir: Referring to despatches Nos. 325 and 329,
dated January 10 and 17, 1919, respectively, from Mr. Consul
Curtice,61
relative to the reported agitation of certain Koreans in the United
States, having in view the reestablishment of the independence of Korea,
and quoting the statement of Dr. Ramakichi Nakajima, professor at the
Imperial University at Tokyo, appearing in the Japan
Advertiser of January 7, 1919, that “there can be little doubt
that American missionaries are behind the independence movement of of
the Koreans I now have the honor to inform the Department that on the
24th instant I addressed a communication to the Secretaries of the
several Mission Stations in Chosen, a copy of which is an enclosure, to
which were attached, for their guidance and that of the members of the
Stations, copies of a circular letter, sent in 1897, at the instance of
the Department, by the Minister Resident and Consul General at Seoul to
all Americans in Korea, enjoining upon them the necessity of
scrupulously abstaining from participating in the domestic affairs of
the country.
Although I fully believe our missionaries in Chosen are not in sympathy
with the movement referred to, I nevertheless deemed it prudent, rather
for the benefit of the younger than the older missionaries, to bring to
their notice the views of the Department, so clearly expressed in its
instruction to Minister Sill, as to the necessity of their holding
themselves wholly aloof from all political questions.
The death of the ex-Emperor, the last independent ruler of Korea, has
made a profound impression among the people, and has revived a strong
feeling of loyalty toward the Royal House.
A copy of this despatch has been forwarded to the Embassy at Tokyo.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The Consul General at Seoul (Bergholz) to the Secretaries of the
American Mission Stations in Korea
Sir: In connection with the action of
certain Koreans in the United States in presenting to Congress a
petition begging the intervention
[Page 459]
of our Government in reestablishing the
independence of Korea, the Japan Advertiser,
in its issue of January 7, 1919, published what purports to be an
interview with Dr. Ramakichi Nakajima, a professor at the Imperial
University, in which Dr. Nakajima is quoted as saying that:
“There can be little doubt that the American missionaries are
behind the independence movement of the Koreans.”
Although I am convinced that our missionaries now in Chosen have held
themselves aloof from the movement referred to I am, nevertheless,
sending you, for the guidance of the members of your Mission
Station, copies of a circular letter addressed, at the instance of
the Department of State, by the American Minister Resident and
Consul General at Seoul, on May 11, 1897, to all Americans in Korea,
enjoining upon them the necessity of scrupulously abstaining from
participating in the domestic affairs of the country.
Very respectfully yours,
[Subenclosure]
The Minister in Korea (Sill) to American Residents in
Korea
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of State
I am required to make publicly known to each and every citizen of
the United States sojourning or being temporarily or permanently in
Korea, the repeatedly expressed view of the Government of the United
States that it behooves loyal citizens of the United States in any
foreign country whatsoever to observe the same scrupulous abstention
from participating in the domestic concerns thereof which is
internationally incumbent upon his Government. They should strictly
refrain from any expression of opinion or from giving advice
concerning the internal management of the country, or from any
intermeddling in its political questions. If they do so, it is at
their own risk and peril. Neither the Representative of this
Government in the country of their sojourn, nor the Government of
the United States itself, can approve of any such action on their
part, and should they disregard this advice it may perhaps not be
found practicable to adequately protect them from their own
consequences. Good American citizens, quitting their own land and
resorting to another, can best display their devotion to the country
of their allegiance and best justify a claim to its continued and
efficient protection while in foreign parts, by confining themselves
to their legitimate avocations, whether missionary work, or teaching
in schools, or attending the sick, or other calling or business for
which they resort to a foreign country.
I am [etc.]
