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The Commoner.
3
JANUARY 20, 1908
of the smaller ones, in all parts of the islands;
have mingled in the crowds that assembled at
Tokio and at Yokohama at the time of the re
ception to Togo and during the naval review;
have ridden through the streets in day time and
at night; and have walked when the entire street
was a mass of humanity. I have not seen one
drunken- native or witnessed a fight or alterca
tion of any kind. This is the more remarkable
when it is remembered that these have been gala
days when the entire population turned out to
display its patriotism and to enjoy a vacation.
The Japanese house deserves a somewhat
extended description. It is built of wood, is
one story in height, unpainted and has a thatched
or a tile roof. The. thatched ropf is cheaper, but
far less durable. Some of the temples and
palaces have a roof constructed like a thatched
roof in which the bark of the arbor vita is used
in place of grass or straw. These roofs are
often a foot thick and are quite imposing. In
cities most buildings are roofed with tile of a
pattern which has been used for hundreds of
years. Shingles are sometimes used on newer
' structures, but they aro not nearly so large as
( our shingles, and instead of being fastened with
1 nails, are held in place by wire. On the business
streets the houses are generally two stories, the
merchant living above the store. The public
buildings are now being constructed of brick and
stone and modeled after the buildings of America
and Europe. But returning to the native archi
tecture the house is really little more than a
frame, for the dividing walls are sliding screens,
and the outside walls are taken out. during the
day. The rooms open into each other, the hall
way extending around the outside instead of go
ing through the center. Frail sliding partitions
covered with paper separate the rooms from the
hall, glass being almost unknown. The floor is
covered with a heavy matting two inches thick,
and as these mats are of uniform size, six. feet
by three, the rooms are made to fit the mats,
twelve feet square being the common size. As
the walls of the room are not stationary, there
is no place for the hanging of pictures, although
the sliding walls are' often richly decorated.
Such pictures as the house contains are painted
on silk or .paper and are rolled up when not on
exhibition. At one end of the room used for
company there is generally a raised platform
upon, which a pot of flowers or other ornament
is placed, and above this there are one or two
shelves, the upper one being inclosed in -sliding
doors. There are no bedsteads, the beds being
made upon the flo6r and rolled up during the
day. There are no tables or chairs. There is
usually a diminutive desk about a foot high upon
which writing material is placed. The writing
is done with a brush and the writing case or
box containing the brush, ink, etc., has furnished
the lacquer industry with one of the most popu
lar articles for ornamentation. The people sit
upon cushions upon the floor and their meals are
served upon trays.
Japanese food is bo different from American
food that it takes the visitor some time to ac
quire a fondness for it, more time than the tourist
usually has at his disposal. With the masses
yice is the staple article of diet, and it is the
most palatable native dish that the foreigner
finds here. The white .rice raised in Japan is
superior in quality to some of the rice raised in
China, and the farmers are often compelled to
sell -good, rice and buy the poorer quality. Millet,
which is even cheaper, is used as a substitute
for rice.
As might be expected in a seagirt land, fish,
lobster, crab, shrimp, etc., take the place of meat,
the fish being often served raw. As a matter of
fact, it is sometimes brought to the table alive
and carved in the presence of the guests. Sweet
potatoes, pickled radishes, mushrooms, sea weed,
barley and fruit give variety to the diet. The
radishes are white and enormous in size. I saw
some which were two feet long and two and a
half inches in diameter. Another variety is
conical in form and six or eight inches in diam
eter. I heard of a kind of turnip which grows
bo large that two of them make a load for the
small Japanese horses. The chicken is found
quite generally throughout the country, but is
small like the fighting breeds or the Leghorns.
Ducks, also, are plentiful. Milk is seldom used
except in case of sickness and butter is almost
unknown among the masses.
But the subject of food led me away from
the house. No description would be complete
which did not mention the little gate through
which the tiny door yard is entered; the low
doorway upon which the foreigner constantly
bumps his head, and the little garden at the
rear of the houso wth its fish pond, Its miniature
mountains, itsclimbing vines and fragrant flowers.
The dwarf trees are cultivated hero, and they aro
a delight to the eye; gnarled and knotted pines
two feet high and thirty or forty years old aro
not uncommon. Little maple trees are seen hero
fifty years old and looking all of their ago, but
only twelve inches in height. Wo saw a collec
tion of these dwarf trees several hundred in
number, and one could almost imagine hiiriself
transported to .the home of the brownies. Some
of these trees bear fruit ludicrously large for the
size of the tree. The houses aro heated by char
coal fires in open urns or braziers, but an Amer
ican would not bo satisfied with the amount of
heat supplied. These braziers are moved about
the room as convenience requires and supply heat
for the inevitable tea.
But I have reached the limit of this article
and must defer until the next a description of the
Japanese customs as we found them in the Japa
nese homes which we were privileged to visit.
Copyright.
JJJ
THE BRACKETT RESOLUTION
Recent revelations concerning Senator Chaun
cey M. Depew were so serious that it seemed nec
essary for that gentleman to sever his connection
with a large number of commercial concerns. But
when a republican member of the New York state
senate introduced a resolution calling for Mr.
Depew's retirement from the United States sen
ate, that resolution was defeated by a vote of
thirty-four to one the introducer of the resolu
tion being the only one to cast the favorablo
vote.
Democratic members declined to vote on tin?
ground that, having had nothing to do with the
election of Mr. Depew they should not participate
in the recall. Men will differ upon this proposi
tion. The Commoner believes that Senator De
pew has given such offense that the democratic
members of the New York state senate should
not have hesitated to record their votes in favor
of this resolution.
It is not a sham battle in which the people
of the United States are now engaged. Party
lines are growing dimmer and dimmer and great
moral questions push themselves to the front.
Mr. Brackett, the republican, was eminently cor
rect when he said that his resolution demanding
the resignation of Chauncey M. Depew involved
a "moral issue." Senator Grady, the democrat,
was wholly wrong when he said that "this is
a purely personal republican question' Of
course, the votes of the democratic members
would not have changed the result, but democrats
generally will regret that the democratic members
of the Now York state senate failed to placo
themselves on record in favor of Senator Brack
ett's resolution.
Senator Grady played in the basement of
politics when, in referring to Senator Brackett's
patriotic resolution, he said that it was "a re
publican affair," and sought to lower it to the
level of a mere quarrel. Mr. Brackett certainly
displayed great courage; he certainly made a
brave fight and men of all political parties will
give him credit. American public sentiment is
hostile to those who betray public trust, and it
is, indeed, regrettable that that sentiment has
not, so far, been able to make itself as clearly
felt as the sentiment against wrong-doing in com
mercial circles. It is regrettable that the public
sentiment with respect to wrong-doing oh the
part of public officials is not so manifested as
to drive from public office men who offend against
the patriotism and integrity of the country.
JJJ
MAYOR DUNNE'S GOOD FIGHT
Mayor Dunne, of Chicago, delivered at Den
ver, Colo., an address which was substantially
the same as that delivered in his name at La
fayette, Ind. In these speeches Mayor Dunne
said, in effect, that the Chicago city council was
under the influence of the traction companies.
Upon Mayor Dunne's return from Denver the
members of the city council displayed their in
dignation in the presence of the mayor. In Chi
cago the mayor presides at the city council's
meetings and the aldermen demanded to know
if the mayor had been correctly quoted by the
newspapers. Mayor Dunne evidently had no
apology to make. He bluntly told the aldermen
that he had been correctly quoted, and he reiter
ated that although the people of Chicago had re
peatedly declared in favor of municipal owner
ship and against an extension of franchise for
traction companies the aldermen had as repeat
edly Ignored these edicts.
These Chicago aldermen pretended that they
were greatly offended and they did not mince
words in expressing their opinion of Chicago's
chief executive. But Mayor Dunne stood as faith
fully by his guns in the presence of these indig
nant aldermen as ho has by the pledges ho made
totho people.
Wo aro told by Chicago newspapers that the
galleries were crowded and it is a good slgu that
during the passage of all these heated words the
galleries were on tho side of the mayor. It Is an
old trick for men who havo yloldod to corporation
blandishments to protend great Indignation when
ever an honest champion of public Interests
speaks plainly, and for a tlmo such expressions
of indignation may avail these corporation con
trolled aldermen. But sooner or latGr tho people
of Chicago will rlso in their might and give to
their faithful mayor tho support and encourage
ment which all too often Is withhold from honest
public officials. And then men with whom fests
tho power of carrying out tho will of tho people
will not daro to Interfere with tho popular decree.
Mayor Dunne has made a gallant fight, and
it is strange that while every intelligent man
knows he is doing his duty as ho reads It in tho
election returns, the Hearst newspapers aro the
only dally publications upon whoso support he
has so far been able to depend. It Is no credit
to journalism that outside of tho Hearst news
papers tho dally press of Chicago has made no
effort to support Mayor Dunne, but on the con
trary has done everything In its power to em
barrass him and hinder him. These are things,
however, to be expected by men who move ser
iously in an effort to bring about neoded though
radical reform. Mayor Dunne has made a good
fight and In all tho history of this country no one
has done more than he has done by way of in
spiring those who under great disadvantages wage
battle for the public Interests.
JJJ
A PERTINENT SUGGESTION
The New York American makes somo very
pertinent suggestions to Mrr Henry H. Rogers,
who is just now showing a disposition to laugh
at the courts. The American points out to Mr.
Rogers Jthat he owes a great deal to the courts,
and is profiting, perhaps, moro than any other
man by the respect the people have for our
legal institutions. His example of contempt is
not a good ono, for if the people should suddenly
take a notion to treat tho courts and tha law
as Mr. Rogers Is treating them, pray what would
become of Mr. Rogers and his elaborate system
for the exploitation of the people. Mr. Rogers
is comparatively secure in his position now bo
cause the people have respect for the courts and
for the law. But if they lose that respect and
follow the example of Mr. Rogers they might de
cide to seize all that Mr. Rogers has accumulated
and snap their fingers at the courts which now
protect him. Mr. Rogers should think for a while
on what might happen to him and his millions if
he should finally succeed in destroying public
respect for the law Mr. Rogers is treading on
dangerous ground.
JJJ
FEARFULLY CONSERVATIVE
New York dispatches say that Attorney Gen
eral Mayer of New York, has consented to post
pone any proposed legal action he might have in
mind against tho New York Insurance companies
whose representatives have notoriously violated
the law. It is explained that the attorney general
having conferred with Governor Higgins has con
cluded to await the reforms alleged to have been
set on foot by the reorganizes of these insurance
companies. , , ,
Is it not strange that the authorities display
so much patience in the presence of violations of
law by powerful men? Even District Attorney
Jerome, who was elected as a reformer, has so
far .made no serious move against these Insurance
magnates who have been exposed as common em
bezzlers. It will occur to a great many people
that these officials charged with the enforcement
of the law are altogether too conservative when
ever it is suggested that powerful and influential
offenders be called to account.
JJJ
REVISION
It is an old-time republican cry that "the
tariff will bo revised by its friends." Represent
ative McCall of Massachusetts a republican, hit
the nail on the head when in referring to this
cry he said: "If the tariff can not be revised when
two-thirds of the membership of both houses is
republican, when is revision to come?"
Revision, through the republican party, is to
come whenever the beneficiaries of a high pro
tective tariff are willing to surrender the enor
mous advantages they possess; and this surrender
will be' made whenever human selfishness is de
stroyed.
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