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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1906)
&K 3- frl$- y. t s.H- iv j. V. J s. "" 1 N X ?, Commoner, WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR Vol. 6. No. 6 Lincoln, Nebraska, February 23, 1906 Whole Number 266 fnwEWWPT The CONTENTS THE COMMONER'S F1QHT IS YOUR FIGHT Mb. Bryan's Lettex. . - Chinese Exclusion - vEneorce It Their''Pateon Saint , . ''.- Deep Water .' " New Yobk Demockats;v -- "Put It Back" .''-V Not so Strange ;' : k' Caucus and Machine Washington City Letter. ""' comment on current topics .' - Home Department ' Whether Common or not -News of the Week COMMONER DAY SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 The Commoner feels that it owes to its read ers an apology lor having devoted in recent is sues so much space to affairs directly relating to The Commoner itself. But it feels that "the end justifies., the means." GenerakJames.,B, &&lQttyfy;Bjginuf --rf Kof'4-lvA-rtniioo , nf yirmnornnv .WOUlrt.-. D0Wu.a-m f(lsrl' cucuir vanced by a material increase in The Commoner's circulation, and he therefore suggested that a certain day he set aside as "Commoner Day," on which day an extraordinary effort might he made by Commoner readers to increase the circulation of this publication. Complying with that suggestion, Saturday, February 24, was designated as "Commoner Day." On that day any one may obtain one year's sub scription to The Commoner for 60 cents, and Com moner readers everywhere are nsKed to devote at least "a portion of that day to. the effort to increase The , Commoner's circulation. While The Commoner was reluctant to de vote a considerable portion of its space to any thing that might be regarded as "a boom" for The Commoner, so many people nave expressed their appreciation of The Commoner's' efforts and their desire for an organized movement to in crease its circulation that General Weaver's sug gestion was acted upon and a special day was set aside for the co-operation of democratB who be lieve that it would be advantageous to the party and to -the country if The Commoner's circulation could be materially increased. We beg, therefore, that Commoner readers will understand that the considerate space which has recently been given toward "booming" this publication has been so used only because it was belieyed that with thg enlarged circulation The Commoner would be able to render greater serv ice to the principles which it nas the honor to defend. We take it for granted that this explanation is unnecessary to those who appreciate the diffi culties under which the advocates of democracy labor in the effort to spread their principles be fore the public. Those who believe that The Commoner is doing good work must be, impressed with the idea that Tho Commoner's circulation should be materially increased by way of prepara tion for the coming congressional campaign. On "Commoner Day," Saturday, February 24, the subscription to The Commoner will be 60 . cents a sum as nearly at cost as it is possible to estimate. v xsT.?hfiHr : ' ::; fc vV M ' ' - . p- 'sOSSaJS. Seize the Towllne and help get the artillery In position for the coming battle! - i . . mi r .... , ... ., ,.,-,,. -,, -,,. 1 r f JapanHer Educational System And Her Religions MR. BRYAN'S SIXTH LETTER Back of Japan's astonishing progress along material lines lies her amazing educational devel opment. Fifty years ago but few of her people could read or write, now considerably less than ten per cent would be classed as Illiterate. It is difficult to conceive of such a transformation taking place almost within a generation. The prompt adoption of western methods and the rapid assimilation of western Ideas give in dubitable proof of the pre-existence of a vital na tional germ. A pebble dropped into soil, how ever rich, and cultivated no matter how care fully gives back no response to tne rays of the springtime sun. Only the seed which has life within can be awakened and developed by light and warmth and care. Japan nad within her thq vital spark, and when the winter of her isola tion was passed, her latent energies burst forth into strong and sturdy growth. Her sons, ambitious to know the world, scat tered themselves throughout Europe and America and having laden themselves with new ideas re turned like bees to the hive. In this way Japan constantly gained from every quarter and her educational system is modeled alter the best that the ages have produced.. She has her pri mary schools for boys and girls, attendance be ing compulsory, and below these In many places there are kindergarten schools. The middle schools in which the boys and girls are sepa rated take up the course of instruction where the primary schools leave off. Then follow the universities, of which there are seven under the control of the government. Besides these there are, in the cities institutions known as higher commercial schools which com bine general instruction with such special studies as are taught in our commercial colleges. There are also a number of normal schools for the training of teachers. In addition xo the schools and colleges established and conducted by tho government, there are a number founded by in dividuals and societies. The largest of these is Waseda college, founded and still maintained by Count Okuma, the leader of the progressive party. It is adjoining tho homo of the count and is built upon land which he donated. Dr. Hatoyama, at one-time speaker of the national house of representatives, who holds a degree from Yale college, is the official head of this Institu tion; in all of Its departments it has some five thousand students. I have already referred in a former article to the Keio Gijuku, the college founded by Mr. Fukuzawa. The attendance here is not so large 'as at Waseda, but the Institution has had an illustrious career and exerts a wide influence upon the country. I visited both of these colleges and never addressed more attentive or respon sive audiences. As English is taught In all the middle schools, colleges and universities, tho students are able to follow a speech in that lang uage without an Interpreter. The state university at Tokyo includes six de partments, law, medicine and. engineering courses being provided as well as courses in literature, science and agriculture. The total number of students enrolled at this university is about thirty five hundred. The national university at Kyoto has three faculties, law, . medicine and science, the last named including engineering; the attend ance at this university Is between six and seven hundred. In the states of Choshu and Satsuraa i J i h i 1 i fl jL -Jy-X .MHgAWW . . . X- . - 'fc.fx-'WJj .jt1-.-, jj v-