,), nwjHvf '
w- '
? ' ''''''!!' -'-'
i -
. " I'. A J . .U,
IxSSmaZESJwwwwfw'
i
T4'!1
K
I
I
n
i
;
2
utitutlonal government, for the emperor volun
tarily promised IiIb people a constitution, a prom
Jao which was not finally fulfilled until 188!).
The fervor of patriotism that restored to tin
emperor" his original authority wrought wondcrj
in .Japan. Tho feudal lords came forward anfl
voluntarily turned their vast estates oyer to tM
emperor and relinquished tlio authority w
they had exorcised over their tenants; then thcb
Joinod with the Samurai (their formor retainer
in supporting the emporor in abolishing all Bocial
distinctions. From that day to this the country
has grown more and more democratic, the reforms
working from the upper classes down.
in H89 the constitution promised by the em
poror was promulgated. It was prepared largcl
Dy Marquis Ito who visited Germany and modeled
tho document after the Prussian constitution.
Tho legislative power is vested in a diet consist
ing of two houses, one resembling the English
house" of lords and tho othor resembling our
house of representatives. The upper house is com
posed of tho princes of tho royal blood, mar
quises, (these sit by vlrtuo of their rank) counts,
viscounts and barons, selected from among their
respective classes, men of erudition or distin
guished service appointed by the emperor, and
ono representative from each perfecture or state
selected by tlio highest tax payers. The mem
bers of tho diet, except those who sit by virtue
of their rank, receive two thousand yen (one
thousand dollars) per year. Tho members of the
house of representatives are divided among tho
slaj.es in proportion to tho number of franchiso
holders; last year they numbered threo hundred
and twenty-threo and were voted for by seven
hundred and fifty-seven thousand franchiso hold
ers. These franchise holders numbored less than
ton per cont of the men of voting ago, there
being a property qualification which excludes
from suffrago more than nine-tenths of the adult
males.
The emporor appoints tho governors of tho
various states, and these need not bo selected
from tho states over which thoy preside. The
emperor lias the right to convoke and prorogue
the diet and to dissolvo the house of representa
tives; ho also has tho right to issue urgency ordi
nances when the diet is not in session, the same
to be subinittod for approval to the next session.
Tho constitution contains, a bill of rights.
Among other rights the Japanese subjects shall
ohjoy freedom of religious belief "within limits
not prejudicial to peaco and order and not antago
nistic to their duties as subjects;" and "within tlio
limits of law" they shall enjoy "the liberty o
speech, writing, publication, public meeting and
association." After the Tokyo riots which fol
lowed tho announcement of the treaty with Rus
sia an urgency ordinance was issued restraining
the press and certain newspapers were suspended
under this ordinance, but It is probable that this
urgency ordinance will bo vigorously discussed
at tho coming session of the diet.
i?ie ?,mi)e!:0!,1 Is assisted in the discharge of
Z p: as? stoM
bodies are elective and to the city coincU is Ten
trusted the selection of the mayor. S Gn
erty, aHhough thiols avolled ' o "J?, t b'v
son, oven thou the' & VXX
Through the courtesv of TTnn v w r
former consul general vS, , ' McIvor
ask ss i3? V - &
promulgation of the nromhin n ,?fk,.nB for the
memorial being disrolC pfi nsUtlltIou' Their
offices and hmtxTtwam'off1?"''
The Commoner,
of constitutional government. Marquis Ito is no
the leader of the liberal party which had om
hundred and thirty members in the house of rep
resenlativcs in 1904.
In 1882 Count Okuma organized the progres
sive party which had last year a membership oi
ninety In the house of representatives. This I.
known as the party of the opposition, MarquU
lto's party being the power behind the throne
Thero is not as much difference between the plat
forms of these parties as between the platforms
of the two leading parties of our country, but ol
the two Count Okuma's party is tho more radl
eal. The count himself is a born leader and
everts a large influence upon the politics of his
country. When premier some years ago he losv
a leg by the explosion of a bomb, thrown with,
murderous intent by a political opponent, but h
did not diminish his zeal in the prosecution of ro
forms. The fact that there were in the last diet
ono hundred and thirty who styled themselvea
independents shows that there is a considerable
body to which the opposition party can appeal
when the minister makes an unpopular move
Besides the party organizations there are a
number of societies formed for the study of po
litical questions. There are economic associa
tions in a number of the cities composed of the
leading business and professional men. I met
the members of these societies at Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya and was impressed with the atten
tion that they are giving to economic problems.
They have in Tokyo another organization called
the Political Economy association which deals
more directly with matters of government. The
society formed by the men who were educated
in America, known as the Friends of America ..
(Baron Kaneko is on of the leading members)
takes a deep interest in all matters relating to
government and political economy.
The leading political question in Japan to
day, insofar as it affects domestic affairs, is
whether the cabinet shall be selected by the em
peror regardless of the prevailing sentiment in
the house or be made to conform to the will
of the people as expressed through their rep
resentatives. At present the emperor's coun- -cilors
are chosen at his own discretion and the
states of Satsuma and Choshu have had a con.
trolling influence in the selection of the em
peror's adyisors. The democratic sentiment of
the country is at this time crystallizing in favor
of the demand that the emperor take -for his
premier the leader of the popular party, as the
king of England does. However much this re
form may be delayed by circumstances, it is
bound to come if Japan is to recognize the right
ot the people to govern themselves.
1.iIn,.the cities Banitation furnishes a' most
difficult problem. At present there is little
sewage, although there is a pressing need for it.
In the Industrial development of Japan the
people must meet the problem of child labor and
the length of the working day. Women now
work twelve hours in the factory and one cannot
S?lnliemTan(1 the children at t0 without asking
whether Japan can afford to impair the strength
of the next generation for any advantage which
Tly d?riVGd from Buch lonS hrs and such
youthful labor. This subject is likely to be
brought before the next session of the diet
,. sme Veforma JaPan has moved 'more
rapidly Jhan the United States. Wherever she
has waterworks in her cities, they are ownld and
operated by the municipalities.. She also has L
telegraph system and a telephone system operated
by the national government. Telegrams are sent
at the same rates to all parts of the empire and
the service is satisfactory. ' anu
The telephone service Is nnf en o-,i
while it is all right as far as it goes Se' sv
tern is not extended as raDidlv i thk ,Ef y ,"
requires. In Tokyo, for ?nstan?J it ma?d
want to install telephones hav I'o wal? uX
someone discontinues his phone or is wUHng to
ne I1' an? a honus is often demanded J If the
local telephones were owned by the city and onW
grn
auiclUy to tiie naeXr "
The Japanese governmpnf nio
cents and u,o th rfc ta W(SEtff?h ahM two
thli-d-olnss) about ono fnt iLn.,the trnvel
per cent is J, ret urn tlttf f fwent5r
of from twenty to thirtv ,..' n le""ction
Hon tickets, and rofflon nf?nt on, com"'ta
olshty per cent onn,fJm,1miy-avo '
. notion ;;ss S;l0
: I VOLUME 6, NUMBEH 7
advantage in our coiintiiyr The government road
la all, or nearly all, double traclc 'and has the
latest safeguards for the protection of passengers
at depots. The Japanese are much glventp meet
ing friends when they arrive and' escorting them
to the train when they leave, and this custom has
led to the sale of pmtform tickets for one cont
(in our money.)
Japan has two educational ploblems: First,
the increase in the per centage of those goiLg
from the primary to the middle schools, und
second,, the cultivation of an ideal which vill con
nect a respect for manual labor with Intellectual
advancement. Today a large majority of he
people work with their hands and "at labor which
forbids the wearing of good clothes. It Is proba
ble that the education of the masses will show
itself to some extent in improved methods and in
the more extensive' use of animals and machinery,
hue there must remain a large amount of work
which requires daily contact with the soil. The
rice crop grows in the mud and cannot be har
vested by machinery; the fields too are so small
that they cannot well be cultivated with the aid
of animals. The farmers' boys and girls are now
going to school and gradually adopting the Eu
ropean dress. Will they be content to return to
the paddy fields when they have' finished their
education? Some of the young men pull 'rikishas
in the daytime in order to earn money to attend
school at night; will their learning make them
unwilling to do hand, work? Or will they sub
stituteUhe cab for the 'rikisha?
Japan faces the educational problem that
confronts the civilized- world, viz., .how to put
behind a trained, mind an ideal which will make
the educated citizen anxious to do service rather
than to be waited upon. Tolstoy's solution of the
problem is "bread labor," that Is, physicial toil
sufficient to produce what one eats. This he be
lieves will teach respect for labor and by dignify
ing it unite all parts of society in sympathetic co
operation. Has ajiy better solution been pro
posed? ;
With a broader educational foundation Japan
will find it necessary to extend the suffrage. At
present the right to vote is determined by a strict
property qualification, but there " is already an
urgent demand for the reduction of the tax quali
fication and it will, not be long before .a Jargo
m2n wiU be made to the Qting, population.
The most serious national problem,-With which
Japan has to deal is that imposed upon her by
the attempt to extend tho sphere of her political
influence toTFormosa on the southwest and Korea
on the northwest. The people of Formosa do not
welcome Japanese sovereignty and an army of
some six or seven thousand is kept on that
island to support Japanese authority.
UtiKorua pJesents a still more delicate and
perplexing situation. For more than a thousand
years a feud has existed between Japan and Korea
and two attempts have been made by the-former
to invade the latter, the last about three hun
dred years ago At that time a number of cap
tives were carried back to Kogoshtma vhero they,
whnt ?m?ntl0I;edt Educed the art of making
Thi V?3 t ?eee? mown as Satsuma ware.
LPViniatithe Ascendants of these captives
tniS i?i CJ?y. by themselves ,for three cen
? aufflSLK 'ntei,ma?S with the Japanese
' wS 1 7M??cf f the fellns entertained
toward them by their captors.
fri-Gdi5g??te thePlatter Japan has been on
with RuJr J7ar8lrfir8t with ChIna and then
cause of S SSI Kr?a' and ifc was also the
cause of one civil war in Japan. Having driven
diien Ssifnnf 'f yearS aso and no SSS
a DpSo?nt '; 8l!S Is undertaking to exercise
a protectorate over the country. When it l? vp
membered that. Korea Is separated "from both
nation? have fni V .ccmP"8h what other
powe? wlthSi? f, L du' V155" exerise a-colonial
Fng herself? 8ing lfc aud wIthout Impoverish-
' -- ' , - - ' ' '
Copyright. -'";.';- '
. A-
JJJ.,
"0"'fi
...'
W-
,c WHAT ABOUT THE MERGER?- '
-A few months-ago the administration orcahs'
wonderffrl10"1'1811 f,trlraPets . toWns Tl
r? ,victory won for tho people by the
president in the Northern Securities case- I?
we remember rightly we were told hat S wa"
a victory secondohlyto Blenheim and WaterToo
Jut how havethe people been benefited by the
p t
J
u
w
J.v;tp
