The Omaha Illustrated Bee
NUMBER
339.
Entered Second Class at Omaha Fostoffice Published "Weekly by The Bee Publishing Co. Subscription, $2.50 Per Year.
FEBRUARY 25, 190G.
AROUND THE WORLD WITH WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
Educational and Political Institutions of Japan as Developed Since the Promulgation of the Constitution by the Emperor Seventeen Years ago in Fulfillment of a Promise Made When Shogunate Was Overthrown
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THE government of Japan Is a constitutional monarchy In
which the emperor not only claims to rule by divine rlpht
but by right of divine birth. He Is described as heaven
born, and according to the accepted history there has been
no break In the family line for 2,500 years. Among no people on
earth has there ever been more universal respect shown, or implicit
obedience yielded to the reigning family. There never has been a
revolt of any consequence against the emperor, although there have
been numerous conflicts between the shoguns. . For about 1,200
years, from C70 to 1868, the shoguns were, however, the actual
rulers, and while they never questioned the sovereignty of the em
peror, they did not allow him to retain much more than the empty
title.
The shoguns were military rulers and a number of them were
men of great force and executive ability. First, the Fujlwara family
controlled the country through the shogunate for nearly 400 years;
then for a century the Talra and Mlnamoto families alternated in
the exercise of power; then came the Hojo family and others of less
importance until finally the Tokugawa family became- supreme in
the shogunate and continued In power something like 300 years.
The emperor lived at Nara until about 1600,, when the capital was
moved to Kyoto, where It remained until leas than forty years ago.
Tokyo, on the other hand, was the seat of the shogun power, and
there Is a very noticeable difference between the two cities. The
shoguns fortified their castles and required the feudal lords to
keep headquarters In Tokyo. One cannot go through the palace In
which the emperor lived permanently without noticing .bow plain It
Is compared with the castle (both at Kyoto) In which the shogun
resided for a few days during his annual call upon the emperor.
Whl'e It may seem strange that the real rulers never attempted to
become emperors In name, It only shows their Intelligence, for by
insisting upon the recognition of the royal family, they weie prob
ably more successful In maintaining the real authority than they
would have been had they questioned the divine right of the Imme
morial rulers.
Liberality Fatal to the Shogunate
During the early part of the last century there began to be a
reaction against the shogun, and when he agreed to the treaties
opening the country to foreign intercourse, his action was taken
itdvantage of by the friends of the emperor. When the feudal lords
of Choshu attacked the foreign ships at'Shlmonosekl strait, the
shogun was compelled to pay an indemnity of tl 000,000 and at
tempted to chastise the Choshu leaders. His forces were defeated
and he died soon afterward. The emperor seized upon this event
and the influential lords of Choshu and Satuma encouraged him
to abolish the shogunate, which be did in 1868. The new shogun
accepted the situation without a struggle and those of his followers
who attempted a resistance were soon routed.
Everything In modern Japan dates from 1868, which Is called
the restoration. While in the restoration the emperor was ac
knowledged as the sole and absolute ruler, in whom all authority
was vested, still it was really the beginning of constitutional gov
ernment, for the emperor voluntarily promised his people a con
stitution, a promise which was not finally fulfilled until 1889.
The fervor of patriotism that restored to the emperor his origi
nal authority wrought wonders in Japan. The feudal lords came
forward and voluntarily turned their vast estates over to the em
peror and relinquished the authority which they had exercised over
their tenants; then they Joined with the samurai (their former re
tainers) la supporting the emperor in abolishing all social distinc
tions. From that day to this the country has grown' more and
more democratic, the reforms working from the upper classes down.
In 1889 the constitution promised by the emperor was promul
gated. It was prepared largely by Marquis Ito who visited Ger
many and modeled the document after the Prussian constitution.
The legislative power is vested in a diet consisting of two houses,
one resembling the English House of Lords and the other resem
bling our house of representatives, The upper house Is composed of
the princes of royal blood, marquises (these sit by virtue of their
rank), counts, viscounts and barons, selected from among their vari
ous classes, men of erudition or distinguished service appointed by the
emperor, and one representative from each prefecture or state se
lected by the highest taxpayers. The members of the diet, except
those who sit by virtue of their rank, receive 2,000 yen ($1,000)
per year. The members of the house of representatives are divided
among the states In proportion to the number of franchise holders;
last year they numbered 323 and were voted for by 750,000 fran
chise holders. These franchise holders numbered less than 10
per cent of the men of voting age, there being a property qualifica
tion which excludes from suffrage more than nine-tenths of the
adult males.
Eights of the Public in Japan
The emperor appoints the governors of the various states, and
these need not be selected from the states over which they preside.
The emperor has the right to convoke and prorogue the diet and to
dissolve the house of representatives; he also has the right to
Issue urgency ordinances when the diet is not In session, the same
to be submitted for approval to the next session.
The constitution contains a bill of rights. Among other rights
the Japanese subjects shall enjoy freedom of religious belief "within
limits not prejudicial to peace and ordor and not antagonistic to
their duties as subjects;" and "within the limits of law" they shall
joy "the liberty of speech, writing, publication, public meeting
and association." (After the Tokyo riots, which followed the an
nouncement of the treaty with Russia, an urgency ordinance was
issued restraining the press and certain newspapers were suspended
under the ordinance, but it is probable that this urgency ordinance
will be vigorously discussed at the coming session of the diet.)
Seventh of This Notable Series of Letters Eighth
Letter Will Appear in The Bee Next Sunday
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present there Is little sewage,
although there Is a pressing
need for It.
In the industrial development
of Japan the people muBt meet
the problem of child labor and
the length of the working day.
Women now work twelve hours
In the factory, and one cannot
see them and the children at
toll without asking whether
Japan can afford to impair the
strength of the next generation
for any advantage which may
be derived from such long hours
and such youthful labor. This
subject is likely to be brought
before the next session of the
Diet.
In some reforms Japan has
moved more rapidly than the
United States. Wherever It has
water works In Its cities, they
are owned and operated by the
municipalities. It also has a
telegraph system and a tele
phone system operated by the
national government. Tele
grams are sent at the same
rates to all parts of the empire
and the service is satisfactory.
The telephone service is not
so good, for while it is all right
as far as it goes, the system Is
not extended as rapidly as the
demand requires. In Tokyo, for
instance, those who want to in
stall telephones have to wait un
til some one discontinues his
'phone or is willing to sell It,
MARQUIS ITO, WHO FRAMED THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION
AND IS NOW PRESIDENT OF THE EMPEROR'S PRIVT
COUNCIL.
some years ago he lost a leg by the explosion of a bomb, thrown
with murderous Intent by a political opponent, but it did not
diminish his zeal in the prosecution of reforms. The fact that
there were in the last diet 130 who styled themselves independent!
shows that there is a considerable body to which the opposition
party can appeal when the minister makes an. unpopular move.
Beside the party organizations there are a number of societies
formed for the study of political questions. There are economla
associations In a number of the cities composed of the leading busi
ness and professional men'. I met the members of these societies
at Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya and was impressed with the attention
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 th
Friends of America (Baron Kaneko is one of the leading members)
takes a deep interest in all matters relating to government and.
political economy.
Problems that Confront the Statesmen
The leading political question in Japan today, 'nsofar as it af
fects domestic affairs', is whether the cabinet shall be selected by
the emperor regardless of the prevailing sentiment In the house
or be made to conform to the will of the people as expressed through
their representatives. At present the emperor's councilors are
chosen at his own discretion and the states of Satsuma and Chashu
have had a controlling influence in the selection of the emperor's
advisers. 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 reform may be delayed by circumstances
The emperor is assisted in the discharge of his executive duties 18 ouna 10 come lr japan Is to recognize the right of the people
v a nrlmiTmlnliitAr anil ntna rianartment ministers: haatdaa thes to "Vern themselves.
be has the advice of a privy council, composed of elder statesmen,
of which Marquis Ito is now the president.
Each state has what corresponds to our legislature, and each
city has a council. Both of these bodies are elective and to the
city council is entrusted the selection of the mayor.
They have a judiciary, federal and local, appointed for life but
no Jury system. Among the laws is one forbidding aliens to own
property, although this is avoided to some extent by long time
leases. There Is also a law by which a debt descends with the
property to the oldest son, even though the debt may exceed the
property.
Through the courtesy of Hon. N. W. Mclvor, former consul
general at Yokohama and now engaged In the practice of inter
national law, I had an opportunity to meet a number of governors
and congressmen, and found them, as a rule, an intelligent and ac
complished body of men, many of them having finished their edu
cation abroad. Their most famous minister of finance, Count Mat
sukata, bore some resemblance to J. Pierpont Morgan.
They have politics in Japan. The promise of a constitution seems
to have been given by the emperor before there was any general agi
tation for it, but as about twenty-one years elapsed between the mak
ing of the promise and the realisation of the hopes excited by it,
there was a period'of discussion. As early as 1874 several of the
ministers Joined In a petition asking for the promulgation of the
promised constitution. Their memorial being disregarded, they
resigned their offices and became the founders of a
democratic party. They call themselves liberals and their efforts
resulted In an Imperial rescript Issued in 1881 fixing 1889 as the
date for the beginning of constitutional government Marquis Ito
is now the leader of the liberal party which had 130 members in the
house of representatives In 1904.
In 1881 Count Okuraa organised the progressive party which
Lad last year a membership of ninety In the house of representatives.
This Is known as the party of the opposition. Marquis Ito's party
being the power behind the throne. There is not as much differ
ence between these parties as between the platforms of the two lead
ing parties of our country, but of the two Count Okuma's patty is
the more radical. The count himself Is a born leader and exerts
a large Influence upon the politics of his country. When premier
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In the cities sanitation furnishes a most dlfflcult problem. At
MUTSUHITO, EMPEROR OF JAPAN.
An Iowa Aan's
MANY queer things have, been shipped from one part of the
country to another, but it has remained for an old soldier
of Iowa to break the record by having shipped to him
from South Carolina the hole through which he made
his escape from prison during the civil war. On a recent visit to
the south Major S. II. M. Byers. who Is the hero of this tale, visited
the old prison at Columbia, S. C, where for fourteen long months
he was kept a captive. v
The old building had been remodeled,' but a carpenter was ob
tained, and there, under a layer of new boards, the major was over
joyed to find the identical hole which he had sawed out with a
blunt casekulfe and through which be made the thrilling escape, which
to this day has puzzled some of the confederate guards. The hole was
cut out and presented to the major, who had it shipped north, and it
now occupies k conspicuous place in his drawing room aloug with
costly curios from abroad.
Probably no more thrilling escape figured in the civil war
than that of Major Byers. Sawing their way out with a blunt case
knife, he and a comrade, Lieutenant Devlne of a Philadelphia
regiment, secreted themselves for two nights and a day in a dark,
stifling cubby hole over a porch, where they remained without food
or water until they thought the soldiers had all been removed from
the fort. Surrounded by waiting guards as soon as they emerged
from their hiding place, they made a desperate dash for the gate
In a rain of bullets and In the darkness made their escape. Major
Byers is known to old soldiers all ever the country, having written
the song, "Sherman's March to the Sea," while he was in prison.
This was later taken up by the entire army, the song being carried
through the lines in the artificial leg of a union soldier.
It was when Major Byers was a youth of 24 and adjutant of
the Fifth Iowa that he found himself with COO comrades shut up
in the prison at Columbia, 8. C To . get newa from the eutalde
Queer War Relic
Major Byers bribed a negro who came Into the camp to sell bread
to send him each morning in a loaf of bread a daily newspaper. In
this way he learned that Sherman's army, returning from Its march
to the sea, was now coining north. In view of this fact he felt sure
the confederates would remove all their prisoners to some othor
point out of Sherman's way.
A day or two before Sherman's army was to reach the prison
where he was a captive the major confided his scheme to Lieutenant
Devine, who occupied the cot next to him, and In the dead watches
of the night they worked with a dull caseknlfe at the board parti
tion, and at last had hacked out a hole large enough for them to
crawl through Into the thick darkness of the roof of a little porch.
The hole was made in that part of the wall which came Just under
the cot.
After two nights and a day, believing that the coast was clear,
they ventured forth In the darkness and stealthily stole downstairs.
All was quiet. The major climbed to the top of the wall and there
below them were about twenty guards who had been left to look
for them, the rest of the soldiers having been taken to another
prison as the major had predicted.
Catching sight of their prey, the guards rushed in at the gate with
a savage yell. In their excitement, however, they left the big gate
open behind them. ' Making a dash for liberty, the major and bis com
rade gained the gate and under cover of the friendly darkness made
their escape. They w ere secreted In the cabin of a negro, where they
waited for Sherman's army. When this arrived Major Byers was
promptly put on the general's staff.
"Sherman's March to the Sea" has been frequently confused with
"Marching Through Georgia," which was written by Mr. Work of
Chicago after the war was over. The Byers suug was aung by Sher
man's men as the marched along.
and a bonus is often demanded. If the local telephones were owned
by the city and only the lnterurban lines managed by the imperial
government, the service would respond more quickly to the needs
of the community.
The Japanese government also owns and operates a part of the
railroad system, and in doing so employs nothing but nattve help;
I traveled on both the government and private lines and could not
see that they differed materially so far as efficiency was concerned.
The first-class fare Is about 4 cents per mile (In our money),
the second-class about 2 cents and the third-class (nearly all of the
travel is third-class) about 1 cent. A reduction of 20 per cent Is
made on return tickets, a reduction of from 20 to 80 per cent on
commutation tickets and a reduction of from 45 to 80 per cent on
season tickets for students. This reduction to students might be
imitated to advantage In our country. The government road is
all, or nearly all, double track and has the latest safeguards for
the protection of passengers at depots. The Japanese are much
given to meeting friends when they arrive and escorting them to
the train when they leave, and this custom has led to the sale ot
platform tickets for 1 cent (our money).
Educational Questions that Are Uppermost
Japan has two educational problems: First, the Increase in the
percentage of those going from the primary to the middle schools,
and, second, the cultivation of an ideal which will connect a respect
for manual labor with Intellectual advancement. Today a large
majority of its people work with their hands and at labor which
forbids the wearing of good clothes. It Is probable that the educa
tion of the masses will show itself to some extent in improved
methods and In the more extensive use of animals and machinery,
but 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 harvested 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
European 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 day time in order to earn money to attend
school at night; will their learning make them unwilling to do hand
work? Or will they substitute the cab for the 'rlklsha?
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. Tolstoi's solution of the problem is "bread labor,"
that is, physical toll sufficient to produce what one eats. This he
believes will teach respect for labor and by dignifying It unite all
parts of society In sympathetlo
co-operation. Has any better
solution been proposed?
With a broader educational
foundation Japan will find it
necessary to extend the suf
frage. At present the right to
vote is determined by a strict
property qualification and it
will not be long before a large
addition will be made to the
voting population.
The most serious national
problem with which Japan has
. to deal is that imposed upon it
by the attempt to extend the
sphere of its political Influence
to Formosa on the southwest
and Corea 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 au
thority. . But Corea presents a still
more delicate and perplexing
situation. For more than
1,000 years a feud has existed
between Japan and Corea and
two attempts have been made
by the former to invade the
latter, the last about 300 years
ago. At that time a number
of captives were carried back
to Kogoshlma, where they, as
before . mentioned, introduced
the art of making what has
since been known as Satsuma
ware. The fact that the de
scendants of these captives
have lived in a colony by them
selves for three centuries with
out Intermarrying with the
Japanese is sufficient evidence
of the feeling- entertained
toward them by their captors.
To aggravate the matter Jap
an has engaged in two wars,
first with China and then with
Russia, over Corea, and it was
also the cause of one civil war
in Japan. Having driven China
from Corea ten years ago and
now having driven Russia out,
it is undertaking to exercise a
protectorate over the country.
When It Is remembered that
Corea is separated from' both
Manchuria and Siberia by an imaginary line and that the Corea ns
themselves regard the Japanese as intruders, some estimate can be
formed of Japan's task. In a future article on Corea I shall speak
of this subject more at length, but the matter Is referred te here
because the experiment Is as dangerous to Japan as it is to Corea.
Will Japan be able to accomplish what other nations have failed
to do, viz., exercise a colonial power without abusing it and with
out impoverishing itself? W. J. BRYAN.
(Copyright, 1908.)
Strange Prophecy Fulfilled.
An extraordinary prophecy made by Mrs. James Budd, wife of
ex-Governor Budd, was brought to a startling fulfillment at Stock
ton, Cal., when the body of Jack Hall, a well known hackman, was
pulled from the channel. About six months ago Mrs. Lydla Doctor,
an aged woman who had long been a subject of charity, passed
away. The funeral v. as quite large.
An undertaking company had charge of the funeral and con
traded with local hackmen for the carriages. Mrs. Budd, however,
engaged her own hack. Her driver was not In good standing with
the other drivers and when he appeared at the funeral they waited
upon a representative of the undertaking company and told him
that If Mrs. Budd's driver was permitted to remain In line they
would take their hacks out.
The director of the funeral informed the insurgent hackmen
that he had nothing to do with the engaging of "Cabby" and that
they would have to see Mrs. Budd. Straightway the hackmen cau
cused and selected Jack Hall to wait upon Mrs. Budd. The hack
man made his statement to Mrs. Budd, whereupon she declared to
Hall: "Cod surely will punish you for making this trouble at this
hour. He certainly will punish you."
This was the last funeral in which Hall ever drove a hack. Im
mediately thereafter his eyesight began to fall him. He quit hack
driving and lounged about the streets. Finally his sight became to
bad that he was obliged to feel his way about with a cane. About
nine days ago Hall was missed. The finding of his body in the
lough revived memories of the prophecy. San Francisco Call,
