New Movements That Have Been Inaugurated in
JAPANESE SCHOOL. CHILDREN.
(Copyrif ht, 1, by Frank O. Carpenter.) hundred public llbrarle-s. The Imperial II-
OKIO Jaoan (Special Correapon- brary at Toklo bae now almost 600,003 vol-
denes of the Bee.) Oome fly
I I with me across the Pacific and
I 4.1.. . ,i . .,i ,i
little Yellow Giant of the other
side of the globe. We shall look
at him .. t, .
ma mo BltBllll Ull Ills Villi II". U1I U1B
mas., of Kast Asia, and see his work
along the lines of our dvllzatlon. which
is stirring up this whole continent. We may
even hear the stamping of his feet wiilch
Is causing our own country to wake up
and take notice, and the whistle of his
r.n.t.A.. At.. j i . . . m ,
17 T lacionee
which are now competing with u. for the
iraae Or tne WOrlu
It Is now twenty years since I wrote
my first newspaper letter describing the
new Japan. That was In 188S, two decades
after the Shogun or commander-in-chief
of the feudal regime had been overthrown,
and jthe emporor made the real head of
tho government. Japan had then adopted
a, constitution, organized a parllment and
started to build railroads, telegraphs and
schools. I was given a guide by the govern-
ment. and had a good chance to see the
army, the courts and such other institu
tions as were then In their beginning.
Today I am able to look at the sume things
and to mark their wonderful progress.
Japan's New- Railroads.
The country then "had only 4uo miles of
railway and 400 miles more were under con
struction. The chief road ran from Tokio
to Kioto, and I had to make moat of my
tourneys through the country by Jlnrikisha.
Every part of the empire can now be
reached by rail. There are more than 5 000
miles of tracks as good as those of the
united States, and the government wants
1,000 miles more.
In a talk which I had today with Mr.
Bhulchi Hagiwara, the head of the com
mercial bureau of the empire, he told me
that Japan Is anxious to get capital to
build these new roads and that It will wel
come Investments of that kind from Amer
ica. He believes that the government would
build the roads now If it had the money,
nd that It would accept loans and Issue
bonds which would net about 7 per cent on
the Investment. Japan is now constructing
railways In Formosa and Corea. and the
day will soon come when all of its Islands
from 6aghallen to Formosa will be grid-
Ironed with tracks.
As to the service on these roads, It Is
excellent. One can go by sleeping car to
ii tne cnier cities and there are now more
iimn inirty trains each way every day be
tween Yokohama and Toklo. The distance
Is eighteen miles and I traversed it yes
terday in twenty-seven minutes.
Japan's Ola; Postal Service.
l "e "me or my first visit to Japan
the new postal system had been lnuuiru-
rated. It was introduced by an American
named Bryan, who was connected with
our I'ostofflce department at Washington,
nd all of the machinery and other ar
rangements were modeled after our own.
The system was then three years old and
it was carrying 57,000.000 letters, 40,000,000
postal cards and 18,000.000 newsDaner.
year. Japan had then bearnn to mUk it.
own postage stamps and 1 saw 100 Japa- Already at the experiment station two
nesu giiis at work in the bureau of en- dlsooverl,' hav e" made which will
graving and printing. ten(1 to decrease the number of deatha in
Today this country manages Its postof- the mlneB' 11 nas been demonstrated that
flees quite as well as we do and It has a nunnber of the -clled "safety" ex
many Improvements which we have not .?l0JV,' " an'thl"B but aafe-
Last v.ar it c.rri.., m ., , o. JWse of the government to continue
. .. ...... ,tw,vw,ui,j
nil I'tiM nf mall . .. J B . I , .
, . .,IU , i,lee aimost auo.uuo.uw
were lettirn T r . i . ., i , .
abautMM(imn.n.r w , "T a
?h i i Wer half M
, , , PPU U" V Japan ha
rvlL i;Pa'C. "y"tem, Wh'Ch " Ca
rylng packages every year, and ft
has pes al savings banks all over the era-
pire with millions of dollars of deposits.
i ieiClrpr.s, tney are also under the
govrnmut and their rates are far lower
man ours. I can wire anyone in this city
ior o cents a meuge and can send f.f-
torn wuias anywiiere In Japan for 10 cents,
l'lie rates are low to other countries and
especially to Corea und China It costs 7R
cents a word to Manila ;ind $I.0 a word
to Washington, D. C. The huter hign
rates are caused by the foreign cable sys
tems. .Nation at acuovl.
One of the greatest advance which Jpn
Is making la along the lines of education.
All Toklo seems to be going to school.
The streets swarm with boys and girls
In school dtevs, and this is so in all the,
towns In the country. The government re
quires that all school children thall wear
uniforms. The boys have a sort of divided
skirt which falls to below their knees, and
above this may he a jacket or a kimono
and a cap. The glrU wear plum-colored
Bklrts with heavy plaits and kimono
tucked inside. They go bare headed.
At certain hours of the day the street
re uirungea witn suen students, rang ni
In age from to young men ana wUu... ...
30. There are more than 60,000 students at
tending universities, academies and special
schools In Toklo alone, and there are other
colleges In Other parts of the empire. There
are night schools in the cities for the work
ing classes, and technological night schools
as well. Altogether about I.OuO.OuO students
are attending the elementary schools of the
empire, and thrre are also 1.000 special and
technical schools. There are kindergartens
with teachers. There are Industrial
schools of many kinds, schools for the
deaf, dumb and blind, and also a girls' uni
versity and Industrial schools where girls
are taught.
Uai ef BeeLi and Newspapers.
At the same time a great publishing n-
dustry has grown up. About all the books
used In the schools are made In Japan, and
an enormous quantity of all kinds I, m.
ported. iJist year something like 28 0 0
book were puo ianea ana tne periomcale
nuiubered LauO. Jimu has uiore than a
I 0
HIV
fjfu
Hi
times and Is visited dally by 400 people.
There Is a big- library In Kioto and two In
Dunks, nnn of the larsest book stores In
world In situated In this city. It claims
to blfl lo uPP'y ot Importance
nor nuhlished. and t is far suDerlor n Its
' -
equipment to any door store in warning-
ton' lls cn,pf f,"niers are Japanese and
,ts book "re arf'y ln French, German
and En"1,8h-
In t,ie ,ir!e of newspapers there are slx-
tepn dailies published ln Toklo alone and
n hm 1 1 VO In nil Jnnatt. R( vrn n tyf th rhpf
T I ' . " 7 ,hr.- . .
.UR, BTtC'"L ! 'ZTl
tuna navina as mvv.1 M iw,uw iui.uiatijii
eacn-
Jnnan's Smokeless Con I.
Tho Jnpancse have often b.e;i called a
nation of imitators and copyists. They un-
dcrstand how to i.,iek out the best thinjs
of OU1' civilization, and thy are takin? the
cream of them. I find that they are now
waking up along the lines of Invention and
that tnls especially so as to war matt ri.
Their troops are equipped w'th a special
rifle Invented by a Japanese and they use
field guns Invented by one of their gen
erals named Arlsaka. These guns are man
ufactured by Krupp, but the designs were
sent from here to Germany. j
Among the surprises of the Russian war
was Japanese smokeless powder of great
explosive power. Invented here, and they
are now making a smokeless coal, which
will enable their naval vessels to move
about without a, sign of fire or smoke.
This coal was- first proved duriog the
Chlno - Japanese war and was again used
Experiments in Life -
ASHINGTON, Jan. 6,-In its ef
w
fort to stop the appalling loss
of life ln the coal mines of the
country the United States gov-
1?0Kll ernment la meeting with much
ii ' i J kuccess. For several months an
exporiment station under the direction of
the technologic branch of the United Stales
geological survey has been ln operation at
Pittsburg, Pa., to discover the causes of
mine disasters and to suggest remedies.
With the establishment of this section
and the agitation which preceded the
necessary legislation there has been a fall-
lng off in the number of deaths In the coal
mines for the year 1908. While the, official
figures have i.ot yet been obtained. It la
stated that the number of deaths will be
several hundred less than in il907, which
was an unusual year. In December. 1907.
rour explosions took the lives of 700 men.
one of them at the Monongah mine In
West Virginia being the greatest mining
disnster ln the history of this country.
There were S66 victims. In 1908 there wera
but two accidents in which the loss of life
was very heavy, one ln January at the
Hanna mine, in Wyoming, with a loss of
seventy men; the other, November 28, at
the Marianna mine. In Pennsylvania, which
resulted in 154 deatha.
t, .p.A,
1 ' ' "
experiments until the explosives of
cour.iry are standardized ln such a
niannff that the miner will have a definite
iWwh.t they will do.
Attr the government has gone far
ln ,ta "raiment, a bulletin will
Visaed recommending as perrul.alble ex-
;t Mves such as stand the tert. The facts
vd concerning these explosives will
bfcViIlect directly to
stato mining bure
the attention of the
bureaus as well as tit)
operators.
Perhaps the most important and far
reaching experiments so far at the station
are those ln which it has been definitely
shown that coal dimt l an Mninlirii nnaiiv
as dangeious as the deadly fire damp.
Many mining engineers and miners have
insisted that It is impossible to explode
coal dust unless there Is gas present. That
the coal dust will explode ln a mine where
there Is no gas has been repeatedly shown
to several hundred operators and mlnere
at the testing station. The experts at the
station are seeking some method by which
this dust can be prevented from being a
serious menace to the miners. Experiments
ln wetting It have been going on for some
time, but nothing of a very definite nature
has as yet been learned, unless it Is that
the cool dust does not Ignite when there
is a great amount of moisture ln it.
Every effort is being made at the station
to come as close to the conditions in a
mine as possible. The tests of various
dynamites and powders used ln blasting
i .. , , , ,.
. C. , I nlamn'oln ou"er
Hiaiv i juiiurr n uie.i iih previously Dfeil
filled with gas or coal dust. The cylinder
is 100 leet long and six feet ln diameter,
Safety valves have been placed all along
the top and are left unfastened In such a
manner that whenever there is an ex
plosion the valves fly open on tholr hlngea.
A series of portholes on the sids covered
with one-half Inch glass enables those
conducting the experiments to witness
the results fram an observation house
sixty feet away: An explosive mixture of
fire damp and air or coal dust and air
Is pumped Into the cylinder and the ex
plosive which la to be tested la shot into
it from one end of the cylinder, so that the
flame goes right Into the fire damp or coal
dust. Natural gas is used at this station
tar fire damp, to which it corresponds
VP,y closely. The cannon In which the ex-
plosives are placed Is fired by electricity
from the observation house which Is par-
anei witn me cyunaer Itself.
These Investigations ate expected ti ao-
THE OMAHA
I"
aO
in the war with Russia. It la made from
coal dust which comes from mines near
Nagasaki. The dust Is first washed with
water to remove the mud and sand In It
and ) Is then manufactured Into bricks.
which are said to have a greater heating
power than the coal of Cardiff. England,
or any coal rrora tne united stales, me
. .
brick factory Is at Nagasaki and It Is now
turning out 50,000 tons of these bricks every
year, all of which are purchased by the
Navy department.
The brick coal is of two shapes, round
and square. The square bricks are used
In the battleships and cruisers and they
r0 crushed before they are thrown Into
the fire. The round coal is for the u-
stroyers and the torpedo boats. This coal
Is now bringing over $9 a ton and the gov
ernment pays more than $500,000 a year
for it.
The mines from which the coal comes
are small. The vein now used Is only
three feet deep, but It Is said that another
mine has been discovered in the Hokkaido,
where the vein Is larper and the quality of
the coal Is better. It would pay the United
States to Investigate these deposits and find
whether we have not a coal which can be
mr.do to burn without smoke. Such fuel
would be of enormous benefit toward the
cleanliness of our cities.
A large part of Japan's coal is coming
from the Hokkaido, the island at the north,
which we know n Yezo. It is one of tho
least developed parts of the empire, and
it may add considerably to Its mineral
wealth. Mines were opened there about
twenty-four years ago, and they are now
producing 1,000,000 or more tons a year.
The empire altogethj-r yields 12,000.000 or
13,000,000 tons and practically supplies the
conlPllsn double purpose, not only a
reduction In the number of men killed In
the mines, out also a saving of the waste
i ,,- -, , ' - - M ' .v. .?
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r : 1 ?rz' f tlt vr - ? .... )
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.'. , - nr . ' ." (!( l 7",
Quaint Features of Life Observed Here and There
First dwlrn of tne Year.
RAVING the cold. Helen Wilcox,
B
a teacher In the Oreat Kills
public school. Staten Island, New
Year's afternoon, on a wager
HjftM she would be the first to enter
Si
the water in 19U9, went to tne
beach
at Annandale and swam around in
the Icy water for more than twenty min
utes. When admiring friends asked If she
was not extremely cold she stopptd and
talked with them.
"It's all right when you're used to it."
said the girl. Her teeth did not even chat-
7 V I 1
l" sne stooa on me ueacu.
a lew uwys ago irieiiua uareu jhim m ii-
cox to gj Into the water In the winter. Rhe
promptly bet she would be the first Staten
Island woman to go in the water ln the
new year. In summer bathing garb she
left her home at 4 p. ru. and went to th
beach. There she waited a few minutes
for two girl friends who had said they
would go In the water with her. As they
l not PPear she ran Into the ley cold
ahe swam thirty yards from the
beach and was In the water almost half an
hour.
Miss Wilcox went Into the water In last
February, when snow was on the ground,
and w" BOt Inconvenienced.
Girls Whip Mchoal Teacher.
Because she flatly refused to promise to
give them the customary holiday treat of
Mtidv. the tarcAr arirlfl In th Wa H u -lAnl
Calloway county. Mlesourl. dragged their
teacher. Miss Mary Fox. In the road. Her
clothes were soiled by the mud and her
dress was torn. Still the plucky little
SUNDAY liEE : .TAXtTARY
FOREIGN OFFICE AT TOKYO.
coal for alt the ports on this side of the such as are used In the schools. Instead
Asiatic continent. It will probably have a of on the floor as formerly. From data
great Increase of Us coal supply through
Its new possessions In Corea and Formosa.
The Corean mines are said to be especially
valuable and soon or later they will be the
property of the Japanese.
Analysing; Tear Drone.
It Is surprising how fast Japan Is ad
vancing along hygienic llnea. The nation
is Increasing not only In population, but
in Its general health and physique. The
sanitary arrangements used for the army
during the war with Russia resulted in a
lower death rate from dtseaMe than that
before experienced by any great army in
any great war. They had their food ar
rangements so systematized that the troops
were kept healthy, and their hospKals were
sfl many and so good that most of the
sick got well. The doctors showed them
selves able to deal with the situation, and
they carried their Investigations far beyond
those of the ordinary surgeon. In certain
cases they even analyzed the tears of the
soldiers In order to learn more about their
condition.
A nation must be healthy to Increase In
population and that especially In a laifH
that has no Immigration. There are al
most 20 per cent more people In Japan now
that when I was here in 1888, and there
has been an increase of 13.000,000 since 1872.
Ths nation Is stronger now than it was
then. The people look healthier. They 24,000,000 yen rJd In and a surplus of six months, and about per cent on the Important than the signature and ray
stand more firmly on their feet, their over 14,000.000. The yen Is worth 60 cents, dally balances of Its depositors. ments are chiefly made by seal,
shoulders are broader, owing to their mill- The president and all officers of that bank Another Japanese bank, the Dal Ichl '
tary exercises, and It is claimed that they are Japanese. It has branches In the big Glnko, the president of which is Baron Japan and Our Tanle.
have materially increased their average cities of Japan and agencies all over the Shlbusawa, has a capital of 10,000,000 yen I railed this morning on the vice mlnls-
of height by sitting on chairs and benches east. It pays 6 per cbnt on deposits of six and there are foreign banks with capitals ter of foreign affairs, Mr. Ishll, and had
Saving Appliances for Miners
EXPLOSIVES CHAMBER IN WHICH TESTS WILL BE MADEv
in mining coal. The use of Improper expo-
elves as well as the Improper use of suit-
able explosives results annually In the
"schoolmarm" of 20 years refused to sur
render and promise to furniah candy for
the fifty pupils ln her care.
The Wade school Is thirteen miles from
Columbia, ln what has been known as a
quiet neighborhood until this outburst of
rebellion broke loose last week. The pu
pils kept Miss Fox out of the school two
days, when she went to her home.
The district is now divided into two fac-
tions, those for
nil those against the
teacher. Two or three fights between the
men of the district have resulted.
The custom of "treating" the pupils at
this season of the year still prevails In thd
rural schools of central Missouri.
Ioar Party I0inl la Fight.
Nearsightedness on the part of a dach
shund, which mistook a stuffed dog tor
the genuine article and e tucked it, resulted
In the breaking op of a Pittsburg, Pa., ca
nine party In a free-tor-all fight In which
the gayly adorned tree was wrecked and
about $40 worth of furniture destroyed.
Two men, named flrlese and Beymer, pro
prietors of a hotel on Federal street, have
a dog named Our Teddy. It was decided
some days ago that Teddy should have a
party with a real tr.-e. Invitations had
been sent out to the owners of dogs of
high and low degree to come to the affair,
and as a result about SuO dog and mon
grels lined up.
There was a taxidermy dog in the middle
of a table, which looked Ilka the real thing,
and Herr Heinrlch. a dachshund, which
had come to the party on the chu.ui held
by Jimmy Flaherty, got through his collar
and made a low tackle of the dummy aui-
t
10. 1009.
-
given by an army surgeon, showing the
examination of the several hundred thou
sand men who have been drafted Into the
army in each of the years from 1852 to
1902, It Is proved that the average height
of the people is steadily Increasing. This
Is furthered by special exercises which all
school children must undergo.
Wealth of Japan.
There Is a general Idea In America, that
Japan is very hard up. This Is so and I
shall wrlto more of II in the future. She
has an Immense national debt due to her
late war and th Improvements which sh
late war and the Improvements which sh
has made In building up this country, and
she la just at that point where for a time
the capitalists of the world are refusing
t lend her any money. This condition
seems to be only temporary, and the
finance department has already Instituted
a scheme which promises to put the na
tion again on its feet..
As to tho country Itself, It has numerous
rich men and great material wealth.
There are many banks and stock com
panies which are paying big dividends,
and the foreign papers published here
devoto a largo part of their first pages to
financial advertisements. A copy of the
Yokohama Journal lies before me. In It
I see a half dozen banks advertised, each
of which has a capital of millions. Here
Is the Yokohama Specie bank, which has
waste of great amounts of coal. The use
of too high charges ln blasting or the use
bf unnecessary violent explosives shatters
mal, which had annoyed lilin by Its unso
ciable stare.
Lord Snarleyow, a British bull, got Into
the game, and there was a mix-up, which
was not straightened out until the place
had been swept by a storm of carnage and
Teddy, the host driven to shelter on top
of a chiffonier.
Catamount t-'igbls Farmer.
Kdward Gillette, a farmer, of Bakers
vllle. Conn., was savagely attacked by a
large wildcat or catamount Thursday,
and but for the fact that he carried an
ax would probably have been killed. A
quarter of a mile from his home, where
he had set traps around a spring for
foxes, he found the catamount ln one of
1 lie steel traps, caught by one paw.
With a chain attached to the trap he
started to drag the animal to his barn
to Imprison it alive, but before he had
gone half way Uie Infuriated cat got loose
and attacked Gillette, Jumping at his
head. Gillette dodged, and when the ani
mal sprang at him a second time a well
directed blow of his ax killed the beast
The animal weighed thirty pounds.
Still n Baby at 83.
The experiment of treating with thy
roid extract a girl physically and men
tally undeveloped has had remarkable
success in London. The patient, Mildred
Hart, although IS yeare old. had the de
velopment of a child of only I years, and
was thirty-three inches tall. Her teeth
were the same as a child's, her skin cold
and harsh and her features were unde
veloped. The soft yit vn the top ef a baby
Land of the Mikado
.
vV
V; "
Vs t
v ..
If' :-'W4
Tii f ", ' - ' ' :
" ! -.... "t ' " V ' . -- f
V..-.- ;.: i
K. ISHII, JAPAN'S VICE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
months and 24 per cent on current accounts
and notwithstanding that its gross profits
for the last six months were over 1,000,000
yen. It pays dividends of 12 per cent and
will add a half million dollars this year
to Its reserve fund.
Just below this advertisement Is a
statement of the Mitsui bank. This Is
owned by the members of the Mitsui
family, who advertise that they assume
an unlimited responsibility for all the
liabilities of the bank. The Mitsui bank
has a capital of 6,000,000 yen and a sur
plus of 11.600,000. Its deposits now ap
proximate 70,000,000, or almost (36,000,000.
That bank paya 6 per cent on deposits of
much good coal, converting fuel Into dust
which may itself be explosive and become
productive of much further damage. Such
explosions often loosen the roof of a coal
mine which may fall later.
In addition to the actual experiments ln
testing explosives Important experiments
are being made In rescue work. One part
of the station has been fitted up as a
miniature coal mine. This is a large glass
encased, airtight room which contains diffi
cult passages such as are found In coal
nines. There are also various obstructions
aucn ma would be found in a mine after It
had been wrecked by an explosion; also
dummies weighing 150 to 200 pounds, repre
senting asphyxiated miners. This room 1
filled with deadly gas and a rescue corps
of men who are being trained in the work
enter daily, clad in helmets which supply
them with oxygen while they work. The
men remain In thla chamber for two hours,
removing obstructions, picking up the dum
mies, placing them on stretchers and carry
ing them away. There is also in the room
machine which records the amount of
work a man may be expected to do while
wearing one of these helmets. One-half of
the large building ln which this rescue
room Is located Is used as an auditorium
and several hundred miners and operators
have watched the rescue drill through the
large glass windows which separate the
auditorium from the gas-filled chamber.
It la not the intention of the United States
government to furnish rescue corps when
ever there Is a disaster. The present corps
was organized with the idea of encourag-
lng the mine owners and miners themselves
to form such organizations. Invitations
have been Issued to operators throughout
the country to send picked men to the ex
periment station, where they may watch
the government rescuers at work and later
go through the same training themselves
In order that tney may gain the necessary
confidence ln the use of these helmets,
Already a number of the large mining com-
panles have taken advantage of this In-
vltatlon and are organizing rescue corps
at their mines, fully equipped with oxygeu
helmets.
She had no
head could be felt on hers.
appetite and waa mentally unobservant.
Thla continued to October last. A phy
sician then diagnosing the absence of the
thyroid secretion took charge of the case.
He administered twelve and a half grains
of extract of the thyroid glands daily.
The patient has now grown two and a
half inches. Her skin is moist and warm,
her face is considerably developed and
she has cut several new teeth. She is
constantly hungry.
The most wonderful thing, however. Is
In her mental condition. She lias become
extraordinarily loquacious, using a vocab-
ulary she could not have acquired In two
months, which hows that she uncon
sciously lialened to and stored up words
without the power of employing them.
6
Clock Told of Death.
and Mrs. Frank Masaey of Fourth
Mr.
street, New Castle, Pa., are ln possession
of a cloc.k which Is looked upon with awe
and wonderment, as they feel there is
something uncanny about It. Several days
ago the clock struck at U:ft p. m., and
then stopped, something which had not oc
curred for a number of months.
Some one in the room remarked. "Sixty-
three, and Mrs. Massey said. - J lure la 8,utes, U.j ilcheut of all the consuming pa
something wiong; I feel that something toni and on Xh west the vast population
has happened to Brother I-ewis." - of china, whose trade promise, to Increase
Within a few hours she received word enormously with the Introduction of west
that her brother, aged 88 years, had died Prii civilization. We have one of the best
suddenly at Allentown. Pa.. Just about the locutions of the commercial world and w
time the clock struck. The clock was given .hall do all we can to take Mr' rightful
to Mrs. Massey by her brother forty years j.lace In its trade."
a ' FRANK O. CARPENTER.
I)
ranging up to $20,000,000 and with enor-
nious reserve funds. Among these Is tha
International Hanking company of New
York, which haa a capital and surplus of
$6,600,000.
As to Japanese banks, they are to be
found all over tho country. There are
more than 2,000 of them, and their capital.
all told, amounts to more, than a half
billion yen. Nearly all the leading banks
of Toklo are paying dividends and some
very large ones. The One Hundredth bank
ln 1906 paid 30 per cent. An odd thing
about these banks Is that each has Its
eat at the head of Its advertisement. The
deal of a man or a business firm Is more
a short chat with him over the financial
situation as it exists here today. He says
that the hard times will not be of lmg
continuance and that the new arrange
ments which have been made by the gov
ernment will lead to a rapid Improvement.
Bald he: "One of the chief causes of our
ack of prosperity is the depressed condi
tion which has prevailed ln the United
States during the past year. Your country
Is our best customer. Our trade with you
amounts to more than $200,000,000 and in
ordinary years we . sell you more than
$100,000,000 worth of Japanese goods. In
1906 our exports to the United States
amounted, to more than $125,000,000. Your
panic of last year has materially decreased
the demand for our goods and this Is
one cause, i f our financial distress. In
deed, our relations with you are so close
that we feel any change of the business
situation in your country.
Japan In Ivianctanrla.
The conversation here turned to Man-
churia and I asked Mr. Jhll whether it
was so that the Japanese were capturing
all the trade of that country?
"It Is not so," was the reply. "Indeed,
our trade ln Manchuria la so small that
we are ashamed of it. We are doing all
we can to get a hold there, but are not
succeeding as we should. Our exports
are less than $1,000,000 in value, which is
ut amaU Part of the for!lgn itrade "
Have the Japanses any advantages over
other nations as to that trade?"
"No, I think not."
"But, Your Excellency," said I, "I have
understood that your steamships are car
rying Japanese goods at especially low
freight rates and that bounties are given
on such of your manufactures as are ex
ported to Manchuria."
"That is a mistake," said Mr. Ishll. "we
have no such bounties. Our goods 'have
to ..and on their own footing. It Is true
tnat we are subsidizing our steamships;
for wc believe that it pays us to increase
our merchant marine in that way."
Japan Friendly to Uncle Sam.
"What Is the feeling here as to thi
ignited States?"
.it , 0f xho friendliest nature. This talk
about war and ill feeling Is only found ln
the yellow Journals of the two countries.
and especially ln those of America. Our
friendship with you began with the open-
lng of Japan In the days of Commodore
Perry, and it hue grown steadily. I be-
lieve that the best of feeling exists between
the better classes of both countries and
that such a feeling will continue."
"What do you think of the Chinese boy
cott of Japanese goods?"
"it was somewhat of a surprise to us,
as It was to the United States when the
Chinese boycotted American goods. It
seems to me that this Is one of the ele
ments we shall have to reckon with ln our
Aslatictrade of the future. The Chinese
have learned the power of such combina
tions, and I believe that they will use them
more or less against other nations with
whom they are trading. Indeed, I see no
remedy for such a situation except that of
arbitration. One ran not fight an Indi
vidual because he refuses to buy his
goods."
Japan's Fat are.
"What Is to be the future of Japan? Is
it to go on fighting with other nations, or
will It now devoto itself to the arts of
peace?"
"As to that." replied the vice minister,
"I would say that we are a nation of peace
rather than of war, and we hope that our
career will he along the lines of peace and
commercial prosperity. We have plenty to
do at home without engaging in trouble
with any other nation. Our first business
will be to reduce our war debt, and while
doing that we want, if possible, to make
for ourselves an important place In tho
commerce of the world. We are situated
between two of the world's greatest mar
kets. On the east we have the TTnHo.l