The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-10-01
PROSPERITY AND PROGRESS OF
.l.Lll. .-.--.- -.- NM. .IAPAM ----.- NM

PROSPERITY AND PROGRESS or
SY.up y1s5od l.umJAPAN U., uH,olyi
The census of the japanese Empire for the hfth
year of Meji, the 25S2d year from the accession Of
Jimmu TennO Cthatis to say A. D. 1872 in our
ealendar has just been published, 1t is 50 far as
known, the first official census Of the empire ever
taken, and that fact itself reveals the progress
which Western ideas are making In the East
while the census establishes the fact that Japan Is
in a condition Of enviable prosperity How great
that prosperity q can best be shown by compalr-
ison between the Japanese census Of 1877 and me
United States census of 1870 ..., . ,,...,..
The arrangement Of the Japanese census Is
somewhat different from that Of ours, and, while
much less explicit is probably more methodical
The political division of the empire Is into Flu and
Ken (eities and townships), there being three Of
the former and seventy-two of the latter recog-
nized, besides one colony. The geographical di1
visions embrace colony,3 Flu, Han thbutary
Loo-OhooD, " Rem, s6 provinces 77 Kori, or de-
partments; !g62 Ku, or parishes; 7O,4iS Mura, or
rural parishes, and 1884 towns III, .
The total population Of Japan Is 33llO,o25, or
about 100000 less than that of the United States
OF these gOj6SOS are under fourteen years ofagei
against 100000 of the same years In United
states showing much larger proportion of births
here AM A juyonlle population Of 30 per gent OF
the whole, against only q per cent, for Japan,
Between the ages of, twenty and forty there are
for both the United States and Japan 30 per cent.
Of the population surviving; but between forty
and sixty the population Of the United States Is
only 5.763165, while that of Japan is 7S55,OOO,
showing survival of over p per cent for Japan,
against Is per cent for the United States AT
eighty Japan has 70 $50 men and ilSl2iS women
still living, survival of per cent, while the
United states has only 72Ol5 men and s2S6s wo-
men, a little over per cent This shows less
feeundty, but better health and greater longevity
in the japanese, ssu.f .'tYr. od.V
The population of Japan Is divided into princes
mobiles, higher and lower grades Of armed class
priests and shinto officials, and common people,
The nobility and gentry aggregate about 2,OOO0O0J
the priestly class about 10000. The commonalty
about SOsOOOOO strong, are notoriously thrifty and
reflect upon our people by their superior industry,
100000 persons being set down as having oeeu-
pations in japan, against i2,5OOOOO in the United
States Of these 1868 ,957 are males, 447l9Sfe-
males while in this country 1O,669,BS5 men. have
occupations against no more than 1886 2SS women.
That this difference in labor forces tells upon the
respective industrial conditions of the two count
tries there can be no doubt, Japan Is a country
without machinery, without commerce, and With
out capital, yet she maintains herself and an on
erops feudal system and an oppressive royalty,
without pauperism and without famine, Of the
population, H,670,i26 are agriculturists, against
less than 100000 here The artisans number
7Ol, ,ll6, and the merchants (tradespeople),
l,SO9,19l g,- ...srr
Proofs of the prosperity Of the people are found
in the fact that they have tO7 81 houses to live
in, house for every AZ persons against O42, ,S3S
houses in the United states, OF one for every 5h
persons. There are 1894 Buddhist temples and
l2S,l23 shinIO. shrines, iminiaered " BY 2S,OOO
priests, nuns and officials. This shows greater
procliyity TO worship than exists in the United
States, where there are $1,000 churches and 1884
clergymen The statistics Of Japan show that
there are lOl 5S7 persons crippled, blind deaf and
dumb. etc; Of deaf and dumb, blind, insane and
idiotic, the United States has 9s,4SS and u6,1O2
paupers besides. Our prisons In 1870 contained
SS,9 conyicts, Japan, in 1872 had in prison, in
penal settlements, and at hard labor, total of
6,i6f criminals 1t Is not proper, however, TO com
pare our criminal statistics with those Of Japan.
There the hari- karis aiid the headsnan'saxe make
short work of large number Of persons whom
we, with superior humanity imprison, pardon,
and frequently send u Congress. .''''
The foreign trade Of the treaty ports Of Japan in
1873 amounted to s5O,3235 $50 In gold, and Japan
showed her superiority to US in sweetness and
light by collecting only allttle over 81. 10000 du
ties upon ~, ,lO5 .O57 imports The same goods i'm
ported into New York would have been taxed
sl2OO0OO Upon this large importation the ware
house rents, entrance and clearance fees, fines,
penalties, and miscellaneous charges were only
sl7 76, all told, or less than OC2 per cent, against
port charges here at least a hundred Dimes %
great.
The silk trade Of Japan seems destined to attain
a great and sudden Importance While the silk
export OF China has iallen Of that oi Japan has
kept very steady. In spite Of the decline Of busi
ness, and the injury which fashion has Temporal
rily inflicted upon the silk trade, Japan exported
last year June 1873, to May 81, 1874, go bales Of