The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1881-06-30
China AND JAPAN.

our trip2"
Our experience with the custom house
1iat e',. sas whsn s We .s reached he'd NJ York: In
with officers of the custom houses of Japan.
China, Cochin China, Straits Settlements,
British Burmah, India, Arabia; Egypt, ftaiy.
France and EnRland, but nowhere was nv
baggage opened and examined except dt
New York. The treatment people arriving
from foreign countries suffer at the
New York cuet6m house is dis
grace to tie Sonntry. Why, tho officers are
polite enough, but they make you swear
what your baggage contains, and then they
open and examine it to see if there is moth
ing but wearing apparel In It, just as If
they believed you had pefjured yourself
It baggage is to be examined, then the re-
quirement Of an oath should be; abandoned
in order to avoid needless insult to people.
The regulations under which the custom
house officers do their work need thorough
overhauling."
The japanese are as agreeable people
as you saw, are they not2"
"Perhaps so. Do you know that they
are one of the cleanliest people on earth,
personally? But as much cannot be said of
them morally. It Is the custom of the
whole nation to bathe daily, but 1t would
shock you to know that until tetehtty then
and women bathed together, perfectly naked
The government has established Inv
against promiscuots bathing, AID the
bathing houses are now made with par
tition to separate the men. from tho women,
but il is not very high. A few years ago
1t was very comt56n thing to see men
and women stark naked taking bath in
front of their houses; but things are
done in Asia, without any question, which
III America would create q great scandal.
TIE relations of the sexes in Japan are un-
fortunate, but NO worse than elsewhere in
Asia. The most refined Japanese are ex-
tremely courteous and agreeable people,
We were invited to visit Japanese mer-
chant with whom was mitch pleased seat
ed in jissrikt- shas, stottt, very easy, two
wheeled vehicles, each drawn by hardy
Jap, we proceeded to The house Of our host,
where Our reception was as curious as it was
cordial. We had to tetote our shoes at
the door and enter and make our visit in
our stocking feet. Our host introduced us
to three of his wives. I do not know how
many more he had. It will give you some
idea of the elegance Of our entertainment
if tell you tnat the tea We drink was made
before us in a golden teakettle. The taste
VI N4O OhPoAOoO III nv 40 O1lcu oA4uASltc.
This ls true OF the common people as wella
the higher class, and their skill in difficult
and dainty works is marvellous. Their
coins are of peculiar interest and collec-
tionB of them are extensive among such
Japanese as are rich enough to indulge in
50 costly relics. The money used in japan
is almost exclusively paper, and is mitch
deprecated. Gfeehbackefs hate but to
look at the pteseht turFenc4 OF Japan to
see the fesu1t OF the foley they advocate.
The most interesting thing about Japan is
to see the eagerness Of the people to adopt
modem improvements"
is not the scenery Of Japan and most
other countries of the east unattractive?"
mo; much Of it is very beautiful. The
hills, mountains and volcanoes of Japan
are very beautiful. The groves which oc-
cupy SO much space in Japanese cities, are
very attractive. The inland SEQ upon
which we crossed to Nagassaki il as beau
Many Of the cities of Asia are surrounded
by very fine scenery. Rangoon is one of
them, and Malabar Hill at Bombay, is q
delightful suburb for the homes of foreign
residents. Penang, near the equator, o
Maylayan city, is on an island which Bay
ard Taylor described as the most beautiful
in the world. British Burmah is remarka-
BILE for the variety as we'll as the beauty of
its scenery. The least attractive scenery
of my journey was that of some parts OF
India, where at the time of the year
we visited the country there were extern
parched plains"
what was your first impression Of the
greatest Chinese city you visited?''
"Astonishment 1t the number OF people
upon the water. In Japan many people |
obtain their whole subsistence from the |
water, and q vast number live upon it |
altogether; but at Canton the river was
literally covered with boats of every con-
ceivable shape. It is about seventy five |
miles from the sea up the Pearl river to |
Canton. and when you approach the city |
the number Of boats is incredible. Why, |
it is said that as many as 100000 people |
live upon the water at Canton. A vast |
multitude Of the people. remain in their
boats oil their lives. eating and sleeping
in them, and many children are born in
them. My chief impression of Canton,
however, is wonder at the cleanliness Of |
the city. It has more than q million peo.
pie, and yet it has no sewers. But the
filth is collected very regularly, and Ia
borers bear it away on their backs every
morning to te used as fertilizer. That |
great city OF dark, dingy streets, many of |
them not more than ten feet wide. is |
much cleaner and healthier than New |
York. If Canton can be kept clean with |
out sewers, what possible excuse can !
there be for the filthy condition of New
York, which is situated on an island and |
has Two idesevery twenty -four hours to |
sweep the filth to the sea?"
In what part Of the world was oommuni- |
cation with home most interrupted"
"There was not an hour I spent in any
country Of the East that could not send q |
cable message to New York, except when
in the city of Canton. For about four days |
there I was not within reach Of the tele- |
graph. Elsewhere during my journey, e1-
cept when on the sea, could always find q |
telegraph Office from which could send |
message directly home. It is one of the |
marvellous indications Of progress in the |
East that the telegraph and the railway are /
being introduced there. The telegraph is |
contributing much to the intelligence of |
Asia. The Telegraph Offices are the centres |
Of information throughout the Orient, and |
Americans and Europeans residing there |
would regard the loss. of the telegraph |
almost unendurable.
did you find China 20 filthy that yeu |
think Cinnamon unfit to become residents |
Of the United States?"
Il have told you about the cleanliness Of |
anton. Shanghai and Hong Kong are not |
lthy and Saigon, in Cochin China, is clean |
er than New York has been in many years. |
But the people do not bathe as frequently |
as in Japan, and they are not % clean. The |
Celestia1s are slnewy and have great endur- !
ance, but they would doubtless look less
sallow and their physical condition would |
improve it they were not restricted to such |
= monotonous diet. kice is wholesome
food, but they live almost exclusively upon |
rice, and the poorer class have hardly |
enough Of that. Rice is too much |
used fo1 food not only in China,
but also ina BuEmah, India and !