The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-11-04

Japan is trying TO choose the best from
all nations, and it hopes to make up a
whole better than any. It's imitation
| is not blind imitation. The Japanese
have always prided themselves on be-
ing reasonable people, and they are
using their reason now. Their code of
laws come from France. They are
choosing their models for army disci--
pline from Germany, but their general
culture will De like their language,
| English.
Speaking Of the Japanese as coypists,
they learn 30 easily that manufacturers
coming to Japan are very careful that
the secrets of their arts are not given
to the people. asked, yesterday, a
man who has established large factory
for the making of Photographic mater
ials, why he employed only women in
his works, and was told that it was be-
cause he feared the men. These Jap
anese," he said, "are as sharp as light
ming, and they will start branch estab-
lishments as soon as they have mastered
the processes, and will underseIl me
keep all my formulas in ciphers, and
allow no Japanese man to work at
important parts of the business AS
| for the women, they are more steady
than the men. and they never look be-
You'd their work. We have as good
photo graphers here as you will find
anywhere, and there is Japanese who
is manufacturing dry plates"
I have visited, during the past few
days, many of the government depart
ments of the Empire, and l find they
are using many American inventions
In visiting the army, I saw troops
dressed exactly like the soldiers of
Germany, going through the military
man9uVers just as they are laid down
in the tactics of our military schools,
and in the arsenal where Japan makes
her rifles, her cartridges, and her gun
powder, the machinery was altogether
like ours. The factories, barring the
brown faces, the crack eyes and the
bare feet of the employees might as
well have been in Pittsburg as in Toxic,
and this is much the same with all the
government institu lions. The work.
| however, and the management is all
under the control of the Japanese, and
the number of foreigners employed by
II,
The Japanese hire foreigners merely as
teachers. They study hard under them,
and when they have learned their
specialties, they are very ready to dis
miss them.
at present, nearly all of the en-
ployees of the government wear Euro
pean clothes, and this is required in
many cases. The clothes worn are
well fitting, and, as rule, Of good cut,
but they make the little japanese forms
look smaller than ever, and the people
are more handsome in their loose fow-
ing gowns belted in with girdle at the
hips. The departments of the govern |
ments are built on the European style, |
and the State Department is not much |
different in its interior appointment |
from our department at Washington. |
1t has a messenger in livery at the !
door, who bows low as you enter and |
motions you into a papered reception |
room which has Brussels carpet upon |
the floor, and an electric button in the
wall. 1t is the fashionable thing here |
now for the japanese poblemar to live |
in a European house, and there are |
many houses here which would not |
look out of place in Washington City. |
Some of the young men wlo like |
European ways keep up establishments
of both kinds, and their fathers and
mothers, who do not take kindly to
the new ways, are housed a q Japa-
nese. The number of japanese travel
ing abroad steadily increases, and there
were, in 1885, IL $50 Japanese living out
ciHn nf IonoT nf
thousand were in the United States
and the purpose for which most of
them went was for study. These men
come back filed with civilization.
They learn English, and they advocate
the changes. There are also number
of foreigners in Japan. This number
all told is about 1000. The most of
these are merchants, and not few are
missionaries. The missionaries claim
to have 10000 Japanese Christians in
their churches, and this aids greatly in
the work of civilization.
AS to Japanese education, the mission
aries largely teach through the aid of
the government, and English is taught
in many of the schools. Education is
now compulsory in Japan, but the
StdLlSllCS SHOW CQdC only aOOuG nail OF
the children 60 to school. The school
ageis from 6 to IA years, and the Japa-
nese boys and girls go oyer their les
sons in sing song tones in bare feet and
gowns. There are 5000, 900 of them in
the regular schools, and the technical
schools have 8 800 pupils. Japan has
$4,000 common schools, presided over by
90, 900 men teachers and 4,6l0 women
teachers. There are more than thou
sand high school teachers, and the pro-
fessors in the Imperial University of
TOXIC number 1914. This University is
kept up by the government. 1t has
1880 students, and it is turning out
scores of Acknowledged doctors, lawyers
and government officials every year.
1t is better than the average American
college. Its preparatory course in
cludes English, mathematics, geog-
raphy, physics, history, political econ
omy, philosophy, and it covers three
years. 1t takes five years to graduate,
and the Japanese have here an oppor-
tunity to get good education without
going away from home.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.