Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-10-06


Prom TEE Stars Travelling Commissioner
TOKYO, AUGUST Is, 1888
A japanese police man was never known to
smile, but when he nds it necessary TO proceed TO
the extreme step OF arresting a law breaker his
face becomes clouded over with pail OF sorrow
and soemnity that would do credit 10 an Irish
undertaken taking the cofdn-measuremenr of an
archbishop. Grasping the offender firmly with
one hand, with the other he extracts from an In
visible pocket OF great capacity a roll OF strong
cord. whispering polite and minute directions In
the ear OF the victim, who ooeys them With scrupu
lous consideration for the feelings OF his captor he
WINS the cord several times round his waist and
shen attaches his wrists In optical contact with
the small OF his back. Six feet OF cord remain the
policeman grasps the loose end, and bowling TO the
prisoner with an "After you, SIR" the pair march
away In touching union OF sadness and securit y.
Inc neignoornooo Is paralyzed during the per-
formance business Is suspended trafric Is stopped
and the ooo-tailed top-knot OF Bo-chan, the baby.
stAnds straight up from his Uranium In alarm and
disapprooation. But the moment the polite police
man and his potter prey have disappeared round
tne eorher al the spectators burst out laughing
spontaneously, and two minutes afLerSard the
AuAr Is forgotten by every BODY except baby Bo-
ehans or0ther, VINO inauguraJes a series OF abor-
nant cat quite Obvious Of the fact spider
and-ny inaneuyer he has Just witnessed requires
Ior us successful accomplishment the cooperation
VI potn parties why on earth doesn't the jap
snese ponceman Use handcuns?" / give II up.
AT The POLICE STATION.
Tne lofmaity OF an arrest, however, is the only
amusing side OF Japanese justice II you follow
the whlte-clothed policeman and bis prisoner you
VIII soon reach police-statlon In which SIT a
dozen clerks and functiOnarfes hard at work al
DOCKS and accounts and reports, with nothing 4
tobacco brazier beside each one 10 direrrntiate
them from similar European officials. The pris-
o S VIII De taken uefore a superior oficer, the
cnarge against MIN noted down, he VIII BE- search
eu. and then put In one OF dozen wooden cells,
tec rect square perhaps, separated from the CEN
tth passage by great wooden bars reaching from
Moor 70 celnng, and making cell curiousIy IKE an
elephant house, but providing admirably for ven-
siiaton IN this hot climate AT the poiice-Station
ne may not Dc kept more than twenty-IOur hours,
ana then he Is removed 10 a central station which
Is simply the first police station on large scale,
minus the functiOnares and plus the necrss Try AZ
rangenients for the detenJionOf prisoners for long
periods II Is when the time fJT his regular triIl
sonss tnat the Engish OF Anlcflt N investigator
VINO has been following the offenders career nndS
himself On unfamiliar ground BGt the UaiaInliagi-
OF Is Tar from Ing japanese or oriental and TO
AFrenchnan IL would be hoIne, sweet nome. For the
eecticisn or Japan, in proving all our Western in
stituionS and holding fast 10 those which seem 10
her good, results here at the center OF government
In what looks like an International hodge-pOdye
until one has learned to appreciate The national
principle which has produced II. Thus when you
visit one OF the purely political Offices say the
foreign office, you nn0 yourself In English at
mosphere and you speak EGglish- When you
visit the university, on the other hand you find
all the BOTTLES OF the medical school labelled in
GERMAN, the Inscriptions over the patients beds In
Lalln anu Cfcr.Ial, and unless you know Japanese
you must speak German TO be underst ood. The
department OF police, again, Is modelled entirely
apon the French system, and you must speak
French there II you are a visitor and be tried in
tue French style II you are prisoner. 80 | am
conducted TO a closed door and there tod: "It is
forbidden by law for any persons except the exam
ming judge ana his CLERK to be present at the Sc
eret preliminary inquiry; but b. special permis-
zion you may enter" As the proceedings were, Of
course, In japanese, shall have no difficulty In
preserving perfect discretion. IL was simply a
very small room with an elevated desk. Deuind
which sat the official aud his clerk, closely qusS-
uoning from a brief before HIN an individual-a
prosecutor this time-who stood upon the floor.
From here we passed, through endless bureaus OF
busy functionaries,
TO TIE SEVERAL COURTS,
and took seats behind several OF the judges In
turn A japanese courtroom at the present mo-
menL Is a dreary place, but this Is only temporary
for the Introduction OF European laws and Euro
pean methods OF administering them rendered the
Old department OF ponce entirely Inadequate in
size anu arrangement, and a new one will shortly
DC erected. Tine eour,-rooms are very large and
square. with plain white walls and board floor
Upon raised Platform occupying one end sits the
judge In oroadcoth behind ,ab.e hung with
oAlIe, VITA CLERK. sometimes in Japanese dress,
beside him In front OF the judge am at mis- IeeI
sat couple or policemen. Beyond them Is u stout
railing Oeaind which the prisoner stands Then
there IS the empty floor and opposite side OF
the room TWO Ut three bare benches Tor tle public
put the only occupant OF them In eaca OF The
tnat vis4ted Was solitary reporter taking notes.
FROM the animated conversation betwetn the
judge and the accused II Was evident, without a
purely French When sentence Is pronounced one
OF the policemen rises and leads the prisoner AWAY
70 sort OF gua-u-room at the back In which you
can see through the glass door that he wi ds him
up again with the cord and leads him away. In
civii cases the benches below the judge are oecu-
plea oy the counsel who Use alternately and ad-
dress MIN, and 50 lar can judge without
catcning more than word here and there they
plead WITH great ease and elouuence European
dress Is the TOT The advocates and one OF them
who was dressed In The graceful and dig nineI
dress CT the japanese gentleman, and VINO wore
"A. In hfsx
shoulders, was polnleI out to NE as an extremely
bar.
TIE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE.
so anxious were my guides that / should not
carry away the Impression, Us some visitors have
done, that was being shown only half the system
and that the better hall, that they took me over
huge green anu white wooden DuildinI sur.
rounding q fountain and pleasant garden court
There was the bureau oil the detective lore: the
burea Of the political police who LOOK after oossi-
pie ponlcal intrigues, Questionable lectures pub
nc meetings. and so forth; the bureau OF prostiIu-
ZION; the translators' bure1u; tie nol AIRY; the
financial auditors ONCE; the private bank OF the
department; the tempIe-ke place OF de .enJIon for
pOiilcal prisoners; the police BARRACKS anc fenc-
Ing roon, and score more. After awhile we reacued
room where twenty particularly Intelligent
ioeklhg onclaIs sat al bota sides OF long table
Piled up with newspapers scissors, blue and red
2chSus, pA,le-pots anu AL the familiar equipment
OF the exchange editor 5 sanctum. / turned TO my
guides Ior an explanation anu caught them re-
garutng me and each other with amused smiles
Then .aw the JOKE. IL was the bureau OF news
paper censorship. and these gentlemen with the
spectacle, and SCISSOR an paste were examining
al The newspapers VI japan Tor treasonao Die or
seltious sentiments or improper criticism min
lstcrlal and lI1perlal affairs. 1 WAS introduced
ara the twenty gem leInen rU,c simultaneous and
the laugh became general This, said my suitle
papers aud Inc tea pots OF the censors SIS an in
stitutlon you nave NOT yet reached In England
TIE PROCEDURE
OF this branch OF the japanese police Is simple In
the extreme A lynx-eyed censor discovers an Ar
ticle which seems 10 his colseryatlye notions IN
threaten the stability OF the government 10 bring
u munster Into contempt, or 10 foster iInprone@
-g1tAton among the people. lie extract, IL an
submits IL 10 the director Of the b1reau no proba
tly takes counsel With the higher authorities IL
tne censors View l. confirmed the editor OF the
paper Is pereInptorfly but politely Summoned
everything Is doue politely Ii Japan and have
no doubt that the school boy Is politely Uirched
and In criminal politely executed-lo appear al
Tue department OF police AT q Certain hour ON a
certaln day. When that summons come, 10 ioin
The innumerable caravan OF martyrs to A sense on
journalistic duty, lie knows lhaI-in the exp rp,-
siye language Of the Bowery-he Is ..SOner ,,
sal" he Is told, '.your estiInablc journal is sus
pended for so many days Good morning. YolIa
tout The bureau OF newspaper censorship mas
nor explains NOR Justin-s-it simply strikes But
the japanese editor Is noS the least WHY OF us
Sf1oe, and he, too, nas taken leaf from the same
DOCK Noticing how often fate strikes the wrOny
person. he has concluded TO make the Imitation
complete Ia this respect also, and he therefore
provides . dummy editor, IN the person OF some
worthy Individual who Tor small weekly consid-