San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-04-11
STORES OF JAPAN.
THE ALMOND EYED MERCHANTS po
BUSINESS WITH LITTLE DISPLAY.

sH ~
Twas told Of some clerks In one Of The
large book stores here who got from $ls
to $50 month, and this was mentioned
MS an extraordinary thing. The average
clerk gets two days of vacation In Q
year, and Is entitled to two suits of
clothes and his board. Ichatted with O
bookseller through my interpreter. His
store was hole In tho wall with great
overhanging roof shading It from the
sun. The hole had floor about 10 feet
square, and his was covered first with
straw mats 0 feet by Q In size, and upon
these was laid stock Of Japanese litera-
ture of all descriptions. There were
shelves about tho walls, and these were
also piled high with books. They were
laid fat and were not stood upon end as
our books. None OF the books had
leather backs, and tho pages OF each OF
them were printed on but one side Of the
paper. This comes from the use Of the
rice paper, which Is 90 thin that 1t will
not bear two Impressions. They looked
moro like magazines than books, and the
average eize Of the Japanese book is
about that Of Harper's Monthly or OF The
Century Magazine.
UNPRETENTIoUs MARTs.
The bookseller frightened the girdle OF
his dress us asked to SEQ his hooks, and
heshowed me what looked like ledger
and day book. noted that these books,
as the Japanese printed books, begun at
tho back and ran to the front page, In
stead Of the reverse, as our books do.
He told mo he kept an account OF all
eales, and that he did very little business
on credit. bought book Of him, and
he wrapped 1t up In ON advertising sheet
lust as our merchants do, and am told
that the Japanese are fast learning ad-
vertising.
The next store to this was that Of
lantern maker, and indeed the stores seem
TO be jumbled together without regard TO
order. A carpenter shop Is next TO
shoe store, and q bath house bumps up
against hardware store. This lantern
shop was making the lanterns which arc
now largely used at lawn fetee in Amer
lea and which form the lights for Japan
ut night. Every one carries one OF these
paper lanterns here when he goes about
at night, and the evening you read this
letter you may be sure that at least 5,0O0,-
600 Of them are moving here and there
throughout streets and roads Of Japan.
Tho iinriksha mon have them tied to tho
shafts OF their carriages; the pedestrians
have them attached to sticks, and In front
OF each storo and house one hangs. At
dinner parties they fill the trees OF gar
dens with bright colored lights, and they
are exported by the millions yearly.
Ispent some time In going through the
wholesale stores of Toxic. Tho Japanese
are good packers, and they put up their
goods for shipment In different way
from ours. There arc fow nails used In
fastening UP the boxes or crates, and rope
almost universally takes the place OF
nails. Great store boxes are tied up with
rope, and In some OF the lumber yards
see that the boards are tied together IN
bundles and stood on end, and not laid
thrco boards has Its price marked on II,
and these lumber yards are practically
stores, and they may be found In oil
parts Of the city, AS to tho use Of string
In tying up packages, this 10 very rare:
A strip of rice paper is sometimes twisted
about about parcel, but woolen or cot
ton string is seldom seen.
THE ESSENCE OF ECONOMY.
noted In the buying of some photo
graphs that the clerk who made up the
package had some of this string. II Is
the Same that our grocers use. The clerk
first measured the parcel this way and
that, and took just enough to make the
knot and no more. Still, string Is cheaper
here than with us. mention this ns an
example Of tho economy OF the people.
And still you will find but few rich
Japanesel The rulo hero Is that the peo--
ple ore not accumulativc, In our sense OF
the word. They have never learned tho
philosophy OF investment, and they
spend all they make. They have In the
past had no chance for tho Investment Of
money, except In lands, and the saving
done has been largely for rebuilding
their houses in case Of fires, which are
very frequent. DR.. Hepburn, who has
been In Japan for more than ten years,
Ia my authority for the statement that q
japanese house Is thought on tho aver
ago TO last only fivo years before II is
DESTROYED by fire. Tho framework and
the interiors arc like tinder, and whole
villages are swallowed up almost monthly
In Japanese conaagrations.
The people arc the most careless In re-
gard 10 fires have ever seen, and there
are no fro departments to speak Of out
Of tho four or five large cities. This dan
ger has thus been an incentive to saving,
but above this thcrc IL little. Seven
tenths Of the people, at q rough estimate,
1.-Two from hand TO mouth though the
postal savings banks, which Lave been
Introduced, bid fair 10 teach them differ
entity. Interest 10 high, and tho banks
make money. There 10 not large gov
ernmcnt debt, and most Of the debt Is
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