Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-27
R0GRESS OF JAPAN.
venty Years Have Worked Wonders
for the Picturesque People.
u CUST0NS THAT ARE GONE.
lth the Missionary HaS Come Firm Faith
in Christian Healing.
zLETgOYS OF CAPITAL AND LABOR

rcoEErsroSpEScE OF THE DGsPATcH.l
-CKOHAATA, Dec. 5.-In no country have
IL momeatcls political and industrial
zuges occurred in a brief period as in
pan. Prior to 1868 it was an absolute
s0otisn based upon divine right. The
.mmco people and above all the laboring
asses were mere property attached to the
2. Socially and politically the japanese
ollie Of the past generation vas lower than
.c negro slave Of the United States prior
1862 the Russian serf prior to 1856, the
udai villain or the Saxon thrall. A
liuio or prince was justified in killing
% for an ilsolent look.
To-day Japan IS s constitutional mon-
'cby under which the laborer has almost
Q same privileges as has an American
5izcn at home lie can own land and
ring suit AGAINST the most powerful prince
riches. arch-uriest: his lifn liberty and
-oue-tv are as secure as law can make
en-. Unlike IS In France and America
lesc changes have come from the govern
e and nor the governed. The people still
ing 70 and love the old forms and usagcs-
The People Are Still Obsequious.
Tron tie road when on horseback or in
ehicle they meet a superior, they dismount
- kceel or bow until he is 100 yards away.
one Of . higher caste enters their home
store. tLer express their delight and
latitude at his c,ndesceDscion by salaam-
.r and kotowin- until to the American
Inl i becomes utter WEAKNESS and vexa-
on OF suir:t II 3 Prince or noble takes a
.ncv to q Young girl, daughter Of a trades
an OF farmer, the parents hand her over to
le adulire- IS if il were the greatest posi-
e -avo- 90 be allowed to do so. In the
eaters, although they are passionately
md al al forms of amusement, they give
% JIelr seats without murmur, to any
.-= marty OF sociSl superiors who chance to
-op En- fey few minutes TO see tie show.
Up 20 IS70 society was purely patriarchal
he paJria potestas was almost unlimited.
Ean could sell his wife, daughter,
aughrer-in-l&w and even grandchildren.
..hin the family HIS will was law. He
Id -h5 power Of life and death over sll the
her members and used it at his discretion.
mon@ CarlCUs powers possessed under this
stem, he could pawn his wife and daugh-
rs -0r cOlcUbineS ana his sons and grand
gs for Save laborcTs for period not ex-
sa-iD- i've wears. The peaceful revolution
eEtoEed has Instituted the domestic rela-
Gus of Europe and America and has abol-
he'd the naJria potestas. The people &C.
sD- the change ag q necessary evil and in
-eir habits preserve the old system.
Believers in Christian Science.
II the CID days the people were Budd-
IS, with 8 spTilkIiu- Of followers of Con-
-C5.s and SLint0lsm. 1t is now fashionable
be q Christian, and there probably 500,-
20 nominal Christians in Japan. No mat
.- what The sect or denomination the peo-
.a are rahid believers in that qneer doc
lie known IS faith cure and Christian
.a.51E. The result is that hundreds of
..lEanGs die OF become GishgUred or
...rod for life, who with proper medical
al,lent would have been healthy MEM
rs 0l society. A wealthy family in Toxic
-'~-s q good Illustration. Their children.
-s ID number were attacked with opthal-
-l. They declined to call in a physician,
d when two friendly doctors volunteered |
-1.r services, refused them in positive !
~ For three months, the father, |
other and relatives spent all their time in /
r-ver at either the temple or their home. |
W. that time 5he disease had run its course |
! the children were hopelessly blind. |
zen then they displayed no sorrow, but |
eClared the misfortune to be an inscrutable 4
-7vlLeace OF . loving Lord.
AGv ore who RECEIVERS from illness no |
ser how slight or trivial is believed to |
we rerainsd health through a special in |
raosiion Of the Divine Being through |
he lzst-Gmertality Of some particular |
l-iue or priest. Gratitude is the same the |
ord o.eE Under these auspices 1t e1-
rcsscs itself in an immense revenue to the |
mples. ". hato, a pubhcist of standing, |
e"
he heei-btulness or unhealthfulness of the |
aar and that il never falls below $50, O00,- |
20 per aunun.
Statistics on the Schools.
The wealth and power Of the hierarchy |
re as formidable in Japan as even those Of |
4l church il Mexico before our sister re- |
-jlic c0aiscaJed the church properties. |
'-uca-icl Of some kind has always pre-
led In japan. Before the revolution it |
sls strictly Chinese. Among the higher
asses, az could read and write and had |
-. peculiar culture for which China is
nous, culture in which science and
lg--stlti01, faultless rhetoric, high moral
e and wholesale ignorance are equal in
rsl.ea-s. o. The lower classes 80 per cent
5ull read and write enough for business
ury0=ss. Since 1865, { school system like
. many respects 10 that OF America has
cen followed and has produced splendid |
.=.l.s. Enc text books, maps and school
r-Iturs are American or European. So
$50 as Erst We're the teachers, but these are
5v largely japanese, the new generation |
-rin- supplied thousands of trained and |
angnIe scholars. In 1859 the educational |
-.sLics showed in round numbersi
rmber Of schooIs..-............ 5000
amber Of ac1ers----.....-..-..... 5000 |
Euoi fCDulEtlo tlon.--.-.-.-......... 1000 600
--u-&Is atteEO4ng. $40. 600
In addition, there are high schools.
a-ln8l colleges, two universities and in |
very city well equipped public libraries
Traits Of the Japanese Character.
Excepting in regard to the sexual relation,
hen they have a special code of their own |
nike anything in the world elsewhere, the |
spanese are remarkably moral aud virtuous.
ionesty, benevoience, moral courage, clean
ness and above all dignity, suavity and |
0artes- characterize them as race to the |
CHEST degree. Rudeness, boisterous
10ducJ, vulgar language, indecency, and |
7i grammar are universally regarded as
10arGonable sins.
The topography Of Japan is wonderfully
.vo-able to locomotion and transportation.
he Empire consists Of hundreds if not |
loUsaujs Of long and narrow islands, large |