The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1893-11-16
THE ENrinr lstANp rErnnMFn.


some forty miles distant from the larg,, is,.
and OF Eco. lies - tiny island called Oku.
shtri. Its soil IL fertile Trees of yarviny
proportion cluster thickly over its surfaces
IN" agriculturist aud the lumbcrman might
hnd profitable occupations there. But the
culeI pursuit oI the people IL fishing. Every
spring great shoals 81 herring nnpronrh tho
coast and the fish are easily captured i'm such
quantities that this one hountiiul dispensa-
non OF nature Sui1lces to iced and clothp ths
inhabitants from years cud to years end.
LIVING thus IN ease and plenty the peoplo
might be expected 10 develop qualities usu-
ally incidental to such circumstances and
they appear To- have fallen pretty freely into
the vice OF drunkenness. in 1885 there were
Sonic 2GO souls In tho island. They possessed
ohIy lour uN"d ucts. They lived in houses
'hat'hcl with coarse grass they had scarcely
any roads. and they rould boast only n sin
gle school. Yet they consumed annually
N3OOO worth al sake IN addition 10 shochu
ahi other strong drinks. In short. ihrsr
common Usher iolks spout upon Intoxicating,
beverages more than ~ per month for every
Wnlt nI their uumhcr, including women and
'hildrcn. Tn" SAM ratio of intcmpprancc
Applied To- the whole of Japan would signify
an annual expenditure of $500 900 nOD ON in
toN!cHting beverages alone In THE face of
ms rr'kirss outlay for liquor the people
often suffered severely from hun.pr and cold
during the winter. the price pt rice rangin,.
very nigh IN th" midwiutcr months and tho
dwrl'ing houses being III adapted TO exclude
tue lh'l"mcut atmosphere. The local ai-
thoritics prevailed upon them in ndopt "A .ys-
tom "l storing provision, against times of
HHrcty, tut their sources. rriuccl hv pay
mthlS On account oi sake. were insufficient
To accomplish anything effective nthat line.
ThcSr circumstances Induced some bold
men among th"m to Openly drnouncc the cN-
"cs~ive Us" ot alcoholic beverages rs the
~ hta
preach tn" necessity Of applying to usriul
purposes the iunds thus Spuaulcrrd The
'ruNhdc provoked violent opposition, hut I'm
1881 the inhabitants were induced TO enter
INTO the following agreement
covenant made 10y the people of O,ushiri
Island concerning the ,llr aud purchase of
alcoholic beverage, and the Usc Of the same
IN th" island uf Okushri.
TINS l1n which We lnhlhit ig "A lonely
stand In the Pacific Ocean. IT, inhabitants
numbering ninety families lind almost their
onN means nf amusement IN drinking alro-
hot. Nine ont OF every ton are addicted to
SAKE, the sums annually surn, upCn which
aggregate a heavy amoun,
'pehiors are unable to meet thoir engage
m'uts, AMI some are even compelled TO de-
prnl on official aid for supplies OF food, Wa
are threatened with misery and some extra
ordinary measure IL necessary TO save u.s.
trusality must be the rule of our conduct.
III.
We. therefore, hereby rcsoiyeto abstain from
he luxury witch w. relish aboyr all others,
namely, sake, 50 ~ To terminate the importa-
ton Of the liquor intoth island. The money
hitherto devoted To- the purchase ot sake shall
v" applied io lay IN stocks of ric' and other
grain ~ provision against future want, on
ne one hand aud 10 increase tho capital
available for fish rs purposes on the othrr.
"ISiGNNruREs uv run PROMOTERS
"Dat"d July. 1884,.
"Auiclr |. Ne, the inhabitants OF Okus-
hir island, jointly and sryrrally, IN accord
rnca with the covenant hereby signed, do
pledge ourselves to abandon wholly the sale
purchase, and use Of alrohic beverages.
tSigncd) III OKUsuIRG lsIASpEEs"
The consequences of this covenant wesa
very marked II was vigorously observed.
Even Govcrnmrnt ofilcIafsA Whatever tneir
rank, had to give up sake drinking when
thrj visited the island and. as "a matter ol
course. every dramstrr who 'ou'd not re-
form was compelled 10 take l.Rs departure.
Order thenceiorth reigned comRlctoiy, and
2'osperity came with rapid strlu'es' Iho
population increased Ave iold in ilSE NraL
ami the capital invested in the fishing ius-
try ten fold. Reed thatchcs were replaced
hy shingles. -Four large Granarcs were kept
fun of rice. and in addition. each house had
- store oI its own. II Is stated that there il
now stored IN the island rice sufficient to
support th" people for three or iour years,
even thongh th" herring fishery should fall
entirely. EpahS have have been constructed
IN place, where nothing OF the kind existed
before. rho principal school has been
greatly improved and several branch schools
have been established.
New lands have been brought into cultiya-
ton. and hemp to the value OF $4,000 Is
grown annually for the manufacture of fish
Ing nets, which, bniorr the signing Of the
covenant had To hc imported entirely from
the mainland. Statistics also show marked
decrease Of crime. and so famous did the
success OF the experiment become that u
larg" community Ol settlers in the ncighlOr-
inG island ol mo pledged themselves 10 u
covenant similar 10 that ol Okushiri. and
with similarly happy results. Finally, We
may add thar when the five years originally
contemplated by the covenant expired II was
renewed Tor another term of five years, drs-
pitr the opposition OF au influential local Of
l!ciaL-Jupan Man.