The morning call., 1894-04-15

on the other side OF the world. Asia is
now one OF the news centers of the 81 ODE.
1t is making history faster than either
America or England, and a wonder full
change is going on among the nations of
slant-eyed humanity. which Is bound TO
affect every man, woman and child in
chrstendom.
This land of Japan made the start and
it has now on | feet the seven league
boots of modern progress. 1t is jumping
ahead faster than any people have ever
jumped in the past and within twenty years
II has grown more in civil cation than the
European nations have advanced in centu-
ries. i see from japanese paper of this
morning that Japan made last year 120,-
COO 600 postal cards at cost of 30 cents
pc thousand. [ can hardly realize it. and
think there must be a mistake in the fig
ures. But there is no DOUBT that the
postal service here is MS good and as cheap
as that of the United States. and these
people run their postal arrangements, pay
ing for everything in silver. more cheaply
than we do paying in gold. The banking
systems, railroads, telegraphs and schools
of Japan are managed lmost as carefully
and as iD.elligently as those of the United
States. There are 100 periodicals published
In the city of Toxic alone. and the news
papers are read by the millions. In bust
ness and manufacturing On a large scale
reports of the elections. which are now
taxing place in The different provinces,
show as many quarrels and as much brib-
cry as though The Japs had taken lessons
of our ring politicians.
A slower but as sure revolution is 60
ing on in China. The four hundred odd
millions of pig-tailed Celestials ara pulling
the Sits of their buttonhole eyelids apart,
and 1t is only question of time how soon
they will be putting their wonderful
muscles, their sharp business brains and
their cents day habits of living into
competition with our eight-h0ur, two-dol-
iar-a-day laborers as to the manufa etured
produces of the world. They have coal and
iron in every one CT their eighteen
provinces. They can do as good work as
we can, and they will work twelve hours
for one-twentieth the sum that our people
get. When they enter the modern manu-
featuring Tace the question will not be one
Of competition. 1t will be one OF exist
ence, AMI we will have TO build protec-
tive tariff barrier about the country as high
as the Washington monument. or cut down
our living expenses to the size of the alu-
minum tip on the top of it. At the present.
time big cotton factories have been estab-
lshed in almost the center OF the Chinese
empire. They are, am told. making can
non and guns as good as those turned out
by our Government works. and the ques-
ton of railroads is being agitated by some
of the most progressive men of the empire.
1t may take generations to bring the
country to the state that Japan has already
reached, or the revolution may be precipi-
tated by a war which may come with
rush. just now both japan and China
are torn with dssensions on the subjecf.
There are strong antI-foreign elements,
and an American buyer for big New
York silk firm told me this morning that
he did not think it safe for him TO travel
over Japan while the elections are
taking place. The bulk of the people OF
China are againsi the foreigners, and anti
foreign sentiment increases daily. The
literati OF the empire see the possibility
of revolution and they are disseminating
all sorts of reports as TO the wickedness 6f
the missionaries and OF the other '.red-
headed, blue-eyed foreign devils" as they
call US. Out in The country districts about
this place | have often heard the words of
japanese which my interpreter tells me
mean ''hairy barbarian" buried at me. and
in Tho streets of the Chinese cities | shall
probably have to pocket many an insult to
avoid trouble. In Japan, where the pro-
gressive element is IN the aSlendency, and
| have special letters from the Govern
ment, 1t is comparatively safe, and | shall
return here and make an extended tour in
the most out-of-the parts of the country.
The most dangerous part Of my journey
| | fiud viii probably be among the Chinese.
shall skip the coast ports and push my
way into The interior. | will visit many
large cities, some OF whrh are hardly
known to the average reader. aud will
travel 1000 miles or more up the ang tse.
Kiang River. ] expect TO visit the old cap
Ila OF the empire, known as Marking,
where the famous porcelain tower" was.
and which Is now one of the cen
ters of the Chinese literati. 1t has been
called the Athens of China. and it is one Of