Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-03-29
JOHN A. OOOKERILL IN JAPAN.
He Writes of Morals and Education at the
Antipodes to the New York Herald.

Antipodes to the New York Herald.
Japan has a dense population, and
where the struggle for existence is great
there must be sore poverty. The social
evil" is here recognized, localized, taxed
and regulated by law. Among the poor
tho custom of selling girls for immoral
purposes prevails-a shameful custom,
which the government is striying hard to
break up. Among the great Saddle classes
the domestic tie is sacred. Among the no.
bility womanhood finds its noblest express
sion As to the noblemen-well, this is a
section of Asia. The best informed stu
dents of sociology will tell you that upon
the whole Japanese morals will rank with
those of more pretentious countries.
One does not see such open, odious fla
grant Haunting of vice here as in London
and Paris but visitors who seek that sort
of thing have no difficulty in finding it,
and it is to these that Japan owtA Nnuch
of its bad name. The male foreigner COM
ing here usually has his attention first
called to the teahouses, the dancing girls
and the licensed brothels of the Yoshlwar
Like the cynic in the rose garden, who
sees not the beautiful flowers and observes
not the sweet odOrs, but dwells solely upon
the offensive fertilizing material about the
roots of the bushes these people familiar
ize themselves solely with the ulcerous
vices of Japan, and so, through their own
vileness, become slanderers of a whole ma
ton. just as the libidinous Englishman
of hundred years ago went to Paris for
lebauch and then returned home to in
Weigh against the wiCkedness of the French
capital, which he had himself helped to
demoraliZe, SO these foul birds of passage
carry away from Japan only memories Of
nastiness which they have helped to ere.
ate. But in these things, as in all Others
Japan is steadily improving.
One Of the pleasantest sights to be seen
here and in Yokohama is tho group of
handsome schoolboys one meets in the
streets. They are all bright eyed, chubby
faced, merry and sturdy looking. They
love school, and you can plainly see in
them the future sovercigns of Japan. The
public school system in JapaleSF thorough.
There is Coeducation of sexes and the
system is based almost entirely upon ours.
A few nights ago our hotel in Yokohama
was serenadod by band Of youths from
one of the normal schools They were
neatly uniformed, and they played, most
excellently, Marching Through Geor-
gia" and John Browns Soul" These
tunes, by the way, have become almost
national in Japan.
The eagle has long been the warlike en-
blem of nations Tho Romans carried
him alive at the head of their legions; the
French displayed him on their standards;
the Russians and the Germans have served
him up whole and split, double and sim
GLE red and black, and we ourselves have
made him emblematic of our prowess and
our ability to turn out coin worth less
than its face value. But Japan has found
merit in that predatory bird, the kite. At
tho beginning of the naval battle of Yalu
a kite was seen to light on the mast Of
one of the japanese ironClads. He was &C
cepted as the harbinger of victory, and Sc
we have now the Imperial Order of the
Golden Kite, conferred for valor. 1t is
henceforth to be the Japanese equivalent
for the Victoria cross.