Frederick citizen., 1895-02-15
INDUSTRIOUS JAPAN.
Our Future Rival in the Manu- ac,
ture of Cotton.
Astonishing Progress In the Various Me
chanics Being Made by the stu
dioas Pcop.c of the Flow-
cry Kingdom.

Japan's imports for 1898 amounted tc
nearly s44.O0O,o00 according TO a report
of DR. Paul Ritter. the Swiss vice con.
sui at Yokohama. Comparatively few
of the products were sent from Amer
lea. Great Britain manages to control
the greater part of the market there.
Americans have created stir in
Japan, though, by the establishment
of Il watch factory. This big concern
was described in detail in recent lc:.
ter from Frank &. Carpenter, the press
correspondent Japan imported l03, IA
watches in 1893 and S9,3lS in 1902. The
value of the watches imported in lS9%
was about s2Gl 800. Americans arc
after this trade, most of which has
gone to the Swiss. OF the l03.747
watches imported in 1893, SG,713 came
from Switzerland, France sent 1925,
Germany 3.69i, and the United Statca
3G94. Great Britain sent but COL. Tho
Swiss consul thinks that Swiss watch.
makers have nothing to fear from tho
cncroachments of the Americans. Their
object, he SAYS, is to manufacture cheap
watches. He thinks that the Japanese
do not want cheap American watches
or they would have bought them long
ago instead of paying more money for
the expensive Swiss article. Tho
Americans own one-half the stock in
the new factory and make no secret of
the fact that they are on the ground to
take advantage of the remarkably
cheap labor of that country. The
American rolled-gold or filled-gold case
is popular in Japan. Nearly 500 of
them were imported by that country
in 1898.
Japan imports goods to the value Of
about $4,000 more than she exports.
Her principal articles of export are rice,
tea and silks. In 1893 the exports of
tea to the United States fell off nearly
one-third. The United States is Japan's
best customer IN the purchase of teas.
Prices of tea in Japan fell so much that
many Japanese tea raisers have turned
their attention to raising barley and
other &C reals. The production Of rice
represents ope-half the total agricul-
tural product of the country. Japan
exports some cigarettes to Europe. The
japanese cigarettes are very much like
the American. In fact they are using
American machinery in some Japanese
cigarette factories.
The United States is Japan's chief
market for silks, and the crisis here III
1898 played havoc with the silk indus
try there. America bought SO little
silk that the market was terribly un-
settled, and finally American buyers
withdrew entirely. This action COM
plctely demoralized the industry, and,
although in 1894 our buyers went back
to Japan for silks, the industry has not
yet recovered.
The cotton industry of Japan is of
more interest to Americans than any
other in the empire. Mr.. Carpenter
pointed out in one of his letters Il few
weeks ago that Japan was in a fair way
to become our rival in cotton manufac-
ture. His predictions are substantiated
by some of Vice Consul Ritter's figures
The progress within the last four or
five years is astonishing.
In 1887 there were twenty-four mills
in operation, with 10000 spindles. In
1898 the mills increased to forty-three,
with a total of 3S5,265 spindlcs. Manual
tabor is so appallingly cheap in Japan
that cotton spinners can meet all out
side competition, even that of India
So rapid has been the growth of this
industry that where in 1883 Japan pro-
duccd but 95G,sO4 pounds of manufac-
tured cotton and imported 47,439, $50
pounds, in 1902 the empire produced
6t,046,92a pounds, while the cotton i'm
ports fell TO 24,30S, 491 pounds, or nearly
one-half This shows astonishing prog
ress. America may well fear Japan as
a competitor in the markets of the
world, at least as far as cotton manu-
facture is concerned.