The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-02-07
INDUSTRIOUS JAPAN.
Cur Future Rival in tho Manufaoa
tDo OF Cotton.
h"t"n'sh:nE Progress In tho Various Bfo-
ch"htc1 Hcing Nnlo by tho Stu.
diou" pcople OF tho EloT-
cry Kingdom.

! Japan 5 imports for 1893 amounted to
! h%nriy sl4,o1o,G00 according to Il report
OF DR.. Paul Ritter, the Swiss vice con-
SUI et Yokohama. Comparatively fcw-
on the products We're seat from Amer
ica. Great britain manages to control
the greater part Of The market there.
Americans have created stir in
Japan, though, by the csta blishment
Of u watch factory. This big concern
was described in detail in u r&ccnt let
ter from Frank G. Carpenter, tho press
correspondent. Japan imported 1903, ,7i7
watches in 1893 and S3,31S in 1899. Tho
value Of the watches imported in 1903
was about sol 800. Americans nro
after this trade, most OF which hns
cone TO tho Swiss OF tho 1O3, ,7i1
Watches imported in 1898, S0,713 came
!r"m Switzerland, Franco sent 10,2h5,
GHrmuny 1904, and the United States
3,oai. Great Britain sent but col. Tho
swiss consul thinks that Swiss watch-
nia!icr' have nothing to fear from tho
rncroac'm"nt;' Of the Americans. Their
object, he says, is to manufacture cheap
w0tclc3. He thinks that the Japanese
dn rot want cheap American watches
or :hCy wnuld have bought them long
ago instead "f paying 'unrn money for
VIC cNl>NHiEt shN - :ftitlN. liO
Americans own onr-hnlf the stock in
thc new factory anl mako no secret OF
the fact that th>y arc on the ground to
take advantage Of the remarkably
cheap labor of thnt country. Tho
American rollcd-Gold or 1illcd-gold case
is popular IN Japan. Nearly 600 OF
thcm were imported by that country
in 1898.
Il i'm, ,p,,fy nI,,{ To f1,,,x al, -
about S700, 900 moro than she exports,
Her principal articles OF export arc rice,
| tea und silks. In 1893 the exports Of
! tex, to the United States fell oif nearly
| onc-third. The United States is Japan's
! best customer III the purchase Of teas.
! Prices of tea III Japan fell SO much that
many Japanese tea ruiscrs have turned
their attention to raising barley and
other &C reals. The production of rico
represents onc-half the total agricul-
! tural product Of the country. Japan
! exports some cigarettes to Europe. Tho
/ Japanese cigarettes are very much like
; the American. In fact they are using
! American machinery in some Japanese
! cigarette fuctpric$.
! ihr United States is Jnpan's chief
market for silks, anA Che crisis here in
i},; rluJrh t.voc With thr silk indus
tt'Y there. America bought so lituo
silk th"t t!l2 market WAS terribly un-
SO led, and finally American buyers
Withdrew entirely. This action COM
plctrly drmoraliHcd 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 fcw
weeks ago that Japan was in Il fair way
to become our rival in cotton mnnufac-
turc. His predictions arc GubstantiDtcd
by some Of Vice Consul Rittcr's figurca
! The progress within the last four or
five years is astonishing.
In 1887 there were twenty four mills
In operation, with $50, 900 spindlcs In
1903 tho mills increased to forty-tbrcc,
with Il total OF $50 ,2G5 Spindlcs. Manual
labor is so appallingly cheap in Japan
that cotton spinncrG can meet all ont
side competition, even that Of India.
! So rapid has been the growth of this
industry that where in 1883 Japan pro-
! duced but 050,S04 pounds Of manufuc-
! tured cotton and imported I7,d30, $50
pounds, in 1899 The riNu;:'2 produced
G4,0iG, ,925 pounds, while iiic cotton inn
ports fell to 2i,30", ,4ol pounds, or nearly
onc-hnlf. This loW$aat oniShinG prog
rcsS. America may well fear Japan as
n competitor in lhc IrnrltctS Of tho
world, Mt least as far as cotton manu-
facturo Is concerned.