The record-union., 1895-12-09


of q central authority by the non-re-
sistant docility of the tribes inhabiting
the provinces thus combined into what
by extreme courtesy nations have called
an empire. Utterly devoid of mechanical
skill, her ships also were of foreign
manufacture. 1t may be admitted that
the Japanese manifested a superior
adaptability to the hanuling of their
foreign-nade ships. But the individual
Chinaman is utterly devoid of chival-
rous sentiment or national patriotism.
The empire has subjugated him to its
authority, but has done nothing to ex-
cite his love or awaken his patriotism.
To him government is simply an eXter-
nal force, TO be feared and respected be-
cause of its power to lnfiict penalties for
disobedience. The Chinese mentality is
utterly devoid of all conception of all
national glory or national honor. Ma
tional authority to him is coercion;
something to be feared, not loved, and
it is a maxim of the sentiments that
fear without love uniformly degener-
ates into hatred.
But the most important factor enter
ing into the consideration of the ques-
ton of Japanese ompetion with amer
lean industry relates to TIE basic fact
that nations become consumers of the
articles they produce. The attempt on
the part of Japan to produce from raw
material the manufactured forms de-
manded by the civilized conditions of
America and Western Europe may
plant the seeds of an expanding civil
ization. When the people of any ma
ton are familiarized by their own man.
ufacturers with the wants of other peo-
pie, process of producing similarity
of want at once sets up. The awaken
ing civilization of Japan and the adop-
ton by-that country of the modes OF
thought and life of European and
American civilization are far more
likely to create a want for the manu-
features demanded by our own civiliza-
ton than to supply it. The declaration
that the habits of the japanese people
are so simple as to make the cost of liv-
ing so low is a revelation of the new or
der of their -productivenesS. AS
soon as they become manufacturers OF
the articles demanded by the people OF
America and England they will become
consumers of these articles. The very
first effect of the changed condition tC
flow from such manufacture will be tic
expand their own wants and to add a
greater complexity to their civilization
Let it not be forgotten that the wants
of man come into being by the oppor-
tunity for their qualification.
Japan to-day is just emerging from a
condition of arrested civilization. The
spirit of modern progress is moving
upon the surface of that Dead Sea OF
human life. Contact with Western Pow
ers found the people of Japan STEPPED in
poverty to their lips; not the poverty OF
deprivation, because where no depriva-
ton is felt there is no poverty. The pow
erty of Japan is the poverty of content
ment arising out of the utmost sim
plicity of want Mans efforts are for
ever proportional to his wants, and the
correlative of this is that his wants in
crease as his efforts to supply them
may exceed that supply.
To apply these principles: When Japan
becomes weather. than she is now, the
possession of that wealth will confer al
once greater complexity of want. With
the enlargement of her capacity to pro-
duce, there is TO be an attendant desire
to consume. The awakening Of 10000
QUO of people to civilized want means
the creation of new market for Amer
lean and European industry. 1t means
the creation of a similarity of want, and
this comes into being when the Western
nations are better prepared to supply
Japan by reason of the maturity OF
their civilization, the productive capac-
ity of their machinery and the greater
commercial. skill of their people.
There is no instance in all history
where commercial intimacy between 6
superior and an inferior race of men has
resulted in the wants of the superior
race being supplied by the inferior. Su-
periority has never succumbed to in
feriority on any field. y
Nor, is it to be assumed that simply
because the rate of wages in one coun-
try is cheaper than that in another
that the country possessing the cheap
oct Ioh will do III the manufacturing
for the world. We have treaties of com
ity and amity with Austria, and yet the
daily reward for the labor of the skilled
and unskilled in Austria is less than IL
any other country Of the civilized
world Austria has not offered success
full competition to our industries. We
have relations of amity and comfy with
Italy, and yet the average rate OF wages
in Italy, skilled and unskilled, is not t
exceed 20 per cent. of that paid in the
United States. For more than 100 year:
commercial intimacy between tht
cheap labor countries of Europe and the
| United States has subsisted, and ye
| America has arisen from nation o.
| 3 600 600 of people at the time sht
achieved her independence to natior
/ of T0000,0G0 of people. In this she ha;
exhibited a capacity for self-care, ant
an ability to meet successfully the com
|
civilized nations on every field. The in
herent attributes of the race which IL
past history has dominated the worlt
has suffered no decadence..
In the light of these considerations W.
have nothing to fear by the extension o
our commercial relations with all thu
| peoples of the earth. The superiority o
our civilization is not an accident, nor i
its preservation dependent upon isola
| - f,e aS-l11f of
evolutionary force, what we have &C
conlplished is referable to inheren
power. The only superiority which 1
| real is that which survives conflict. i
conflict with the semi-civiliZed people o
Japan is to extinguish our civilization
that result can follow only if in their in
herent character the people of japan
are fittest to survive.
| When. therefore, an American states
nan candidly declares that he believe
the. Japanese able to disastrously affec
the markets of the world, he is forget
ting that the superiority of the race t
which he belongs-rhe Nation o
which he is an honored citiZen-owe
/ it's greatness to attributes of superior
ity which are racial and not accidental
Long periods OF time are required t
produce any marked changes IL the IN
dustries or character Of races or ma
tons The relative position Oi <AHiefIc'
and japan IN the scale OF human prog
ress one hundred years from now WI
he about what Z IS to-day. Civiliza
tions are the external manifestation
lof the individual character of the peopl
Into which they are segregated Civil
lied manifestations proceed from tn
minds and conceptions of men, Their
Iare no instances in history where race
have suddenly broken away from tn
history aud traditions 10. which they ar
ATTACHED. and suddenly manifested rad
ical changes of civilized conditions
lJapan viii be no exception to this con
scryative force She has produced
superficial appearance of progress i
adopting our modes of life or the habit
land manners OF our civilization, but he
lraal transformation must come throug