The San Francisco call., 1896-02-21

| for two years. He will spend considerable
| time IN both America and Europe. he
| appears to be scarcely 40 years old.
The Japanese newspapers closely re-
| semble those of the United States in many
| respects. They print the latest news with
the latest and most improved machines.
| Some of them are just as sober and IN
structlve, others just as sentimental, still
| others Just as enterprising. Tne develop
ment OF journalism in that country is
indeed surprising, but taking everything
into consideration l do not think the
japanese are much behind the Americans
IN this as in many other things.
Twenty years ago the Mlkado's people
| did not know what a newspaper was.
Now there are more than fifteen different
daily papers in Toxic alone, and at least
one or two papers in each of the numer
Gus towns scattered throughout the
country. In Japan even q peasant, who
has been working hard under the blazing
sun OF a summer day,
There, at the foot of yonder nodding beech,
That wreathes its old, fantastic roots so high,
His listless length at noontide would be
Stretched
And instead of 'poring upon the brook
that babbles by will attentively read 4
morning journal.
"a coolie who lives on half a cent day is
| equally anxious to know the current news.
This Is not newspaperlike tale of my
many foreign travellers in Japan.
1.-The leading journals consist offrom ten
| TO twelve large pages, ana contain edito-
rlals, news, commercial notes, foreign ana
| internal dispatches, some illustrations and
bit of novels, which appear as series
for month or so. Some OF the papers
are party organs, some are independent.
Their staff is composed of the managing
| editor, the editors in charge OF different
I departments, such as foreign, internal,
| commercial, etc, and finally the reporters,
among whom the fair sex is not yet num-
bered in Japan. They all try hard, like
| their brethren in the United States. to
| teach the people to be healthy, wealthy
and wise but as to whether they are
themselves all such there is room for dou pt.
| "At any rate the japanese journals are
not blessed in all the earthly things, owing
| to the Government censorship officers to
whom | have already alluded, who are
specially appointed for the purpose, watch
ell the papers very closely every day as
they come out, and if they find any article
which they deem detrimental to the mo-
rallty or the peace OF the country, the
issue OF that unfortunate paper which con-
tains that article is at once suspended till
such time as the Government thinks
| proper, which is in practice week or two
| This suspension always causes no insig-
| nliicant financial loss to the paper, and
| thus becomes means Of infiicting severe
punishment upon it. No wonder that all
the Japanese journalists despise this law
| For myself, l cannot see any justice in the
law, which e1croaches upon that great
right of a self-governing people-the liberty
of speech. OF course newspaper men are
not gods, and will at times lose the control
OF both their temper and pens, but in such
a case there are other and better methods
OF cnastising them than by the Govern
mens censorship. Very soon, however,
| l. g.. L.
as darkness before light, when the Japan
ese newspapers will become so interesting
and instructive that | may feel sorry for
those who cannot read them.''