The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-15

a party of important Japanese gov
eminent officials arrived in Salt Lake
yesterday and registered at the Knuts-
ford They are Michitaro Oshima, II.
H. technical director of the Imperial
Steel works: Gisho Yasnaga, mechan-
ical engineer. and Messrs. Obana Taxa
yana and Komura. engineers in the
same department of the government.
They are in America to inspect the
methods of mining and smelling miner
ais in general, but their especial mis-
sion is in connection with the manu-
factlre of iron They will inspect the
mines and SmelterS of this vicinity,
then continue on an American tour,
which will take in all the principal
mining sections, particularly those IN
which iron is produced and nanufac-
tured, after which they will sail for
Europe on a like mission All the
members of the party are highly edu-
Gated and most of them speak English
distinctly. All are immensely impressed
with everything American and speak
of no institution but to praise 1t. over
what they have seen OF Utah they are
enthusiastic and Will spend several
days in seeing more.
In conversation with Herald re-
porter last evening, Mr.. Obana praised
the enterprise and prOgressfveness Of
Americans very effusively. and then
swelling a little with pardonable pride,
said: But it won't be many years
before we shall show you who come to
us d country comparatively as great,
and we shall not be as many years in
attaining it as you have been, for while
you are a marvellously progressive
people, you are not as Jealous as are
the people of our little kingdom, who
have in the past few years learned the
possibilities that are before them The
war with China did much for our peO-
pie in this regard. We won it by pure
patriotism of our soldiers, for we were
sadly outnumbered and our navy was
on no sort of equal terms with that of
China. Our people knew and realized
how great were the achievements of
the japanese in that war and it
brought them to realize that if such
achievements could be accomplished at
arms, they could achieve equally as
great things in an Industrial way.
AS d result they are making the clos
est application to the study of all in
dustrial pursuits, and if 1 do not cal
culate wrongly we shall be competing
with you on a plane of equality both
as TO the slxilfulneSs of our artisans and
the quality of the article manufactured.
almost before you realize it to be d
fact"
Turning to the mission in which the
party is engaged, Mr.. Obana said:
Our government is expanding the
greater part of the indemnity money 1t
is receiving from China in public i'm
provements, in building railways, i'm
proving the navy, ETC., and as all rail-
ways, etc, will be under governmental
control it is the intention of the heads
of the government to introduce the
most modern and improved methods in
everything. 1t is along this line that
we are now in America.
We have extensive iron deposits in
northern Japan in the Swate district,
and equally as extensive coal fields in
the KuOhu section. The government
proposes to develop both. and in build
ing railroads now projected. native
material will be employed. The gov
eminent also intends that we shall
build our own war vessels, and with
these objects in view has sent the
members of our party to investigate
American and European methods, with
the object of taking advantage of the
most advanced ideas. Our party in
cludes the principal engineers of the
imperial government. We are directed
to investigate everything that is most
modern in mining and smelling, with
particular reference, however, to iron
We shall see ali we can in America.
DDS of the old continent and when we
have finished we shall purchase a
smelling and iron manufacturing plant.
selecting only the most modern and
best machinery to be found in both
America and Europe. In fact. we shall
have plant embracing all the latest
ideas in the whole world in iron pro-
duction and manufacture.
The plant Will be located in the dis
trict containing the principal coal fields
and then the japanese government ex-
poets 70 manufacture steel armOr for
her vessels and guns to arm them that
shall eclipse the world Then also we
shall manufacture the steel rails for
all the roads in Japan
The party goes to Park City today
to inspect the mines there. and later
will visit the other important camps of
the state.
a ZIG TRUST DEED.