The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-02
Toxic Letter in Chicago Record.

Toxic Letter in Chicago Record.
one of the most common and most
important indications of n great change
I'm the life and civilization of Japan Is
to be seen in the improved modes OF
travel and transportation. The an
Cicrt method, though in some sections
pack horses and oxen were used, was
essentially pedestrian. The common
people travelled on foot and carried or
dragged over the road their own bag
gage or freight. Couriere. carrying
the most important dispatches, relied
Uron ficetness of foot The higher
classes and wealthy people, even
though not themselves making any eX
ertions in their own behalf, were
carried about in vehicles by coolies,
who. with their human burdens,
tramped from place to place. on wat
or, too, travel ana transportation de-
pended mostly upon human muscular
oNcrtion as all boats, small or large,
had to be propelled by oars or poles,
except when favored with a breeze to
swell the sails and allow the hoatmen
respite from their toll. But all this
hard labor developed, of course, a
strength Ct limb and a power of en-
buIdllt' Iit' even III ItN'Hl SCdls tiNt
enabled the Japanese soldiers to march
and fight in either the piercing cold
and deep snow of Manchuria or the
hlistcring heat of Formosa A life Of
constant outdoor exposure to wind
rain. cCld or heat has toughened and
Drowned the skin and made an alto
gether hardy race out of the common
people; while the lack of this regular
exercise and Calisthcnic training has
left its mark in the comparatively weak
constitutions of those who Travelled. not
on their own feet, but on the should
ers of others.
The common vehicles Of the oldon
days were ordinary carts for freight
and "normoro" and "kago" for pas
sengers. The "norlmono" is good
sized sedan-Chair or palanQuin, in
which the rider can sit in n fairly
comfortable position. The "kago" is a
sort OF basket i'm which the traveller
takes half-sitting. half-recinng pos
ture, not altogether cOmfortah hle-at
least for tau foreigners. At present
the ''norimonO" is seldom if ever en-
ploycd except 70" corpses or invalds,
but the "kago" is still used in noun
famous regions, where nothing else is
available. 1t must he understood, of
course, that the mobiles and their re-
tainers often rode on horseback; but
the great mass of the people walked,
and the few rode in "kago" or "nori-
mono"
Now. however, modes of travel have
changed greatly and are still changing
year 10y year. There are still many
pedestrians; the "kaEo" is yet to be
seen; boats are still propelled by stern
end oar or laboriously pushed along
with poles; and pack-horses and oxen
even in the streets of Tokvo-are in
frequent use. But there are many
other means Of communication and
transport alton. There have come into
use the horse car, tho stage, the lin
riksha," the railroad, with the tele-
graph and the telephone; the modern
rowboat, the steamboat. the bicycle
and the electric railway, with the
electric light 10 show the road by night.
An excellent postal system and vari-
Gus other modern contrivances for fa-
"iitatng the means of communication
have been adopted.
THE FORMER CAPITAL.
| had occasion once to take a trip to
the former capital, Kyoto. In the old
days travellers might have proceeded
Now they may go the entire distance
over "A railway, which or most of the
way follows the old road. The trains
on this line, as on all Japanese rail-
ways, except a short one in the island
of Eezo, are operated on the English
plan with the block system. There are
first. second and third classes of car
rlages. The fare is | sen equivalent
to half a cent of United States cur
rencyJ per mile for third class; sen
for second class and sen for first-class
tickets. The passengers ticket must
be shown when passing out of the
gate at the starting place, and must
be given up when passing through
the gate at the destination. The trains,
made up of small coaches and a small
engine, run about twenty miles an
hour
Recently, however, express trains
have been put on to run twice each
way daily between Tokyo and Yoko-
hama. They are scheduled to make
The run Of twenty miles in thirty eight
minutes, and ought to be great con-
venience to busy people. The other
day | Went To Yokohama in one OF
these trains. 1t left at o'clock, and,
spinning by all the way stations with
. lion IN twenty-eight minutes, 80 that
II ought to have made the Yokohama
station in half an hour. But it had
Ia wait there in the yards for two ac-
cOmmodation trains, one of which was
thirty minutes late, and We did not
reach Yokohama till just one hour af-
ter leaving Tokyo.
The railway between Tokyo and Kobe
is operated by the government. and is
10 have q double track all the way.
Not long after leaving Yokohama the
Iron road" as a railroad is called
in the japanese language, gets into
the mount linous country around Full
Nama. and within a very short dis
tance has Ia pass through seven tun-
nels, These tunnels, as well as the
large bridges spanning wide rivers, dis
play some Of the difficulties, as well
az the brilliant successes, of railroad
engineering I'm Japan. And yet even
the most skllfui work is unable tn
secure the right of way against the
raging torrents, which, regularly In
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