Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-04-02
\ WHEELING MIN N Japan.
III. William H. Woodward Writes
From Yokohama.
HTS IMPRESSIONS OF THE PEOPLE,
THEIR METHODS, CUSTOMS AND
CHARACTERISTICS-STI FAR
BEHIND AMERICAN AND EU-
ROPEAN CIVILIZATTON-GO
IMITATORS BUT NOT THOR
OUGH-SKILLFUL BUT NOT ME-
CHANICAL

after two weeks at sea, in the winter
when it's cold, and rough when not
stormy. The landscape is not fine in
any sense. The hills are not high,
rather bare, trees thereon small. The
bav is fine with its shipping and bright
sun and flags, of all nations seem to be
floating. What attracts the most at
tention is the, people, who are dark,
small bullet headed, close cropped,
with dark eyes, rather small mouth,
thick lips and nose not a very prom
inent part of the face. They are
cuick in moVem ent, and wear dress
All Eastern. A man in petticoats looks
rather strange, but most of them are so
clothed Some wear drawers under
them; some do not. Socks are not ac-
tually required by law or custom, and
not all wear them. The upper garment
is a cross between a cape overcoat and
a Mother Hubbard. l saw so many
men without arms that felt shocked
AT the result of the war with China, but
n,s.e knowledge showed the arms and
ban0s were simply put in some under
garment. AS for shoes wooden one
Of SOME pattern issthe kind mostly used,
those With two three-inch strips across
them bting the most common; very
dry and good in the mud, but when the
wearer str likes hard ground, floor or
pavement, the Hclang" is the most an
moving of all crowd noises. The hum
and buz of an American jam cannot
compete for a moment. When there is
real work to be done these clogs dis
apnear and are replaced by heelless
sandal. which when held to the heel
nermits of fair work. The man horse
who pulls you in a baby carriage at a
six mile gait sor long distances uses a
straw sandal.
The most stri king thing about these
Japs is their power. to resist cold The
"man horse" for The most part has legs
hare above the knees, hatless, a light
shoulder garment which at work he
discards. in a climate where ice
has been made abort every night since
I have been here. The houses rarely
have any fire places none in the coun-
try, if one can judge' from absence OF
chimneys. The shops, whose fronts are
usually wide open, ATE warmed with
a handful of charcoal, burning in a
brazier. The clerks gather around
these and warm their ,hands. l have
seen a man with bare sgs standing in
the water, breaking off the rice stubble
and the ice not all melted that was
made the night before. l have stop
ped at a great hotel, the finest hotel
building in Japan, and save an open
ire>sr So iaIIhe dining room there was
no artific heat, save a. handful Of
burning lrcoal here and there. Out
side, ice es plenty. Fact is, the Jap
has no i of what we lin the West
know as mfort.
His hous$ is a thin one-story, or one
and half, \wooden shantv; no paint,
no furnitureE no windows, save Of pa
per. He sefms to have no use for
light, for lie prevents it coming into
mis- house Of workshop. I have visited
the latter Where fine carving, porcelain
painting, blaid work on metals, and
other work requiring the best of sight
was being done where the only light
came through paper, and a small glass
light, say four inches by six, to a
workman. He has no paved streets, or
sidewalks; in fact, he has few side
walks. Sometimes there will be curb
stone, but outside and inside thereof
the street is t4e same. When it rains
the soft material of which the streets
are made, runs, and the people remain
indoors. TA4 largest city and the
smallest village are alike in this re-
gard. Where the Europeans have had
power as in the concessions in the
treaty ports, one will find good houses
streets good at least in dry weather.
and sometimes, say at Kobe, wide, well
paved sidewalks.
Transportation has been and is a
weak spot = the civilization of Japan
BesoSc the European was permitted
there were no roads, only paths in the
country. In fact, all movement of the
people was discouraged Horseback
riding was prohibited, at least to the
peasant class. The small carriage call
ed the jinrikisha, has been in vogue
about thirty years, and was the inven-
ton of an American. Now there are
some good dirt roads suitable for such
vehicles. They are we'll made and
graded, but too narrow for our vehicles
to pass.
There is scarcely a difference among
( foreigners as to the honesty of the
Japanese. Nearly every person with
whom | have talked says they are not
honest. The merchant will not take
goods he has ordered if price declines
the contractor will not complete a job
If he thinks he will loose money; the
house servants will steal; all groceries
and supplies which enter your house
pay commission. A servant girl COM
planned to the, master of the house that
his chief servant, who spoke English,
had demanded commission because
he had secured the place for her At
the places OF amusement one price for
admission to man with a moustache,
another price to a man with a full
beard, the regular price to Jap. In
the shops that handle goods purchased
by foreigners, one price to the Japs 20
to 20 per cent. more to a European
who resides in Japan, and third and
highest price to the stranger. All con-
ceivable cheats and counterfeits are
worked on the stranger.
False labels on all well known liq-