Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-19
AMERICAN TRADE IN JAPAN.
kentarO kanekO Here to Tell Us
About His Country.


Kentaro Kaneko, "a life member of the
Japanese house of peers and minister of
state for agriculture and commerce in the
Ito cabinet. was in New York Saturday,
the guest of the japanese consul general.
Mr.. kaneko was graduated from Harvard
University i'll the class of IS, and come to
this country to be present at the COM
rencement exercises of Harvard, when he
will receive the LII. d. degree He is
small man, who looks many years younger
than he is, speaks English fluently and is
an ardent champion of close commercial re-
lations between his country and the United
States.
Il have no settled plans" he said but
it is my intention to do something during
my visit here toward enlightening the
American people as to the Importance of
our country as a commercial field. To some
extent this Is already known, but the ma
Jorlty OF the Americans are uniformed on
the subject, just as our people are ignor-
ant of the true conditions that prevail here
There are still thousands of Japanese who
are otherwise well informed who look upon
the United States as Puritanical country
which is behind European notions in the
matter of business, and still the American
trade is growing wonderfully. Four years
ago we imported from the United States
$1,000 worth of cotton, and last year we
imported $l,JOO,OOO worth English steel
and machinery was used exclusively in ia
pan until few years ago but the imports
last year from the United States in those
articles amount to upward of 81 COG, GOO
American flour to the amount of $1,000 600
came to Japan last year, and so | might
name many other important items of com
merce, but this is only the beginning.
America and Japan are coming closer
and' closer into commercial contact, and the
United States is already the best customer
for our raw silk and teas. All this has
taken place despite the fact that the ma
tons are strangers and do not understand
each other. The japanese, when he talks
about machinery, has Manchester, Eng
land, in mind, and Germany is his model of
commercial matters, but shall endeavor
to make the true conditions known to our
people and our conditions to the people of
this country
The treaty of 1858 ends this month, and
on July II the new treaty with the United
States and Europe goes into effect. BY the
conditions of this treaty Japan will be ad-
mltted to the family of nations, with SOW
ereign power, and with former restrictions
removed she will stand on an equal footing
with the great powers of the world. At the
threshold of this transition | am glad to be
here so that L may tell the people of this
country what doing and to take
back with me information about the United
States, which by the occupation of the
Philippines have become our close neigh
bors. We should be friends, and by work
ing tremendously there is no reason why
the two countries should not control the
Asiatic commerce within a few years We
want Americans to visit our country we
want them to study our resources and in
vest their money there. There are large
sums of money locked up here which could
be invested to mutual advantage in our
country. This will be understood better
Wren travel to Japan increases, and why
should it not increase? Europe and Amer
lea are so nearly alike that they are less
interesting to the traveller than our coun-
try. True. the European has no Niagara
Fails and no East River bridge and Amer
lea has no ruined castles nor antique
churches, but in neither part of the world
can one see what is presented in Japan
where a nation is now waking up from a
twenty-five hundred year sumber, graspine
willingly the ideas and customs of the
most enlightened peoples. Free schools
religious liberty, good government modern
army regulations and progressive COM
merce are some of the features of japan
OF today. Whatever money can purchase
no matter If its armies, ships or schools
Japan may have, but the economic uues-
lions, a thorough understanding of which is
essential. can be mastered only by inyesti-
CATION. This is as true of the United States
as 1t is of Japan, and / hope that our af-
fairs will be investiga ted and studied nv
the people of this country. to the end that
they will appreciate the value of japan as
commercial ally in the struggle for the
ASiatic trade -