The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-02-25

Special Correspondence Of II. Sunday Republic.
Copyright. 1890. by Frank q. Carpenter.l
Osaka. Japan. Jan. IS. 1901 first visited
Japan ten years ago. and II then had on
the seven-league boots OF modern industrial
progress ] came again just before the war
with China and found that the country had
again made giant strides. Since then its
business has been growing Ike a SNOWFALL
rolling down hill. and It IS now one Of the
great manufacturing nations OF the globe.
New mills OF many kinds are going up.
Here at Osaka are two score large cotton
factories. operating moro than one million
s%pindles. and last year eighty million pounds
OF cotton yarn were exported TO China A
great part Of the cotton used IN Japan IS
made here, and the business is SO growing
that IN the case OF the division OF China
among the Powers his region Will be
turned into one vast cotton mill for making
clothes for the CelestiaIs.
Just above Osaka IS Kioto, where there
are now modern elk mills run by electricI-
~ developed by water-power and about
here and below. at Kobe. are factories
which are making matches by the millions
Of gross for shipment to China. Korea. In
Ola and Australia In Toxic. 800 miles 10 the
some japanese have Just COM
pleted a wcoleE mill, AMI have row 1910
hands employed In making cloth to supply
the japanese demand for warmer clothing,
and at Nagasaki. the extreme western port
Of the Empire, a shipbuilding yard has been
established. which is making s,eO-ton
steamers as good as any constructed In Eu-
rope or the United States.
Japan Growing Rich.
The japanese are. IN fact. growing into a
rich nation. They are already the nRbobs
Of the Orient, the richest o: tho native
races of the far East. / do not mean tina.
they are wealthy in comparison with the
Americans or the Europeans, but they are
far ahead Of any people OF their own kind.
There are no beggars. / have not been
asked for aims once during my stay In the
country. and 1 see no unemployed. Since
the Japanese-Chinese war wages have IN
creased from 80 to 100 per cent. and men
who were working before that time for S
and 10 cents a day are now getting 20 and
Is cents. ana more than double the prices
paid for the same class Of labor In China
and Korea Wages are steadily rising. and
though they are still not more than one
tenth the sums paid our woTkmen, they
are enough TO be riches to the people here.
fhey are SO high that many OF the work.
ing people are saving money. There are
HNAr Al1 sAE,P',rp On ueIDSlt IN fES
postal savings banks. owned by about I.co.-
coo depositors. and this Notwithstanding the
people chiefly invest their savings in other
ways.
Big Things in Japan.
As to the growth OF wealth among tho
capitalists and the business classes. this Is
still more remarkable. There is no end OF !
factories. banks and companies Of various
kinds which are paying good dividends. |
The Nippon Yusen Kaisha Steamship Com
pany. for instance. is paying 20 per cent.
and there is a horse railway in Tokyo which
is paying IS per cent. The road IS the only /
one In a city OF a million and a half popu-
iation. Its owners were recently asked 20 !,
increase their capital and equip II cleo
~trically. They refused. saying they were
doing very well, and they doubted If they
could pay a bigger percentage by the cleo I
trio system. There Is no doubt. however.
hut that they Will soon have TO make the
change.
The railroads OF japan are paying. even
those that belong to The Government.
There are now between 200 and 1900 miles
Of track in the Empire, and more have been
projected.
As to banks. they are to be found every
whore. and as a rule they are doing well.
Two per cen; a month Is not an
interest rate. ard the banks az a rule pay
interest on deposits. The total amount Of
native capital now used IN this way foots
up more than $l35 .0oo.o0. the Bank of Japan
alone having a capital of 30.oeoao yen. or
100000 The banks do business just as
our banks do. keeping their ac-
counts and lending money in the
same way They do no thank you" bust
ness of any kind. and charge their custom
ers for any and every favor. There are
large stock exchanges In Tokyo and Osaka,
and the yellow. Acknowledged bulls and
bears fight here over the rise and fall of
stocks just as our white. straisht-eyed ones
Go in New York and Chicago.
Money I'm Steamships.
In their steamship lines the japanese are !
in