The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-22

II
her army q . pe4ce footing comprisef
pansios he lsnd tSecqs vere increasst
| to ll5. 900 men on peaas footing. and Be-.
tween $4,000 and -, 80 men on . Wal
| footing. So much progress was mads
| that ct the end Of 1888 there were 10 S0(
men with the colorS, beside $50 students
In the military schools 1.-The hrst reserved
numbered over llEO0et and the second
5000. At the present war footing the
army u not less than 260. 400 men Of al
arms. and perhaps ,pcfS
In 1884 the Japahese army consisted Of
six divisions. not including the Imperial
Guards and the Yezo-militia. The head
quarters Of all these 1t that time, ex-
cepting at Kumamoto, in Kiushiu, were
on the Pacific, or facing away from Siberia.
The Yezo militia las since been abolished.
and q seventh division has been formed
in the Hokkaido, and nve more In other
places, all on the coast of the Sea Of
Japan, directly In front Of Korea or ST.
IBERIA. Thus has Japan put lock on her
back door. Her Pacific Ocean and inland
sea approaches are 20 strongly fortified
that an invasion from that side would
be exceedingly difficult, II not impossible.
During the war with China her weakest
spot was at Tsurgua. ON the Japanese Sea.
behind Osaka and KiotU, where her manu-
features are carried on. Now Tsurgua Ii
strongly fortified, and is flanked by army
divisions on the west and east, and has
railway communication.
No Superabandance of Wealth.
Although Japan has q population Of
A, 600. 900. that of frst-class power, she
Is not very much ahead in wealth and
resources Of the small kingdom Of the
Netherlands or Scotland. SO 1t is. then.
that her naval and military expansion
has taxed her nightly, and 1t has been
only through the consummate ability Of
her rulers that she has been able to pull
through. The management Of her treas
ury has been in the hands of very able
men, The department Of finance has been
managed SUCCESSFULLY by three brilliant
men-Okuma. Matsugata. and Watanabe.
In 1857 the national debt was 307, 000, 900
yen; in 1894. just before the outbreak Of
the Chinese war, 1t had been reduced to
2s3. 5oo. 900 yen. and there was surplus
Of about $11, 100000 in the treasury, which
was used to good advantage at the OPEN
ing OF hostilities
Later domestic loans of SIS, 400, 600 were
raised. Not including the English loan Of
E10.000. 900. Japan's national debt now
stands at about $207, coo, 600, with annual
charges Of Is cents per head Of popuIa-
tion. She has war reserve Of SIS, 000, 900,
and the London loan Of a10,0G0.000 Is
available. There is also an unexpended
amount apportioned to army and navy
expansion that could also be used, as we'll
as the budget for next year. about
81. COZ, coo.
The national finances Of Japan are thor
nt,O WhaU he
ed money in England security was OFFER
ed. AS security for her obligations Japan
steadily refused to pledge anything but the
national credit. The Government has been
very punctilious in the discharge OF all its
obligations.
In 1895 the excise tax on sake was ST.
10000; since then 1t provides 81. 900, GOO,
which defrays the ordinary annual ex-
penses Of the army and navy, and it is
expected that the. returns from the sake
tax will increase in proportion with that
Of these two BRANCHES Of military service.
At no late date Japan will be forced to
take into consideration the question OF
population. In 1872 the census Of the ISL
ands returned little more than SO coo, 600
souls. 1t has since increased II, 600, 900, or
80 per cent. Not more than IA per cent Of
Japan Is under cultivation, and 1t is put to
1t to feed 100000 new mouths
yearly. Not more than 1900 japanese
live out Of the. country. even including
the soldiers In Korea Japan has hither-
to managed torratses herIowns breadstuffs.
and even exports ;3SG0.000 seth of rice
svery year. but in 1891 she had to import
foodstuffs to the value Of 81, 900, 0C0. To
Offset this she lis endeavoring to stimu-
late and develop her nascent manufactures.
II is these questions that confront her
In her struggle for existence. She has
been forced to become a power, and has
responded to the demand with virility
that is amazing. She must coionize
sooner or later. and on this fact hangs
the fate Of Korea and perhaps of China
She must also be strong in her defence
against the mighty and Unsuitable Rus
sian. This Is never out Of her mird.
In the japanese primary schools the
teachers made a point OF admonishing
their youthful charges to grow up to
be strong enough to chastise Russia"
influence In Korea.
In Korea the influence of Japan has
increased rapidly. The Japanese are
everywhere in evidence. She has ros-
session Of the railroad and has begun
work on another Japanese soldiers will
police the line. which will be 300 miles
long and cost 81 SOC. 900. Military te.e-
Graph operators will be employed on It
The telegraph Il already in the hands
of japanese. The currency is japanese.
and they are building mint. The mals-
agcment Of the mails is in their hands
also. There are now about 25.0eO Japa-
nese permanently living in Korea
!. When one sees the swarms of children
In Japan and the decreasing death rate