Evening star., 1903-07-01
PROGRESS IN JAPAN
FLEET REVIEW AT KOBE AND
THE FAIR AT OSAKA.
Appearance Of the Emperor-His Sed-
entary Life-Peaceful Con-
quest Of Corea.

George Lynch in Harper's Weekly.
In this my latest visit to Japan I have
been more than ever struck with the alert
ness. progress and pushfulness Of the
people. During the couple Of months have
been here I have had opportunity Of seeing
two celebrations which were Jubilant Of
what the country had accomplished. max
ing for war or peace, since 1t adopted west
ern ideas. The review OF the feet held by
the emperor at Kobe seemed to equal in
popularity with the masses the opening of
the exhibition at Osaka. 1t appealed to
the deep-seated warlike spirit of the people
and to their pride vanity as those who
are not their admirers call it. The clerk
Of the weather stage-managed 1t with dra-
matte effect. thick fog lay over the bay
of Kobe until the emperor stepped on
board the Asama. and no sooner had he
done so and the imperial standard with the
gold chrySanthemum on a crimson ground
was unfurled than the fog lifted like a cur
tain and showed the immense fleet of forty
five vessels. not counting the foreign war
ships. drawn up in five lines. His majesty
stood upon the bridge as the Asama steam
ed slowly through the fleet, taking evident
ly a keen interest in the proceedings and
asking frequent questions of the naval
officers surrounding him.
Received in Silence.
There was something impressive in the
dead silence, which is considered the most
respectful greeting for him, with which he
was received by the dense crowd on shore
through which he passed coming to and re-
turning from the review, the f1otilla Of small
boats full of sightseers in the bay, on the
crowded deck Of the Asama, or when pass
ing through the feet itself: the salutation
as he passed each ship of "Ho-Hai' re-
peated three times serving only to accen-
tuate the profound silence. After the re-
view there was a banquet on the ASama.
and the emperor spoke few words to each
of us foreigners who had the honor to be
presented He Is tall for a Japanese, and
when sitting down looks among Europeans
about their ordinary size, but gives one the
idea that he suffers from leading too seden-
tary a life The prince imperial did not
attend the review and 1t Is an open secret
that his health is so delicate that it is very
doubtful II he will ever occupy the throne.
The feet represented 10000 tons, and the
government policy of naval expansion
seems bound to be carried out by whatever
measures Of Increased taxation the money
Is to be found for 1t.
Industrial Exhibit.
There is more real matter of congratula-
ton in the Industrial review of the country
to be seen at the Osaka exhibition; there
even more than on the placid waters of the
Bay Of Kobe was one filled with astonish-
ment at what this people had accomplish
ed in little over thirty years. The lacquer
work, the embrOiderieS and the various
branches of manufacture where they bring
the feeling of the true artist into the max
ing Of utensils for everyday life are dis
tinctively and Enthusiastically their own,
but their recent progress Is more fOrcibly
shown in such things as their machinery,
the exhibits of electrical appliances, the
shipbuilding section and such like. They
are great imitators Of everything from
brandy to bicycles, and do not stop short
even Of initiating the labels.
Conditions in Corea.
From Japan I crossed to Corea, with
which in SO many ways it is now closely
connected. being dependent on 1t for great
portion of it's food supply. and being the
ground where a most curious bloodless in
vasion may be seen In course OF progress.
We hear lot about the Russian occupatio
of Manchuria, but here on every side signs
of the Japanese occupation Of Corea and
invasion by railway are forced on ones no
tice. Fusan is likely to become most I'm
portant city within very few years. The
harbor, which is perfectly landlocked. is
large enough to accommodate the entire
Japanese fleet; already the Japanese own
all the best sites, and whole streets Of Jap
anese houses can be seen in course of erec-
ton; it is almost impossible to buy a site,
as the Japanese will not sell. AS a matter
of fact. the Japanese, despite numerous
edicts forbidding 1t, now own one-third of
the city of Seoul, and close on one-half of
the next largest city in the kingdom. They