Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-16
BUSY ALL DAY LONG
AN AMERICAN HELPER FINDS
HERSELF TOO SLOW.
Old and Young Show the Same Patriot
ism and Zeal for
Service.
Special Correspondence of The Evening STAR

m0tO, Princess kltaShlrakaWa, frincesS
Higashifushi, all members Of the imperial
family; Warehouses Hachisuka. Marchion-
ess Naveshima, Viscountess Mort. Viscoun-
tess JSabayama, Viscountess Tokugawa.
Baroness Yage and Countess Sali. The only
commoners In the party are Mrs. Kurok,
the wife of the commander-in-chief of the
forces in Korea; Miss West. young Ameri-
can woman, who Las become very popular
in the highest circles of Japanese society,
and Mrs. Barclay. the wife of the first Sec
rotary of the British legation.
WAS permitted to peep at the sewing
party yesterdays privilege which is rarely
granted to any man. whether he be for
eigner or a Japanese. The ladies were all
dressed in the uniform of the Japanese Red
Cross. Their dresses were plain nurses
costumes Of white or light gray, and red
crosses were sewed on the front of their
white caps. Every one of them was working
away as If her life depended on the number
of rolls of bandases she could make for the
field hospitals. They made ID $50 In the first
MONTH but they have become more expert
with practice. and they now turning
them out at the rate of $50 a day
There is great rivalry among them The
most expert is pIetty little Princess Nashi-
motto. whose husband is now on a special
mission to the United States. She can turn
out 90 Tolls day. Miss West and Mrs. Bar
clay, although they belong to races whose
women pride themselves on their skill in the
nursing art, lag behind many of their ia
panese competitors. Their best records are
ABOUT 40 rolls Cay. Try as they NAV thew
cannot catch UP with the quickest of the
swllt-hnEered. merry little women who
work beside them 0
Forget Their Luxury.
Even on the coolest winter DAYS when
the snow is deep In the streets of Tokyo
ana the foreigner shivers beneath his fur
coat, these peeresses never fail to turn up
at the headquarters of the Red Cross So
aDety. They have given up their old life
OF luxury and ease, and do nothing all
DAY long and every day except work for
s en1 soIoieIs ana sailors who are abroad
ngnting the battles of Japan. They can
hardly be induced to stop for a few min
utes In order to eat their light lunch of
rolled rice. salt plums and sandwiches The
K Knroa Oh several OF them are now in
they naturally feel a deep personal inter
est In the work. They give the cotton
for the bandages. as well as their labor
in making them up
This sewing party of the peeresses Ia |
by no means the only one of its kind in |
Japan. Women of all classes are busy
making lint. bandages, socks. shirts and a !
thousand other things for the soldiers. or
sending them preserves cigarettes and |
other small luxuries. If there could be |
found In all Japan a woman who is not |
thinking about the soldiers just now she |
ought to be put in a museum Even the |
Empress Haruko works busily for them
all day long In her palace.
A Busy Ruler.
The emperor rises every morning about |
5 or O'Clock and works hard before break |
fast Punctually at 8 o'clock he joins his |
war council. which comprises the premier,
Viscount Katsura, the elder statesmen, the |
isfo nf
perts from the general stats of both |
forces. He usually sits in conference all |
day long with these men, constantly re-
eeiving reports from Admiral Togo and i
Gen. Kuroki. working out the plans for |
the mobilization of the re- |
serves. and mapping out the naval and |
military campaigns down to the smallest |
detail Often he Is working long after
midnight.
His imperial majesty decides every |
thing said an officer attached to the !
general stan of the army. He seeks the |
advice Of the ablest and most experienced |
men and is guided by it. but he knows as
much about naval and military matters |
as the experts. and he has a genius for |
doing the right thing and doing 1t quickly. |
the war council he Hstenes patiently to all
that can be said on both sides. and then
decides in moment. He never hesitates. |
Sometimes he takes course which is OPP
1t always seems to come out right
Wants the News.
1t is said that the emperor will soon
move his headquarters from Tokyo to
Kioto. which Is nearer to Saseho and Maya
saki. the points to which news from the
front first arrives. During the war with
China he established his headquarters at
Hiroshima.
prominent figure in the social world at
Tokyo Is Count Sou, the feudal lord of the
island of Tshushima. which lies midway
between Japan and Korea. in the Korea
outpost of Japan. and 1t has been invaded
many times during previous wars by the
enemies of Nippon. Naturally, the island
another invasion when the war broke out
They hurried up and got In shape to give
the Russians warm reception. and now
they seem to be bitterly disappointed be-
cause Admiral Togo has robbed them Of
their chance of a fight.
Count Sou sent one of his retainers
Kioura, to Tshushima to see how his is
landers were getting along at this critical
this is his report:
Getting Ready.
"At present the entire island is in as
great confusion as IL warfare were actually
raging there The officials are working day
that may happen. and to be in position
to give all the aid In their power to the
warships and to the army of Korea
From all the homes in the island the men
have focked to the military headquarters
to be enrolled as soldiers. and every man
up to the age of sixty has been accepted
"Only women and children are left In the
deserted homes. The islanders are mostly
poor and they are short of fuel and pro-
visions In this hard winter Nevertheless
they are giving generously from their scam
ty stores for the cause of their country. and
their only regret seems to be that they will
not have an opportunity to give their lives
There is not enough accommodation for the
great number of soldiers on the island
Every house Is overcrowded, and half a
dozen of them will sleep together in room
twelve feet by six.
1.-THE islanders were much excited by my
visit and the message of sympathy and
encouragement which I carried to them
from their feudaI lord Men, women and
children gathered around me, all expressing
their desire to die for their country At
the village of Idzuhara, where the old
feudal castle stood. the excitement was
keenest.
still A1ort