The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-08-08

"uV iledtllei yesterday ut lHS Sl. Idul .
NJ. Z. Church. South.
believe you are much more interested in
The little band that will be to the future
historian what the Spartans and Greece
have been in the past. Since the days of
Leonidas and T~herin,pyiac .Evre has jeen
40 more heroic fighting than in the recent
battles of M~anchuria.
Port Arthur to Car Nicholas II is very
much AS Sebastopol was to Car Nicholas
| | In the Crimean War. When it falls the
backbone of the present war will be broh.
en- and Japan will have whipped two Of
the largest Empires of the world. China
and Russia, including much more than a
third of the entire population OF the earth
This seems entirely incredible when we
remember that in 1872 Japan had a popula-
ton OF only 33,1lo.s2a At present she has
only 100000 with a territorial area of
only 1890 square miles. Its snow-cov-
cred mountains are as far north as Nova
Scotia and It's sem~itropical fruits and flow
ers are as far south as CUBA chain of
islands more than 2.GO miles in length. Its
average width is less than 100 miles, and
every foot of Japanese territory could be
placed inside Of the boundary lines of our
| one State of California, which now has
only 1.4S5.G Of population.
The fifteen years following ~Japan's
awakening were spent in search of the
Japan were in the colleges and universi-
ties of Europe. the British Isles and
America. studying with all their might.
The Emperor asked them on their return.
~ kiCo''S nav III 1LC
Then said tho Emperor. we viii
ploy Englishmen and pattern our navy att
ployed to organize and drill the army.
Germans were employed to project medi-
cal schools. and Yankees from Massa-
chusetts were engaged to plan a public
school or a general educational system.
And in a single generation has developed
the eclectic civilization of the ages, an
establishment to all the world. AS to the
ara nnntr ihtyfin Vnnct IN c,tnf, n - rx-nl-
Gus development 1t is indicated In the
fact that two-thirds of all foreigners now
In the Japanese Empire (not counting
Chinese or Koreans are Anglo-saxons.
and .72 Of the foreigners are Protestant
missionaries, Japan is probably the best
manned of all Of the great mission fields.
averaging about one missionary to every
60.172 people.
Among the most daring students who
ever pushed out from the shores of Japan
was JOSEPH Neesima. He picked up a
language. on which were the following
words: In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth For days and
weeks he endeavored to find one who
could tell who this God was that created
the heavens and the earth. but he sought
In vain. No one in all japan seemed able
death penalty for anyone to leave Japan.
Covered up with vegetables and under the
shadow OF night. he drifted away from his
native shores to those of China. IN
cdNiiti ptidilSidJ lt pNsdh dSdib dSh
Ing the question: Who is this Goo that
made the heavens and the earth? Finally
he was told that the geography from
which his leaf had been torn was written
by an American. and that he would have
to go to America to have his question
answered. He soon hired himself to a
ship and worked his way to Boston. The
captain of the ship was not inclined to
talk much about the God who made the
heavens and the earth. but told the per-
%sistent inquirer that his questions would
IA c-rar in orty
"Alpheus Hardy, a Christian merchant.
who owned a part or all of tine ship. was
a little startled. when The captain intro
oft-repeated question: who is the God
who made the heavens and the earth?'
This noble Christian layman not only an
adopted him into his own family. giving
him his name and a college education. He
went back and projected a great college
and university in .kioto, and eternity
performed in the elevation of his native
land
in thought called the Meiji. or era of en-
l~ightenment. the people had much men
tai energy and moral stamina OF n certain
kind. In commercial matters It is well
known and almost proVerbia1 that they
often break their contracts. and among
merchants there are many who thus
bring reproach on the whole nation by
their false dealings. 1t should be remem-
bered. however. that merchants are the
last and lowest of all the four great class
es of society. For ages past The four
great divisions in society were as follows:
the Samurai, farmers. artisans and Tler-
chants; the first was the military. the
highest and most honorable of all. Next
to the military in honor was the farmer.
third the artisan. The fourth and most
degraded Of all the merchant. who has
given a bad name to the whole nation.
Ten years ago four and q half thou
sand miles separated Japan and the Uni
ted States. but since she has captured
Formosa and we have fallen heir to the
Philippines. we are now, only 20 mics
apart. In commercial relations we were
once as far as the East is from the
West but We were the fret to break
her 'hermetic seal of silence to negotiate
| n commercial treaty, and our relation has
been growing more sympathetic ever
since.
ION Sunday morning. Just fifty years
ago. Commodore Perry sailed into the Bay
of Yokohama. Tens OF thousands Of SOL
diers and civilians looked OIL in breathless
anxiety, without the flrins OF a Sinsie
each other: These foreigners are bring
ing imprisoned earthquakes into our har-
Dor Such multitrd"S Of japanese have
is nothing of which they are more afraid.
| When the flagship had dropped anchor
and all the other ships had fallen into
line. the capstan was wrapped with the
Stars and Stripes, on which the omen Bible
was laid. from which the One Hundredth
Psalm was read. Then the whole line of
the boys in blue lifted their caps and sang
Keith'a version of this same Psalm:
AS soon as japan began to catch the
spirit of Western civilization, the above
| three grades were established-the no.
bility. the gentry and the common people.
We seldom pick up, the morning. Re
former day in the Orient without a n in
clination ID throw up our hat and yell,
Three cheers for tho brave Japs" Long
nay they wave and never waverg"