Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-11-10


 Any Soldiers, but They Have AL
 ways Been Taught That Duty and
 Honor Demand Their Readiness to
 Sacrifice Life In Times of Peril.
 Baron K. Suyematsu, Japan's fore most statesman and financier, tells in the New York American why the Jap anese soldier is ever ready to lay down his life for his country:
 Why is the love of country so strong in the Japanese? How is 1t that he who knows how to fight and does fight like lion in battle is capable of ex- pressing the tenderest sentiments? What is the moral code of Japan? Why is 1t that the Japanese soldiers do not seem to care for their lives at all, but attack their enemy with reckless daring which surpasses that of any other soldier? Is it his religion which teaches him contempt of death?
 These are questions which am ask ed to answer every day, and I shall in these lines try to lay clear to my readers the main traits of the charac- ter Of the Japanese.
 First of all owe 1t to my country men, who are fighting so bravely against the armies of the czar, to state emphatically that 1t is not contempt of death taught by Buddhism which makes them ready to lay down their lives for their country at any time
 The principles of Japanese ethics are nowhere better expressed than in an imperial decree which in 1890 was sent to all Japanese schoolteachers. The mikado in this calls the attention of the teachers to the fact that the rules which he gives in the official decree are the very same which his ancestors for centuries tried to implant in their subjects, which have been recognized as the fundamental principles of ethics in Japan for many generations. The most important paragraph of this i'm perial decree reads:
 ] It is our wish that you, our loyal sub- ljects at all times honor and obey your parents and love your brothers and sis ters. Man and wife should live together in peace and love. Be faithful to your friend. Practice self sacrifice and self possession.
 Be just and honest in all your dealings. Be merciful. Do what you can to help science and education. Be peace loving. Educate your minds and try to reach perfection in everything
 Always think of the commonweal and spread light among your neighbors by good deeds. Watch over the constitution iof the country and obey it's laws.
 Be ready to sacrifice all, your life, your property, when danger threatens your country. Always remember that you owe your country everything and that you should exert all your influence to further its interests.
 In giving these rules the mikado sol 'emnly promised to keep them himself and made the same promise for his successor.
 This decree of the mikado is read to the children in all the schools of Ja- pan on the three great national hol- days, Jan. 1, Feb. II and the mikado's birthday
 Religion is not taught in the Japa- lnese public schools, as the instruction of 1t has always been left to the par ients, but every child must attend the public schools regularly and is only ex- Icused in cases when it is absolutely necessary, and how strictly this is ad- lhered to is proved by the statistics from 1901 to 1902, which show that during that year 5,66O,926 children (3, IF, ,4s8 boys and 2,543,44 girls) at tended the public schools regularly, while the total number of children who for some reason or other did not attend was only 81,846.
 It is the young men who have been educated in these schools who are now fighting in Manchuria, and it is abso- lutely unjust to speak of them, as has often been done in both the European and American press, as fanatical bar barians It is also great mistake ito think that they do not value their lives at all.
 The Japanese soldier values his life as highly as the soldier of any other nation, but he would never think of hesitating when asked to sacrifice it for his country or emperor, because he has always been taught that duty and honor demands that he be ready to sacrifice it when his country is sn danger.
 Special rules are laid down for the eGucaClOn or SOlQ1eTS ana SallOFS III aIl imperial decree issued in 1882, which reads in part:
 Know, therefore, soldiers, that we are your supreme war lord. You are our arms and legs, and you must guard your sovereign as you guard your heads and necks. Only in this manner can the right understanding between us exist. Whether we shall be able to protect and guard our empire and prove ourselves worthy of the blessings of heaven and the glorious deeds of our ancestors depends upon whether you fulfill your duties as sol- 'diers. If our glorious empire should crumble into dust the disgrace will be yours. But if you preserve the warlike spirit among yourselves then we will divide the honors with you. If you full IAll all your duties and use all your force !Soy tke preservation of our empire then our people shall always enjoy all the blessings of peace, and the sun of our empire shall become the light of the world We have full confidence in you, oh, soldiers, and shall now give you further general orders.
 ; Then follows number of rules con- Gerning the duties of a soldier, and the men are instructed to be loyal, brave, !faffhfr1I ohedienf and temperate Both