The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-11-09
Readiness Of the Soldiers to
Die For Their Country.
DO NOT CARE FOR LIVES
Baron suyematsu Says Japanese Have
Been Taught That Duty and Honor
Demand Readiness to Sacrifice Life
in Times Of ePriI

Baron r. Suyematsu, Japans fore
most statesman and fnancier 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
ii the Japanese lIow IS Il that he
who knows how 20 fight and does tight
like lion ID battle IL capable Of ex-
pressing tile tenderest sentiments
What is tile moral code Of Japan2 Why
Is ii That the japanese soldiers do not
seem Ia care Tor their lives 1T an. but
attaes their enemy with q reckless
daring which SURPRISES that Of amy
other soldierg is it lis religion which
teaches him contempt DC deaths
These are questions which am ask
ed 70 answer every day, and | shall
ia these lines try 70 lay clear 70 my
readers the main traits Of tile charac-
ter Of the Iapanese.
First OF all / owe ii 10 my country
men, who are lighting 50 brayeiy
against the armies Of the ear, % state
| emphaticaily that 1t Is mot contempt
Of death taught by Buddhism which
makes them ready @ lag down thels
lives for their country Al any time.
The principles of Japanese ethics are
nowhere better expressed than III al
| imperial decree which i'll 1890 was sent
to all japanese schoolteachers. Ths
mikado iii this calls The attention Of
the teachers to the fact that the rules
which he gives iii the official decree
are the very same which his ancestors
for centuries tried to imnlant In theiI
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
II is our wish that you. our loyal sub.
1 jeets, at an times honor and obey youl
parents and love y0uf brothers and sis
ters. Man and wife should live together
I'll peace and love BE faithful to yonl
friend Practice self sacrifice and SET
possession,
BE Just and honest h al your dealings
BE merciflii. DO what YOU can to hell
Il StAEAlNE EEAAH NtANAA4Nlls 1sG HHAEN AlkkAsEs
Educate your minds and try to reach
perfection III everything
Always think az the commoaweal ans
spread light among your neighbors b
/ good deeds Watch over the constitution
| 81 the country and obey rs laws
BE ready TO sacrifice an. your life. youl
1 property when danger threatens yoAl
| country Always remember thar sou owe
/ your country everything and that gou
I
IFS interests.
| In giving these rules the mikado sol
emmy promised to keep them himself
and made the same promise for his
successor.
| This decree Of the mikado is read ID
the children ID all the schools Of ia
pan on the three great national holt
days. Jun. i, Feb Il ana tie mikados
birthday
| Religion Il not taught ii the Japa-
nese public schools, as the instruction
of ii has always been left to the par
ents, but every child must attend the
Ipublic schools regularly and Il only ex-
eused TN cases when 1t ii absolutely
necessary, and how strictly this is adj
hered to Is proved by the statistics
from 1901 to 1902, which show that
during that year 5s660926 children
| GILT, 1856 boys and 2,54a.440 girls at
tended the public schools regularly,
while the total number DC children who
for some reason or other did not attend
was only s1,s4G.
1t Is the young men who have been
educated In these schools who are now
fighting ID Manchuria, and it Is abso-
iutely unjust to speak Of them. ~ bias
often been done in both tile European
| and American press. rs fanatieaI bar
barlans II is also great mistake
to think that they do not value their
lives at all.
The Japanese soldier values Ills life
| as highly ais the soldier Of any other
nation, hnt he would never think Of
hesitating when asked to sacrifice il
Tor his country on emperor because
be has always been taught that duty
and honor demands that he be ready
to sacrifice it when his country Is ID
danger
| Special rules are laid down for the
|
N - ~ 90. EsrsHa nsRs ga -.