Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-27
EDUCATION IN JAPAN
Everybody Below the Age of
80 Can Read and Write.
PUBLIC SCHOOL PUPILS
USE OF THE MAILS AS AN INDICA-
TON OF INTELLIGENCE.
Provisions Intended for the Russians at
Port Arthur Held Up at Nagasaki
Losses in the War.
PUBLIC SCHOOL PUPILS
EY WILLIAM L. CURTIS.
S.rpf,I Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Rrcord-Ierald.

thirty can read and WRIT. Ihe olGer gen
Grafton. who grew up before the days of
common schools. are not so accomplished,
and occasionally some yokel comes out OIL
the woods Of the interior in obedience 10
the cnuscriptUu law vino can scarcely write
his own name. CousCrpts WHO cannot read
ana write are looked d0Wn upon by ther
comrades as men of very low degree ana OF
no credit 90 their country. am told, how
ever, that illtcrates of the conscript age are
extremely rare No young man or woman
i'm Japan has any excuse for ilhteracy.
Schools are numerous and within reach of
all although in the country boys and girls
of ten or twelve years of age often walk
as many miles a day betv their homes
and The schOolhouses
The attendance upon the public schools in
Japan is remarkable In 1902 the average
attendance was 5.G23.u0 out of popula ton
Of about H.U@oIo This is an increase from
329p,3l3 in 1894. Since the latter date the
number of public schools In Japan has in
creased from 2Li4 to .9.25, and the num-
Der of teachers from 81 .GSS to 110,104. 1t is
quite remarkable, too that 80 per cent of
the teachers are men and more than 40 per
CO; of the pupils are boys. The number of
girls in attendance in Ihc pubic schools is
Increasing rapidly. however and within a
yen" or two their full proportion of the
population will be represented on the rolls
creased from 9IS,1i6 to 1,G0o3&S since 1924
Higher Education.
The increase in facilities for higher edu-
cation is also remarkable. There are fifty
fCrr normal schools. 297 technical! schools
ana siNty-nine high-class schools or semi
naries for girls. and the number of pupils
in tie latter he's increased from 3.7gS to
17,2l5 since 1896 The number of vounp
women IN the normal schools has increased
from NJ to 2.GTi and liz the technical
schools from ISIS 10 3.G57 during the same
Iln," which shows the growth of the popu-
Iat!tE OF higher education among women.
ana there has been a similar increase all
HI"EJlu. ne number of students in the
Pr"IeSSlo N schools in Japan has advanced
from S.I4l to 14.5Ti since 1896, and in the
technical schools from II. IA to - CSC
NO country in the world not even France
or germany Is so well supplied with tech
meal institutions. For the education of
the army. for example, there are altogether
nine. including one for training musicians
another for cavalry, another for artillery
anu so on. The navy has six of different
grades for different purposes. including
school of naval construction
here are now two universities main
tanned by the government-one at Tokyo
and the other at kiOtO. The emperor was
present at the graduation exercises at the
former the other day and presented the de-
grees. In Tokyo University last year there
We're 3,435 students, and the faculty con-
sists of 23i professors. of whom seventy
teen are foreigners. The Kioto University
is Il comparatively new institution, having
been established in 1898 but 1T already has
Il faculty of ntnety-three and 641 students
The number of students in attendance
upon The colleges and universities of Japan
this year exceeds 5000, an increase from
1G.T61 since 1897. There are schools for every
speciality. for agriculture, for telegraphy,
for commerce and music and art, all
tanned by the government. The appropria-
tons by parliament for educational pur-
Ia 81 a ed ~ IS1 1oJ
a yen being 30 cents in our money.
Use of the Mails.
The post office is a good index of the in
teligence of the people. Last year the
post office department of Japan handled
2l3 1868 letters and 4SS, 500, IA post cards;
a total of 1O2 .S4I III or an average of fif-
teen for every man, woman and child in the
empire. The department also handled $50,
.,Ii, T64 newspapers. and II ,6I4o39 kilograms
were sent over the government lines. The
letters sent to foreign countries were 6ISI,-
OGO and those received from foreign coun-
tries T.U24 lI3
Missionary schools are now recognized
on an equality with government schools, at
least as many of them as conform to the
laws. which require regular reports, finan-
Cial and otherwise. to the minister of edu-
cation and regular inspections by the Of
fCialS of that department. 1t is also re-
CURED that the students have a certain
amount of military training and devote
certain number of hours each week to GER
tain studies. Formerly the teaching of re-
ligiou and religious exercises We're prohib-
tied in all schools under the care of the
government. and that law is still the
statute books but it Is dead letter. The
department of education never inquiries into
the subject As long as the teachers of a
missionary school comply with other re-
quirements they may give as much sec
tartan instruction and have as many re-
Hgious exercises as they like.
Curiously enough, the Buddhists, who ten
or twelve years ago deprived the missionary
schools OF all official privileges seem to
have abandoned the crusade, and make no
effort TO secure the enforcement of the law
This gives the missionary schools equal add
Vautages with all others. Their students
are not subject to military service as long
as they are engaged in regular study; they
ar" eligible To appointments in the govern
meut service and their diplomas admit
them without examination into the higher
government schools
Provisions Intended for Russians.
Down at Nagasaki. stored carefully away
iu " ,rrnouses. lis q vast quantity of Amer-
can Tuned molts-beef tongue. hams,
bacon. smoked beef. sausage and other va
r.ctirs. II WIS shipped ON American steam
crs from sun Francisco. Seattle and Tacoma
hCfur. the " lr VS. declared and was paid
Tor. $50 We assume. 10y the Russian govern
ment- II WIS consigned 10 Russian agents
in Port Arthur. but. for obvious reasons,
tpGii not DE delivered, ! ne japanese nave
NOT cuUliscItcd il. but have held it up and
have taken good care of II.
Large quantities Of military stores. in
Guiding guns and ammunition. shipped from
Europe 10 Port Arthur and other places in
Manchuria, have been held up at Hong
Kong Shanghai and Kiachou. Most of them
came from Germany. and considerable
quantity from France. While were
AT Huugkong some months several Ger
man steamers were unloading guns. ma
Chinery for the repair of warships. and
ammunition and ordnance at knowlton, in
HonSkong bay. not daring to carry such
CarGoes any further for fear of capture.
The Japanese know where all OF this war
material has been stored, and are keeping
very close track of it, so that ii shall not
get any farther. Russia has set them sew
cFal important precedents. The Russian
fleet has seized vessels loaded with coal.
railroad iron and ties. bean cake and other
merchandise which they insist is contra
band of war. The railway material was in
tended for Korea. but the Russians have
been pleased to pretend that II was on its
way to Manchuria.
The largest bill the Japanese have had to
pay To foreign countries since the war be-
gan was for coal. Between the LIST of Jan
uary and the 30th of June the government
imported $4,000 tons of coal from England
at AN average cost of 81 ton. in addition
to burning 100000 tons "a month from it's