The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-17
Japan's People Bled to Keep
Up Great Navy.
CONDITIONS ARE TERRIBLE
Tourist Made to Think That
Everything Is Prosperous.
Uetter to LONDON Mail)

ed subjects of the Son of Heaven, who
cover outside his palace walls, the sub
merged tenth of London are bons wants,
and the grovelling Russians Of Gorky's
night refugees the spoiled children Of for
tune.
What / have seen I doubt il any Occi-
dental has been said before, for the
existence of such absolute Indebtedness
is not revealed to the tourist, and the or
binary resident suspects it not at all. Ii
he has heard some whisper of the dolor-
Gus regions near at hand, it is not regard
ed as polite TO be too inquiring. Not by
any possible chance will the guide or
fffend conduct the visitor to the quarters
where joy is life's unknown quality
Summing in Toxic is for the regulation
Traveller the same as if in London he
went to Soho without exploring the east.
None but regions of comparative prosper
fly are shown, because the japanese are
proud of their universal reputation for
cleanliness, for artistic surroundings. and
for a poverty that is always smiling.
well-washed and safely removed from ac-
tuaI want.
Nevertheless. Toxic and other cities
have their social purgatories, their Sar-
gasso seas of living. breathing wreck
and drift In Toxic not fewer than 200
COO people seldom, if ever. know of a GER
tanty where the necessities Of the next
day will come from. and throughout the
land the great majority are too poor TO
eat rice. The high grade rice grown in
the islands is exported almost TO the last
sack, and inferior rice imported for those
who can afford it. Rice is not in every
bowl as the tourists fondly imagine
| have spent days and nights in the
midst of this ineXpressible residue of
Japan in company with a brilliant native
sociologist who, like scores of his fellow
students Of men and things, believes that
Japan has left its good days of general
happiness and general comfort for ever
behind, and is entering upon a sordid and
nerciIess age of industrialism. in which
its people are not fitted by temperament
TO compete, and whose proletariat is,
moreover, far too intelligent and too
proud TO be exploited by capital. He is
crying out warning to Japan that her
seat at the council table of the powers
is being paid for in the blood of her citi-
gems. not expended as they would pour it
forth cheerfully in war. but in factory
and on farm, in shop and in office.
Think for moment he cried last
week as we looked at a Japanese battle
ship in the offins, what a multitude of
our tiny rice fields it takes TO support
such monster. and then remember that
our people can't afford TO eat rice
But whether the last state of Japan be
worse than her first, let us proceed to
Darkest Toxic. We will visit the Shitaya
quarter, which is close to the beautiful
Uyeno Park.
TOXIC is so vast; it is much an immense
sea of sheds, that from the highest point
on the ciearest day one can see but
fraction of its area-but here are fifteen
districts of mean streets. The crazy
structures called houses, which are in
reality sheds, are strung along in a series
of dilspidated and filthy compartments.
TO folk as poor as those who live here,
cleanliness, so dear TO the average Jap
anese that it is above goodness, is out
of the question
The walls are decayed fun of crevices |
and cracks, the roof leaks. and there is
moss and broken tiles. the shaji are fun
of holes or patched with newspapers. the
mats are ragged, dirty and mouldy. There
fouler stencil in the afr, whose source
Is often visible to the eye. Frequently
one sees dead rats in the roadway. but
Tor fear of the plague they are quickly
made away with. After coming from the
daintiness and delightful artistry of we'll
TODD Toxic Shitaya is the abomination of
6esolation
The most tumble-down of these abodes
may be rented for from twenty TO TWEEN
ty-five pence per month. but there are
houses so fine that they cost as high as
O penny. or even three haifpence. a day. |
To afford one OF these expensive resi-
iiences several families club together, not
alone for economy. but also for warmth. |
in winter all hands crowding together on /
the mats. Charcoal is not always 10 be /
afforded, and. heat is a great luxury /
these cold days \ whole block will |
sometimes take turns in warming hands /
at a hibachi. wherein few chunks of 1
charcal shoulder in a bed of ashes.
Suppose a pipecleaner has had a good |
day, and returns to his home with. say. /
six-pense. He will eSpend this in farth- |
1ng purchases of misc. a kind of soup /
stock. oil. feul. tobacco. and perhaps a I
little fish. which. if he feels reckless. he /
viii eat raw with horseradish. He buys 4
in driblets. and like the very poor in all 4
the cities of the world. pays an enormous /
price. This has been a very. very good /
day. and perhaps he will peep in at one
OF the tempting cake shops. which smell |
% fragrantly 10 the wary and hopeless. |
However,. he Will he, in all likelihood. |
broke by this time. and Will content i
himself with listening to a story teller !
relating the ancient slories of Dai Nip /
pom.
Had our pipecleaner returned empty
handed he would have hurried 10 the
pawnhreker. always near at hand, and
raised 4 few farthings on his precious
brass pipe. his hihachi or his few poor
garments not in actual use. With the
money he would have purchased fish en-
trails or the offal from horses usei for
food and perhaps a handful OF scraps
from d garbage barrel. With these ne
would have Toasted with his family. and
with them prayed that Providence would
give him n better day tomorrow 50 that
h might reclaim his goods
The pawHbrokers f3tten eff these
wretches in no other land II is inn
possible 10 escape them. ard they never
relent. ANYTHING that cost above five
pence can DC pawned
Until this time Of the year. or even un-
I'll ruidwinter. ore can exist i'm Shitaya
without bedclothins. hut when the nights
GIT cold. with the fearful piercing frost
OF q japanese winter. some covering must
be had. Now appesrs another plunderer
OF the poor in the guise Of the capitalist
who rents quilts blythe night H., charges