Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-26
ABSORBING FOR ENGLAND
Her Power on the Decline,
 Claims Japanese Count.
PATRIOTISM MsEEMsTOBEW

Field MarHnat 1Ama&mths FUFmSr
 Private Secretary Regards Recent Anglo-Japanese Treaty as Evidence of English Decadence-''Americani-
 xatfon of the British" He Believes
 Dangerous and Possibly Fatal.
 'sThe Anglo-Japanese alliance is a mark of England's decadence. The suggestion that Japanese troops might be required for the defense of the Eng fish Indian frontier is a suggestion that could only come from nation which knows that its period of decline has begun
 This startling sentence is taken from an article that has caused a profound sensation in England, says London dispatch to the New York American and Journal. It is written not, as might be suspected, by an irreconcilable foe of England, but by pronounced friend of Great Britain, Japanese, Count K. Hirosawa. He was educated in Eng land, took his law degree at Cambridge with distinction and loves England as his second home.
 Count Hirosawa is samuraf. His father was minister of the interior, and he was the private secretary of Field Marshal Yamagata, prime minister and great general. His views are those of a close observer, and for once the west erner is allowed to get peep at what really Is going on in the back of a Jap anese head, and they have made the Englishmen sit up and think over the conditions of his country as no article appearing ill London publication for years has done.
 T notice" said the count after an ab- sence of eleven years, "a distinct. and lamentable deterioration in the charac- ter, habits and action of the English people. In the first place, there is a failure to appreciate the situation, the dangerous situation. Other countries are not blind, and Japan is certainly alive to the changes for the worse in the administration and character of the English.
 T notice distinct decay in religion Religion and patriotism seem to be on the wane in England. I do not speak of music hall patriotism, but of self surrender, such as we know it in Ja- pan and as the Germans know 1t. 1 think that this new worship of mate rial things is partly due to American influence on English character. You have become more excitable and mate rialistic, and the intermarriage be- tween many of your peers and the daughters of rich Americans has help ed to dethrone the old English spirit of simple faith in noble ideals.
 "The Americanlzation of the English is dangerous and may be fatal. Amer jeans may try all sorts of experiments without harm. There is plenty of room to expand.] You in England have no room to expand, and the conditions do not exist here which would enable you to try experiments of sociaEistic and visionary description.
 T cannot speak much about the navy, but l gather that there are sur vivals from early days which will im- pede its powers on the day of action. But on the army I can speak plainly. Your Boer war and the failure to or ganize an efficient military force ade- quate to your needs have made a pain. ful impression in Japan.
 Tn your parliament there are far too many men with axes to grind who are bent on personal advantage. l al- Jude to neither party in particular, but generally there is an indifference to the country which saddens me. What will be the result in ten, twenty or twenty-five years do not know. It depends on Germany. The kaiser is the only man in Europe who has sp- preciated the real danger to the ma tons of the west of the Japanese renaissance.
 Tt is quite possible that in ten years time Japan wil be in a position to build Chinese fleet, and that by the time the anniversary of Waterloo has arrived we may be on the road to con struct 100 battleshlps for ourselves and China. You are eeasing to be mari time people. and as England is forsak- ing her maritime habits Germany is increasing and straining every nerve to build up oversea trade and a strong navy. Your public school spirit and university spirit is very good, but the time has gone by when wars can be won by pluck and spirit alone. Colli- sion with a first class scientific power will probably be disastrous to Eng. land, far more so than your newspa. pers and politicians believe"
 The count concludes by expressing the opinion that the complete revision of the educational system and the adoption of universal military train ing. with the introduction of democrat ic methods into the system of govern ment. whereby efficiency should be the sole test of employment by the state. were the only means by which Eng land could be saved from collapse.
 An Aufonohfle Street Sweeper.