The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1905-07-13
JAPAN'S KEEN SEAMEN
How They Eagerly Took Instruc-
ton From a Foreigner.
WERE "GLUTToEs FoRKNowLEDGF

Retired British Naval ORcer Says
the Japanese Are "a Nation of Note
bookshelf Only Officers and Engi-
neers, but Ordinary Sailors Use
Them - Marvellous ImftatOrs. but
They Can Also Initiate.
Japan's seamen and their training
for her navy is thus described In the
Detroit News-Tribune by W. J. Hard
ing, a retired feet engineer of the Brit
ish navy:
My modest share in the training of
Japans navy was very valuable ex-
perience, because all the time l was
teaching the Japanese the japanese
were teaching me. They studied with
the same determination, the same con-
centration of energy with which they
have since fought, and thvS gave me
splendid object lesson in what pure pa
triotisn can 90 for a man even in
peaceful study.
The japanese does not put forth his
energies with the primary object of
outstripping his fellows in the race for
position, but in the hope of being Of
great service to his country. Should he
be offered the post of admiral when he
felt certain that he would be more use
full as a gunner he would cheerfully re
main in the humber position.
When ! took charge of the students
of marine engineering l gave them the
Keyham course. ipstructing them en-
tirely in English, even the words Of
command beng taught to them in our
language. They were simply gluttons
for knowledge.
For a time / was somewhat mysti1ed
by seeing tiny disks of red blotting pa
per dotted about their books of instruc-
ton, but l discovered eventually that
it was the custom TO place disk OPP
posite any item which was not perfectly
clear. and not until they had thorough
~ mastered the troublesome point
would they flick that disk away. AS a
matter of fact, the disk never remained
in one place long.
The faculty of observation Is one of
the greatest assets in the japanese
japanese students have been sent to
every corner of the world where any
thing useful was to be learned in con-
nection with naval warfare and every
one of those students has sent home
regular and full reports.
one of the first rules l had to learn
as a teacher in Japan was this: The
japanese student cannot in any way
be scolded into learning. The Russians
drill their men with whips; the Ger
mans VIGOROUSLY mistake bullying for
discipline, and even in the British navy
corporal punishment is not altogether
unknown. The disgrace OF being struck
would make a Japanese, however,
commit harakiri-the national form Of
suicide Immediately. When a mans
very best is not good enough, the
misery of being failure is quite pun
lshment enough for him.
Not only the officers and engineers,
but even the ordinary seamen, provide
themselves with notebooks. The Jap
anese are, in fact nation of note
books. They are clever initators, as
witness. their copying of the British
navy; but they are also clever initia-
tors, and in probably every seaman's
notebook will be found at least one
brand new idea of his own, which In
Eue course will be submitted to his
superiors l am not ashamed to say
that while teaching my students / got
pore than one good wrinkle from
them.
We have taught the japanese all we
know about cable making for heavy
ships, and IN this connection It is in
teresting to note that a wooden man
of-war which they built before 1860
had anchor cables made of women's
hair, 1t was claimed for these cables
that they were stronger than any ty-
phoOn.
We have taught the japanese how
to make guns. but we cannot teach
them anything in the art Of making
the bronze for the guns. Their bronze
is intellectually superior to ours and
withstands any climate for genera
tons British bronze, on the other
hand, soon corrodes. The new statue
of Boadicea on Westminster bridge is
already showing signs of corrosiOn,
and the Trafalgar square lions and
Thames embankment sphinxes, al
though by no means old, are noticeably
rotting a japanese cannon in South
sea, however, is as good as ever, after
about thirty years exposure to our eli
mate.