The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-08-20
ODDS AND ENDS STORY OF THINGS JAPANESE
How English is Used.--
Various Whims.-
Jiu Jitsu.

duce some rare specimens OF rhetoric.
i was notified by mail that "Wada &
Co. do send baggages into any direc-
ton with a good cheapness. The
boy in a store said "Of tobacco
no have got Nailed to a tree was
the announcement that This park is
q house to Lett The sublime tailor
and the higher washman'' are both
in the same street with the butcher
wose sign reads Beef & Hen Meet
native whose versatility is astonish-
ing. He announces in substance that
he is a specialist in treating scrofula
and an expert in serving milk shakes.
The bakery displays this legend,
''fresh bread made quick" while on
the window of another shop there is
emblazoned the rather startling state
ment that knives are drawn here"
(scissors-grinder).
Although he makes funny blunders
the Jap persevers with fine determine
ton and eventually succeeds in making
himself understood. Sometimes it goes
rather hard with the American who
has to depend on a servant having
scant knowledge of English. I have
a boy whose vocabulary consists Of
about twenty words. When he is told
TO prepare the bath as likely as not
IA WI hwy
fails to do something when spoken to,
but guessing what it will be is as
risky as taking chance on a, "hun-
dred to-one shot,
ECCENTRIC BUSINESS METHODS.
japanese reading and writing are
done backwards and many of the
business methods are Just the oppo-
site to our ideas Of such matters
When you go to a shoe store the deal
er shows you his goods. but should
you want a pair out of stock they will
cost dollar more than If made to
order. An American dealer would
rather dispose Of odd sizes and not
risk possible loss from the stock becom-
ing shelf-worn, but the Jap does not
figure that way.
Neither does the small dealer under
stand the wholesale principle. An
American toy buyer told me about an
experience he had with a retailer of
dolls. The latter had several hundred
toys of particular size which were
worth three cents each. When urged
to make bulk price for the lot he not
only refused to make a reduction but
said that he did not care to sell more
than dozen at time. After much
useless argument a happy thought
struck the Yankee buyer. He bought
a dozen, paid for them, and had them
wrapped up. He then ordered another
lot and continued to buy, paying for a
dozen at a time, until he had secured
the whole stock. Although the dealer
would not sell in bulk he raised no OBJ
lection to this method. This will strike
the wideawake American dealer as an
absurd proceeding, but buyers in many
lines here encounter the same difficulty
in negotiating wholesale transactions. |
OF EASTERN CUNNING.
While the Japs seem to lack acumen
in failing to take advantage of the
larger profits to be made by selling in
quantity, he employs many tricks and
lodges to dispose of goods at his own
price. The ruse that an old female .
pedlar worked on a number Of Euro |!
pean ladies was strategy Of no mean
sort. AS she called upon each she pre-
sented a<letter written in English from
one prominent society woman to an
other. The note advised the lady to
whom it was written to look at the
rare articles the old woman had with
her, as they could seldom be obtained
at all, and to offer her just one-half the
price she asked.
On the face of it the pedlar had made
4 mistake by showing the letter to the
wrong party, yet every woman on
whom she called promptly followed
he Instructions it contained, laughing
n her sleeve meanwhile at the thought
IF her luck in getting ahead of the
adv the recommendation was intended
'or. The willy old pedlar sold so many
heirlooms at a seemingly
sacrifice price that her operations be-
ran to resemble an endless chain
scheme. When it became known that
he introduction was a forgery and
hat the numerous buyers had all paid
lear for their bargains there was much
nerriment at their expense.
NOT AFRAID OF THIRTEEN.
The Jaapnese have many household
While they do not OBJ
ect to thirteen people sitting down to
| table, or mind beginning journey
IN Friday, they have many beliefs OF
similar character. II while eating,
person bites his tongue, it is taken as
ign that some one begrudges MIN ms
God. The room of house must never
,e swept Immediately after MEMBER
# the family has departed lest all luck
or the absent one be swept away.
,Iany parents will not allow a little
,irl to look into a mirror for fear that
eeing an image of herself will cause
he to have twins when she becomes
married.
When there is smallpox in a COM
nunity all parents post potices IN
ront of their houses announcing that
heir children are not at home. winch
8 supposed to be sure preventive
gainst the disease. Wise old women
bake their heads when they see a