Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-21
RUSSIAN gu TRACES
Government at Tokyo Quiet
About Them.
ARE KNOWN TO EXIST
MANY STORIES OF BRUTALITY
COME FROM THE FIELD.
Interest in Speeches of Okuma Upon
Subject of Financing
the War.

Subject of Financing
the War.
Special Cablegram to The Star
TOKYO, May 20-Reports continue to
come in of Russian outrages though as
a general thing the japanese government
will not permit the Japanese press to
publish these statements, fearing that the
effect will be to cause retaliation on the
part of japanese scouts and the more scat
tered bodies of japanese soldiers For the
main bodies of the troops where the COM
handing officers hold things with firm
rein little fear is expressed.
Several instances of Russian ill-treatment
of japanese have leaked out in spite of the
efforts of the government TO frown down
the publishing of anything of this nature.
One instance happened at Mukden on Feb
ruary 2. In the battle of Heikautai where
again the Russians had been guilty of
Strengthening japanese wounded and mutt
lating japanese dead the Russians took 100
prisoners including two officers These they
carried by train to Mukden at half past
ten in the morning, from which time until
past sunset they marched them round every
part of the city compelling them to move
with extreme slownesS and repeatedly in
Viting citizens to note this evidence of Rus
sian proweSs; a progress which even in
feudal Japan reserved for the worst
kind of malefactorS and which bears that
character today in eastern eyes BY the
japanese soldier death would be preferred
to such indiSnity.
In a dispatch written after the battle of
Heikautai-a dispatch whose kind purpose
was to convey to the Russians information
about some of their officers who had fallen
into Japanese hands Gen. Oku reluctant
ly" called the attention of Gen. kaulbars
to the facts that the body of Japanese
major had been shockngly mutilated and
a number of wounded Japanese mercilessly
treated by Russian soldiers. Oku did not
allow this to impair his courtesy to kaul-
bars or affect his desire to spare the Rus
sian officers all anxiety concerning their
captured comrades, the Russian officers by
whom that shameful procession had been
marShaled and conducted through Inc Man
churian capital.
Financing the War.
Great interest is being taken in the
speeches of Count Okuma, Japan's veteran
financier, upon the subject of the financing
of the war AS the leader of the progress
ssts Count Okuma has always been count
ed an opponent of increased taxation in
any form, above all in the form of the land
tax; and consequently these more recent
declara tons of his are regarded as of In
usual significance.
At the outset he confessed frankly that
the problem of the nations competence 10
support the strain of a great and a pro-
tracted war had caused him considerable
uneasiness during the early DAYS OF the
war. His hope was always hlsh ana ne
expected a resolute effort, but still he was
not without surprise when he saw the
country sign a check for 9l3o,o00,o0o ster-
ling in two years, and prepare ltsel1 quite
complacently to increase the amount 10
.A -l,n 20
through 1906. That day the fourth war
loan had been put on the market, ana With
in a few hours Tokyo single-handed made
itself responsible for the whole amount
Already, seeing the country's display OF I'M
eXpected resources, he had employed ms
secretaries to collect data for estimating
the nations economic condition, ana ne nao
arrived at the conclusion that the people
wealth aggregated from 1,200,ooO,oO0 ster-
ling TO Ell 600 600 600, from which they de-
rived an annual revenue varying between
el3o COO GOO and 91S0,COO,0Co. NOW there
are in round numbers 9,Uo,Voo h t,stSins
in Janan whose expenditure Qncludlng
taxe,0 may be taken to average htteeh
mounds sterling annually. That may seem
quite a small figure, but 1t Is propapiy quite
sufficient according to japanese stahuai
of living On this account, then, there IS d
total yearly outlay of one hundred and thir-
ty-fiye millions, the conclusion pelng uhdt III
bad wears the country spends VlrtusHS 'iie
whole of its income, while In good years II
d
Speaking generally, an excess OF from
twenty to thirty millions may be assumeo'
and that amount is either saved or invested.
The next question is, whence Is TINS income
derived? statistics show that at the END
of 1902 the nation had invested one huhuIeu
and fifty millions sterling III various Cum
NAMES From this capital net income VI
about fifteen millions Is obtained, ieaVlhS
one hundred and fifteen millions TO one
hundred and sixty-five millions to De other-
wise earned 1t is here that Count okuma
makes his principal point he concluoes
that from seven-eighths to eleVen-tWeliths
of the nations annual income comes from
the resources with which nature mas en-
dowed the country-namely, agriculture
and doubtless inevitable industrial develop
ment is still in its infancy. Consequently
war makes very little difference IN the ma
tion's income The withdrawal of half a
million men from the bread-winning classes
must be more or less injuriously felt but
those that remain, the women, the youths
the children and the elders, work all the
harder Nature offers her wealth, and the
ira ditional methods of gathering it are not
neglected. Twenty-Five years hence. when
the country's attention has been turned
largely to manufacturing enterprises its
ability tc bear the financial strain of a
great war viii be much less, for its sources
of income will be more easily disturbed.
To quote Count Okuma's words:
Won Splendid Victories.
I'm 1871 when, in fight after fight, Prus-
sia won splendid victories, with which ia
pans successes in the present war cannot
be compared, she sought to raise domestic
loan of 12O00O,O00 thalers, promising per
cent interest, and offering the bonds at So.
But the transaction proved failure, not
more than one-half of the total being sub
scribed. So too, during the Transvaal war.
the Bank of England had to raise its rate
of interest from to 6, though the opulence
of Great Britain is proverbial. 1t would
then appear that patriotism and wealth, in
both of which Prussia and England abound
ed, not the only, nor even the chief
factors of competence to subscribe to war