The Washington times., 1906-08-12
How Japan Used American Help.

p
Not the least Of the lessons which
] Nippon can teach America is out
lined in the current Consular ard
Trade Report in the form of "a state
ment from Consul General Jones, OF
/ Dalny, on the amelioration Of the
! recent Japanese famine. a total Of
S75O.OO0 gold was used and millions
of people were aided. Yet. accord
ing TO this account, not a dollar was
given the starving Japs without
some work on their part to earn it,
and ia no case did the relief exceed
1 in amount 2l2 cents a day.
/ How practically, even though pa
|ternally, the government turned far
mer. Note this:
in distributing It's relief funds the
government required the tiling OF an
land Laborers were put into neids
which had been barren Tor two years.
and they were cultivated and made
ready FOR IL rice crop There was no
CluiisCatiou The government was look
I Ing 10 the prosperity Of its people. and
D
! Ire crop, turned u over 10 the owner.
and said:
Here is your farm ready TO produce.
See 20 10 that you make every effort 90
keep the ground titled, and pay back
/ The cost or what the government has
/ done iu Eve years"
The government found many rice
/ fields poorly laid out with much loss of
growing space. All these were replatted
with o regulation that each field was 10
be 500 LsuDO lab0uJ oue-fOurth acre. If
Wncn surveyed IL was found that a far
Iner old not have quite enough 10 make
/ mp the required area, enough land was
taken from his neishbor. and the local
officials established the price 10 be paid
for fl. This regulation is being enforced
gradually throughout the empire and
many shaped paddy fields. there Will
be general symmetry, which, while
nor possessing th- piCtureSQuenesS OF
present conditions. VIII AT least have
the advantage of practicabllity.
So the story goes. When the Peo-
pie began to eat roots and leaves
chemists were sent to teach them
what were fit for food and what
were not. Profting by its expert
ence in the late war. the government
maiutained a careful survey of the
hygiene Of the sufferers; there was
no outbreak of dysentcry. no pest
of any description. Much of the
vacant ground found was planted
with mulberry trees. at was the
governments idea to save the self
respect of the people and not pau
perize them"
Americans viii find a great deal of
satisfaction in the part they played
in this true charity, "To the Unit
ed States more than any other coun-
try the people attribute their relief.
America was the first in the field
with her contributions, and they ex-
ceeded in amount more than all
other countries combined"
But the very striking feature OF
the movement was that so great a
calamity was turned into a prac-
tical opportunity to do lasting good.
Let Americans read and ponder this:
The most potent influence Of the Amer
lean relief committee was eXerted IN the
SdlNdtloh OF young BlE4Ss NI4ftH 20 Nts-
peTatOn JnrOugh the suHerlng or their
parents Human YultuTcs were DTeying
ia the several communities for these
children of misfortune
Two orphanages were established-One
LAT Sendai. where go girls were cared for,
and the other at Okayama. where $50
orphans and poor children were proper
ly housed and fed. The Salvation Army
did yeoman service in this matter and
were successful in finding positions in
respectable families for many girls.
The foreign committee of relief held its
final meeting in June and arranged for
the distribution of the balance on hand,
decided that any additional funds re-
Ceived should be equally divided between
the Senddi and Okayama Orphanages.
Nothing Japan has done in twenty
years promises more advancement
than this extraordinary exhibition
of enterprise and watchfulness.