Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-10
JAPANESE ARE
RAISING PRICES
KNOW WORLD WANTS GOODS;
ACT ACCORDINGLY
Veteran Curo Dealer Tells How the
OrientaIs Gather in Shekels
From White Brethren.
Tricks In All Trades

The visit of Arthur S. Tufts Of Kobe,
japan, a noted curio dealer, to Los
Angeles reveals that in Japan prices
are going up on Japanese wares.
.A"Japanese exports are higher now
than before the war. The Japanese
have learned that the world must have
what they produce and they have also
learned that what the world wants the
world will pay for.
Americans do not understand the
style of manufacture in the nature OF
doing business in Japan and China
"Things cannot be bought in such
large quantities as over here because
they are not kept in stock. If you
want any very large amount of any
thing manufactured there you have TO
wait for it as 1t is done in many famf-
lies.
1.-THE grass linen which American
women are so fond of wearing is
woven by whole families. Sometimes
a mother and a daughter and second
wife will all work on the same piece.
To the trained eye this is visible in
the work and we have to watch the
bolts of cloth to see that there are none
of the flaws which result from an in
experienced person taking hand in
the weaving.
Picking Old Embroderics
"Things are picked UP there in a
curious way. Most of the rich en-
broidery that is seen in this country.
some of it hundreds of year old, reaches
here in very round about way.
I "Peddlers go through China as the
| magician went in the fairy tale of
! Alladin's lamp. Alladin cried, old
lamps for new, but these peddlers ask
for old goods in exchange for new.
"The servants gather the embroider-
les from rich Chinese. There are US
hoo aion on
from which the lighter parts have worn
away, such as the sleeve of Mandarin
coat. In return for a piece of en-
broidery they received some American
made trinket, such as a cheap clock,
some soap, or new kind of candle.
This collecting is done in the inter
Tor towns and the peddlers take their
old goods to the bszaars. The Chin
ese collectors go to these bazaars and
they in turn sell to us.
Question of Bartering
''The Chinese has no set value for
anything. T. Ia all a question of bar
tering. He shows us a pile of goods
and we sort out the things we want and
offer him what we think them worth.
If he does not like it he will pick up
his pack and walk off.
1--WE judge the age of the embroider-
les principally by the color in them.
nS llubl ulIIiCully L cNcI udQ HI
securing relics was in getting relics of
the war The Japanese guard them
very carefully.
"This little piece of shell (and Mr..
Tufts drew from his pocket a silver
case containing a tiny bit of metaD
is a piece of the first shell fired at port
Arthur by the Japanese. The pieces
fell on the deck of a Norwegian vessel,
the Cystrics, and the sailors and off,
GERS gathered them up. l got a piece
from one of the officers and would
not part with II for anything.
"The Russians were just as reticent.
/ bought some hat bands from some
Russian prisoners. They wanted money
to buy beer and they took them off
their caps and sold them to me. Some
OF them would not do 1t and they
teered at the others for giving up any
part of their possessions as Russian
soldiers
"I lay down on my mat that night
happy In my possessions tucked under
my pillow. Alas. they did not remain
there long. When 1 got up in the morn
ing the soldiers had stolen them. They
had their beer and then they began 70
repent. l was out the money and the
hat bands, too"
Today-see the big locomotive collision