The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-04

I material. as well as the moral. argu- l ments in favor of peace. .. Upon no element of Japanese soci- ety has the rising sun of higher civ | 1izitton shed its rays more be- | 1ighnantiy than upon woman. The po- sition of the mother was an honored l one when she became the head of the family. but while the children carel for both parents with Q generous filiai devotion, the wife and daughter were under the almost absolute power of the husband and father. Marriages were arranged by the parents, and the young people were allowed to see each l other after the match was agreed upon. Theoretically. each had right to protest if dissatisfied, but practical ly the girls protest amounted to noth ing.
 The wife was not only the servant of the husband. but might also be the ser want of the mother-in- law--the moth erin Jaw joke being here on the daugh- ter-in-law instead of the son-in-law. The fact that the husband was permit ted to keep as many concubines as he desired still further lowered the status of women. The daughters were often sold into prostitution to relieve the In debtedness of the father, and while this custom is on the decline there are still thousands of Japanese girls whose
 
 | dise in accordance with this ancient custom. There Is recorded amorfg the decisions of Coka, sometimes called the Japanese Solomon, who lived three cen- turies ago, . case in which the release of young woman from a house of Ill., fame was the central feature. The re- port of the judges decree shows a dis eliminating mind as we'll as devotion to justice. Incidentally. the record re- vealS the fact that there were Shylocks in those days who loaned on short time at high rates, and exacted the pound of flesh. Tn this case the usurer com pelled the sale of the daughter in ex- i tinguishment of debt Of fifteen yen. which by rapidly accommodating inter- est had reached the, to them. enormous sum of thtrty-five yen Cor Sf7.50). The righteous judge confiscated the house of the extortioner and with the pro- ceeds redeemed the woman. By the aid of missionaries. under the leader ship of Rev Murphy, of Nagoya, legis- lation has been secured making 1t un- lawful for girl to be retained in one of these houses against her will. and many have already been rescued As the taking of a concubine is a mat ter of record. it is possible for the newspapers to acquaint themselves with domestic relations of prominent men,, and some of the papers have as- sisted in creating a public opinion against concubines. This custom is :, certain to give way before the advance of western Ideas.
 One of the foremost leaders in
 the elevation of women was Yukichl l Fukuzawa, one of the greatest, as we'll 1 as one of the most influential of the
 men who have appeared in Japan. He was journalist, an educator. an ora
 tor and philosopher. He refused to
 accept any titles or decorations. and was called "The Great commoner D He founded a college, the Keio- -Cijuku I to which many of the public men trace | their ideals and their interest in na-
 tional questions and social problems He delivered the first public speech
 made in Japan, for. strange at 1t may seem. the habit of public speaking g
 does not reach farther back than twen- l ty-three years. Until constitutional l government was formed there was no place for the forum. Shortly before | his death, Mir Fukuzawa reduced his | philosophy to the form of a code of morals which has made q profound | impression upon the thought of his country. He presented Independence and self respect" as he defined them as the cardinal tenet of personal mor-
 als and living" He insisted upon the