The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-04
BY WILLIAM JENNINGS BRyAN.
tcopyright. 1906, by Joseph B. Bowles. s Copyright in Great Britain.
 All Rights Reserved).

number of smoking peaks still give evidence of the mighty convuisions which piled up these masses of nason- ". Asosan Mountain. on the Island of Kyushu. has the largest crater In the world.
 Japan Is the home of the earthquake The Japanese Year Book of 1905 Is authority for the statement that Japan was visited by 17,750 earthquakes dur- ing the thirteen years ending 1SS7--an average or more than 1.500 a year, or three and one-half each day. 1t is needless to say that large majority of these were so trivial as to be un- noticed, except by those in charge of the delicate instrument which register ed them.
 If the average is as great at this time, there have been more than seven- ty-five since we landed, but wa have not been aware of them The severe shocks have come at periods averaging two and one-haf years, and the really disastrous ones have been something like fifty years apart. The country about Tohio is most subject to earth quakes, the number recorded there averaging ninety-six a year during the last tweuty-six years The last severe one was In 1894 According to an an cient legend. Japan rests upon the back of a large fish, and the earthquakes dE G4udEQ Qy tElG HlObtHk Ql tAD ANibs There is chronological society in Ja- pan which has published 16-volune work giving all that is scientifically known of the cause and recurrence of these disturbances.
 On the origin of the Japanese them selves nothing certain Is known. The best authorities say that they came from the continent in an early Mongol invasion. while others believe that thev Prn fNn f=fa Au vyh{ st fnh to the south. One writer announces the theory that they are the lost Israe lites. It Is quite certain that when the first Japanese landed on the islands they found an earlier race in poss ss- sion. Some 17,000 of these, called Ainos, now occupy the northern ex tremity of the empire--an indication that the migration was from the south west. The Amos have remained dis tinct; where they have intermarriod with the Japanese the half-breeds have lied out in the second or third genei ation. They are a hairy race, and in physical characteristics quite different from the Japanese. Their religion is q sort of nature worship, and it is their custom to say a simple grace before eating.
 The remoteness of the settlement of Japan is shown by the fact that the reigning family, which claims descent from the gods, has held undfsputed sway for 2,500 years. aIthoug the re- cord of the first 1000 years is so de. pendent upon verbal tradition that the official history cannot be verified. As concubinage has been practiced from time immemorial, the heir. the oldest son, has not always been born of the empress.
 Soon after the beginning of the Chris tian era the influence of China and Korea began to be felt in Japan. the written characters of the language be- ing quite like the Chinese. Koreans and Japanese do not agree as to the influence which the former have had upon the latter. A very intelligent Korean tells me that this is the mother country, and that Japan was settled from Korea, but the Japanese do not take kindly to this theory.
 The feudal system, of which I shall speak more at length in another ar ticle, was early established in Japan, and society was divided into we'll de- fined classes. First came the members of the royal family and those admit ted to the circle of favor; next. the Shogun (of whom more will be heard under the subject of governmenD and his realtives.
 Next in rank were the daimios, or lords, of varying degrees of import ance. Each daimio had a large num- her of retainers, who were called sam ural, and below these were still larger number of peasants who titled the soil and did the manual labor. Some of the early pictures show the gorgeous dress of the daimois and portray the elaborate ceremony employed on state occasions.
 The samurai were the warriors and had no other occupation than to de- N-l a.. .kw h.- tween the clans. They corresponded to the knights in Europe during the days of chivalry, except that there were no romantic adventures over women-wo- man holding until recently very su- bordinate place as compared with "her lord and master"
 The samurai were given an annual allowance for their subsistence. and felt that toll was far beneath their dignity. They wore Iacquered armor and costly helmets and carried two swords--a long one for the enemy and a short one for themselves.
 It was with this short sword that the famous hara-kiri was committed. This ancient form of suicide by disem- bowelment was considered a highly honorable death, and has been prac- ticed until within a generation. Gen eral Saigo, one of the great men of Ja- pan, and one of itse popular heroes. was the last man of prominence to terminate his life in this way. Ha was one of the leaders in the movement to restore to the Emperor the authority which the shoguns had usurped. and was for awhile close to the throne. In 1874, however. he organized an army for the invasion of Korea, and coming in conflict with the forces of the em- pjre, which were called out to prevent fhe invasion, he was defeated. Tn his humiliation he committed hara-xiri. A few years ago the title of marquis was conferred upon him by a posthumous decree. and is now enjoyed by his eld- est son. One of his sons Is the present rnavor of Kyoto and another a colonel .- :ne imperial guard. A bronze mon ,,ment Of heroic size. the gift of ad- hiring friends. has recently been placed in the principal park in Tokio.
 Only a few years ago young Jap anese committed suicide in this way in order to empnasize his protest against the encroachments of the Rus gians but a strong sentiment is de- veloping against hara-kiri, and it will soon take it's place among other obso- lete customs.
 The samurai represented the intel Iectual as well as the military strength oF the nation The daimios have fur nished a few of the men of prominence to modern Japan. nearly all Of the lead CTS in government, education, literature and the professions having come from the samuraI class. Now, however. that all social distinctions have been re- moved. and the schools opened to the bIIdren of all, the old lines between the classes cannot much longer be traced.
 The merchant class has always been looked down upon in Japan. In the social scale they were not only low .y.k tsoF