The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-31
THE SIMPLE LIFE
 AS II IS IN JAPAN The Important Problem Now to Keep
 It So. WEALTH THREATENS But It May Be Preserved By Industry and
 Buddhism.
WEALTH THREATENS

The important problem before Japan to-day is to continue to keep it's life simple, as it takes it's place with the other great political powers of the world. Simplicity of life is a state of mind quite as much as a condition of environment But 1t is concerned with environment as well as with the men tai state- The simple life is the inter- pretation of life in terms of the spirit and not of the flesh or of the purse. It stands for the negation of the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. It knows not pride and it does know hu- mility, quietness, gentleness. It repre- sents simplicity, honesty, decorum. It incarnates the cardinal graces quite as well as the cardinal virtues, and even these virtues 1t does not neglect.
 Such a life of quiet and reserved and dignided simplicity the nation and the people Of Japan have led. Will they be able to maintain it? Several causes are working to do away With such life among the fifty millions who form this nation.
 One of these causes lies in the in- creasing wealth of the country, and es- pecially in the increasing wealth of men who already are rich. In common with most people, the Japanese have large eyes for the rich men. In Who's Who in Japan" are named several men and families, the Mitsui, 1t is said, in somewhat foreign English, "Is one of the oldest millionaire families and the most noted hereditary houses of 'busi- ness kings in Japan, managing the big family concerns somewhat after a fash ion of constitutional monarchy, for the il heads of the main stock and scions of the family are individually insig- nlf1cant, and only acquire importance as proprietors of different concerns. !" In the same volume the president of the Tokio steamship company is de- scribed as laying the foundation of his fortune in utilizing the refuse of gas and coal tar works, and he is com amended as being "now an acknowledg- ed power in business world" A certain bank president is described as being adopted into the present millionaire family as husband of its only daugh- ter''; and still another rich and distin- guished man Is called lone of the new demillionaires. Such interpretations are intimations that wealth has already taken a no small place in the esteem of the Japanese people.
 Furthermore, it can, without rash ness, be affirmed that the industrial and commercial development of Japan in the next decades is certain to in- K crease both the number of rich men and the riches of men already rich. Formerly the merchant was of the low est social class. He was below the far mer and the mechanic. The Samurai could handle the blow or the hoe, but not the Soroban. By this method, pow CT was divided-the power of wealth was kept apart from the power of the higher social order, All ,his is chang ed Men of wealth receive decorations from the hand of the emperor. The head of the Mitsui family is a baron, and Okura, "one of the new-made mil- lionaires," already referred to, wears the third order of the Rising Sun. The presence of great wealth is in every country menace to simplicity, and es- pecially is 1t a menace when united with social rank and royal honors.
 A second force working against sim- plicity is found in the fact that Japan is taking her place with the world powers. The world powers are not, and never have been, accustomed to lay emphasis upon the simple life. The ruling classes of these powers stand for ! material splendor, for impressive en- vironment, for elegance if not for greatness, of architecture, and for elaborateness in the daily provision oi one's personal sustenance and happi- ness. These classes are lavish in domes-