The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-08
Detachment Will Meet Our Pa
 cifiC Fleet
NOT WITH EMPHASIZES
But With Highly Educated Force of Trained lndustriaists-Far Ahead of America In Government
 ndustJal. Schools.

me Japanese government, at the time when the United States is dispatehing Us heet to the Pacific. is straining every 1 nerve to create @ vast army and navy to wrest- supremacy from the United States. These Japanese forces, however, are not being drilled for a war of smoke less powder and shell. In over 500 indus trial arsena1s, over G0,0O0 Japanese are being drilled for a struggle far more significant than warrior the industrial battle of commercial supremacy of the world. The weapons employed are in- dustrial education, modern tools and ma chinery and perfected scientific systems of manufacturing and transportation. The scouts of this industrial army arc already deployed throughout the civilized world, and particularly at every indus trially strategic point in America. In every large university, in the shops of al- most every leading American industry. the little brown men of Nippon are busted at their national mission, seeing everything, hearing everything, doing everything and saying nothing These scouts care little for our battleships and standing army, pay seant attention to Annapolis and West Point. They are preparing to fight with their own weap- ons our captains of industry and they had far rather know what goes into new perfected steel rail or a new form of building tile, or the process of mak- ing china ware. than to know the in- gredents of some secret high explosive. What they want is ammunition for the educato guns of Japan's S45 govern- |, ment-aided schools and colleges. = Follows Our Ideas.
 Let an American university in which one of these unobtrusive occidental stu dents is studying, introduce some new method of teaching engineering, chem
 stry, biology, medicine agriculture, vet erinary surgery or Ncommerce, instantly the oriental mails are full of it. As fast as stamp can travel the University of Tollio knows of 1t, and begins to try the same system in it's technical colleges.
 If our few trade high schools find ef- fective methods of developing workers for new industries, the Japanese minister of education is sure to hear of it sooner or later, and prepares to give Japan the benefit of it in 63O industrial schools. Let at American manufactures perfect some neW process introduce some unusually effective machine, and in many cases thes technical schools at Tokio are notified, or Japanese manufacturer supplied witn information. If the new machine is on the market one will shortly start on it's trans Pacific trip, to be eXperimented with and later duplicated in Japanese foundries and machine shops, in such numbers as are needed for the island in- dustres.
 r But the method the Japanese govern ment is pursuing is chiefly through edu- .cational channels. It finds out all that it can about industries in which Japan may compete and then teaches what 1t has discovered in industrial schools specially designed to use just such in- formation about trade rivals. And be- cause products when made must in quality and price compete with those of Ger
 many, France England and the United States. 1t has also established colleges in which men will be so trained in science and mechanics that they will be able to duplicate or improve on the chem ical process, machinery and composition of goods from foreign factories. Such goods when made in Japan must be trans ported, and the government has seen to it that seven nautical schools to train
 men for the merchant marine are in active operation.
 Japan Has Lead.
 According to information recently re- ceived by the National Soieety for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Japan has got a heavy lead on the United States in the field of education that pre- pares for intelligent and effective drec- ton of her industries With a popula- ton of only 49, ,O00,000 Japan has probably 90 times as many state aided industrial schools as are to be found in the United States. Moreover, the industrial educa- ton movement. which is new in this country and has not yet been made the subject of any national legislation or granted any national subsidy, has been under government aid in Japan for over F vears Today, Japan each year grants