The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1907-01-16
BY HENRY GEORGE, JR.

TOXIC. Jan. 16.-Much as his po-
litical followers and admirers were
accustomed to go to Monticello to
consult with and hear the words of
advice of Thos. Jefferson, so many
go to WaSeda, one of the eastern
suburbs of the capital city of Japan,
to talk with Count Okuma. Like
JefLerSOn, he is man of fine per-
sonal tastes; has founded and largely
endowed a university; is reputed to
be a large land owner; is aristocratic
in his private life, but democratic
in his political views of the world,
with a lively interest in foreign as
well as domestic public affairs has
an Unsuitable appetite for knowledge,
especially such as can be used for
the advancement of his country; has
an abiding faith in the virility of
his race, and an intense belief in the
ability of his nation to make its
way in the arts of peace against the
competition of the world; is a free
trader, and is the recognized leader
of the Progress, or what might be
called the Democratic, party of ia
pan--that is, of the party Of popular
rights.
The count is also like Jefferson in
that he has served in many public
official capacities, and treats mere
makeshift policies with contempt.
He calls that policy childish and I'M
thinking which initiates Germany
and the United States in protec-
tive tariff, and he denounces as worse
than childish the policy of denying
or ignoring the weaknesses and dan
gers that have developed in Japans
transition from oriental to occidental
conditions.
Such a mans views on compare
tive social conditions in the United
States and Japan may. therefore, be
regarded with peculiar interest 1t
was my good fortune to be accorded
a second and extende interview with
him.
Our conversation opened up the
broad field of social conditions in
Japan, which the count considered
under two heads-one. the concen-
tration of population; the other, the
concentration of wealth.
The centering of population, Count
Okuma attributes to several causes.
One is taxation. which Is bearing
more heavily with the increasing ex-
penses of government upon the
farmer Another cause Is compul-
sorry education. which, while it inn
poses new expenses upon the farm
er, opens the eyes of his children to
the larger outside world beyond the
farm--a world with larger opportv'
mites and allurements. A third
cause is the extension of mercantile
enterprise and the development of
factories. offering compensation very
materially above that obtainable by
the farming pursuits. A fourth
cause is the improved means of
transportation.
These. from general causes, oper-
ating together, explain, in the
counts opinion. the growth of the
large cities-a growth, says he. like
| that observable in the United States.
and not "A healthy sign.
Count Okuma said that while ii
was n palpable fact that there had
been very great increase in vol
umc of wealth produced within the
last two or three decades. and es-
peclally within the last 10 years, IL
| was clear that there was nothing
| like an equal distribution of It, 1t
was going, for tho most part, into
| a few hands,
The nobleman thereupon illustrat-
ed two concrete Cases-the Mitsui
and the Iwasaki fortunes. For gem
erations these have been regarded as
great fortunes IN Japan. Count
Okuma said that about 80 years ago
he had occasion to examine into the
size of these fortunes. Ilo then
found that each Of them amounted
to approximately $i.000,000. That
sum in those days was thought to
be a great fortune. He was of the
opivion that each fortune had now
swollen to something like $4,000