The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-24
How 10 make money IN Japan.

To THE EDITOR or THE SuN-Sr. The Toxic
correspondent OF the Times of London says that
the future of the foreign merchant In japan has
become one Of considerable anxiety and conjecture
When the country was opened 70 the trade OF the
world Just nifty years ago. her overseas ommcrc
fell entirely into the hands Of . small community
OF enterprsing Europeans and Americans WIN SET
tied at Nagasak. Yokohama. and n little later At
Kobe. IL could not have been otherwise. The
japanese. having no experience OF trade with tbs
West and being entirely without tho necessary
machinery for conducting IL, had 20 accept the
services Of the foreign middlcmen. Excellent ser.
vices they were too, for these merchants took on
their own shoulders tho entire risks OF the business
while conceding 10 the Japanese an equitable share
of the pronts.
The foreign community lived almost entirely
isolated. They did not OF deliberate choice seRre-
gate themselves from the people among whom
their lot had been cast. but oil the conditions Of
their existence combined 70 dineren tiate them. and
that, too. In q measure eminentiy calculated to
estrango japanese sentiment. In the nrst place
they acknowledged no responsibility toward the
laws OF the land. this exemption being passed on an
assumption of superiority necessarily CALLING 20 a
proud and patriotic nation like the Japanese. In
the second the imposing dimensions OF their houses.
the comparatively costly and ostentatious fashion
OF their lives and the fact that they had virtually
no social Intercourse with the people Of the country
all tended to create an impression on the one hand
OF deriving large profit from the trade they con
trolled. and on the other. of desplslng and looking
down on the nation whose hospitality they enjoyed.
Certain OF their business methods. In the export
OF tea and silk chiefly. helped 10 acccntuate the
situation. and the Japanese struggled prepetuslly
TO organize q system OF direct export" The
issue OF the struggle, broadly stated. 10 that whereas
In 1898 the Japanese had In their own hands only
II per cent. OF a total yearly trade Of 300. 600 ,00O.
they now have ~ per cent. OF a total yearly trade
OF sso5 I00o.oo. In the domain OF silk. Jspan's
chief staple export. the foreign middlemsn has
70 contend against a very formidable organizs
ton. Not only have the japanese succeeded In
securing the confidence OF American buyers for
raw silk which has not previously undergone foreign
expert examination, but also they obtain from
their own banks more liberal accommodation
than the average foreign exporter can get from
Yokohama or Kobe banks. This gives the japanese
exporter longer time In which 70 seek q market
Tor his goods In the United States.
The correspondent does not even allude n the
British and European markets for Japanese silk.
The case OF tea promises 10 10 somewhat similar.
1t no longer requires 70 be carried 70 Q foreign
settlement for retiring and packing. Tbs Japanese
are now themselves quite competent 70 carly Out
these operations. and they are forming organiEa
tons TO export the leaf direct from the chief pro.
ducing districts, 30 that the foreign middleman will
be entirely eliminated. or their right 10 export
direct" II they can. their tea. their silk and any
other Of their products or manufactures there
can be no question.
So far they have not had much success In In Ell
porting the products of their spinning and weaving
factories. These manufacture some slOO. COCOON
worth OF yarns and stuffs each year. OF which about
s25.0 600 worth 10 exported. This branch of eI
ports has. thus far. remained chiefly Ia foreign
hands, but there are evidences OF a strong resolve
20 alter that state OF AFFAIRS. In ~enecting such alter
alton the Japanese will again be strictly within
their rights.
IL Is therefore safe to assume that In time the
foreign merchant In Japanese trade will disappear
But, pertinentiy says the correspondent. there Is
another Japanese held 70 be exploltod-the indus