The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-06-27

one abstract question, but an inter-
woven mass of perplexities. each with
a relation to the other. Out OF the
whole l have tried to extricate the
two that appear to be fundamental
education and morality; and both
have a direct bearing upon the mis-
sionary and religious situation which
] am studying.
Toxic is the greatest student CEN
ter in the world, with more than So.
900 students of the higher branches.
Here young Japan, infatuated with the
western learning, has concentrated
its ambitions The streets TEEN with
young men and women students. The
procession of these that may be seen
any day along the moat by the i'm
perial palace is the most significant
spectacle in all Japan, 1t is the crnx
of the nations anxieties; l do not
wonder that the elder statesmen are
shaking their heads and looking grave
over it; for reasons which | shall
presently show.
So great is the craze for education
that, although the rather loose figures
of the Japanese government give 94.43
per cent. of the population of school
age as under instruction tan Amerl-
can educator here figures it as 69Oo
per cent, according to western reck-
oning), there is not room in the In
stitutions Of higher grade for all the
applicants. Japan has only eight col
leges and two universities, but each
of these has a very large enrolment,
I heard the other day OF 1,OO0 stu
dents being examined for entrance
into a class that could admit but ~.
The rejected students feel disgraced,
and this is one cause of the suicides
that are so common among this class
of the Japanese.
II is freely stated that much OF the
modern education is quite superficial
Certainly the stu1en prove fertile
field for the exploitation of socialists
and other agitators, There are moi
places in the nation for these educat
ed young men commensurate Wltn
their ambitions. So there is consid
cradle political as well as social un
rest
One striking result of the craze fol
aducatiou is the universal desire Il
aearn English. which is regarded a:
the language of progress and civtliza
tion, There is no similar zest fol
French or German. The higher pub
lie schools teach English. and tens o
. thousands are learning 1t privately
Train boys, railroad men, walters
shoDkeepers, editors, students, fellow
passengers in trains-all sorts o
Japanese have come to me since
have been here for help in English
Any good-natured foreigner coul'
keep busily employed "a hours da,
dnstructing the Japanese in the mys
'teries of English. Recently visite
a mission night school in Kobe whicl
was literally jammed with young me-
Employed during the day as teachers
clerks, etc. Not only were the room
crowded but outside of the doors an
windows stood clumps of eager stt
dents, each having paid the tuitio
fee. The mission force was made
0uate. and two outside helpers, Ems
sishmen, had been engaged temporar
1y. IT was highly edifying to hea
an enthusiastic young man teach hi
class, as model sentences, There ar
many dogs in England. l have &c
a dog" 1t is only fair to the mi
sionary force to say that they then
selves are college bred men an
Women. @3.15y
y, Leading a Nation to School.
st was the missionaries who intr'
duced higher education into Japal
One of them, DR.. David Murray, wa
the governments educational advise
and led in the organization OF tn
present school system. The first
the Japanese institutions Of hight
learning was the Doshisha, founde
nv the runaway youth, Joseph Hard
Neesima. who was trained In a hon
and is now esteemed by the nation
one Of it's great men: The Doshish
which is located at Koto, is the mo
famous of mission schools in tn
country, and ii is stiA doing success
full work, with about 600 student
The average age of the latter is low
than formerly, as seems. to be !
case with all long-established missi'
=. schools.
Must Mission Schools GOT
The intensely national spirit amol
the Japanese, together with the ere
tion of the new educational systel
has largely altered the status al
character of the mission schoo
Whatever changes the future brinl
II is evident, however, that from t
mission schools japan has receiv
a tremendous educational impulse.
host of trained teachers, and a co
. pany Of unselfish counsellors. F.
thermore, it must be admitted that
the present time great service is
ing done by the mission schoC
;, which are maintained throughout
empire by the various denominatic
in such numbers and variety Il
space cannot be spared even to m
-tiou the score or more that l hs
personally visited. u
The size ana scope Of these insti
.tions-of which the Doshisha at X
to, the Protestant Episcopal, Pres
terian and joint Methodist Episco
schools at Toxic. the German
formed school at Sendai and
Southern Methodist school at Ko
may be cited as conspicuous exi
ples-is beyond the knowledge OF
people of America. That one coun
should contribute such tremend
influences to the upbuilding Of
other is certainly an evidence OF
olt,,ts+to charactar of Christian I