The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-07-20

whom there is no longer sufficient soil
in Japan.
Such possibility few on this side
of the Atlantic or on the opposite
shores are willing to concede, although
warning voices have loudly proclaimed
the danger.
From the above observations no
thoughtful person would suggest as a
cause for conflict the school affair, or
the wounded sensibilities of the Japan
ese. The true ground is found in the
fact that the welfare of the American
demands that the stream of Asiatic
immigrants be checked. On the other
hand, the constantly increasing sur
plus population of Japan would find
abundant soil in Western America.
The proposition that Japan send its
overflow elsewhere does not appeal to
it, for it is we'll ll-established fact that
emigration for any particular race will
tend towarn,.a region which offers
similar conditions. 5fesse g. suE teTance and
enterprise to. its own territory. We
have seen this Ia the rush of emf
grants from Middle Europe to North
America. where the climatic and labor
conditions are ths same. The tropics,
on the other hand, offerssvery little that
is attractive to Europeans, and in
l H,al xne
chant and the hunter. rarely the farm
er Sor laborer. For the same reason
the bleak regions Of the interior of
Siberia and Canada attract few from
Middle Europe. These same PROPOSE
tions would naturally induce the Jap
anese to seek a region somewhat SIM
liar to their own.
AS far as the morale Of the two
navies can be compared, the advan-
tage is with Japans. Even though the
American fleet is vastly superior to
i that of Russia. in comparison with the
Japanese. there are many factors of
inferiority.
While the japanese navy is filled
by CONSERVATION, and the best elements
of its people can be drawn. upon for
sea service, this is not possible in
America, where voluntary recruitment
is the system in vogue. Japan, there
fore, has surplus Of skilled crews
| available, whereas America, even in
time of peace, can not obtain suffi-
cient men for her ships. The status
of the American naval force, which on
paper represented. on. Jan. /, 1906,
$4,000 men, actually did not exceed
31,347, showing deficiency Of over
5000, and this loss has not diminished
at the present date.
AS recruiting does not promise to 'be
more favorable. and as the fleet units
increase from year to year, it is reck-
oned that the deficiency in the Ameri-
can navy for the year 1910 will reach
a total Of 24,474 enlisted men and $50
officers.
Considering the character Of the re-
cruits, it is not surprising that the
American fleet contains much material
which is physically inferior, as it can
not procure a sufncient number Of ma
tive-born sailors. In spite Of all ef-
forts made to nationalize the marine,
there were on Jan. /. 1906. only IS per
cent Of warrant officers and 80 per
cent of common sailors who were Of
American birth. The remainder were
foreigners, and until very lately Jap
anese were included. BY recent de-
cision Of the navy department, how
ever, Japanese are no longer accepted,
for it was discovered that they were
secretly submitting designs Of the
most important details Of American
warships for the benefit, presumably,
of the Japanese government.
That the real value Of a mixed ships
crew can not be the most desirable is
self-evident. AS proof Of this may be
! mentioned the large number Of deser-