The Elbert County tribune., 1907-05-09
(copyright by Joseph B. Rowles.I

Copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles)
KGruizswa, Japan.-The first day
II landed in Japan / set out, hot
foot, TO find missionary. l want
led to hear what he had to say
for himself in answer to some of the
criticisms that l had heard aboard
ship. But hours of jinrikisha riding
in Yokohama and Toxic failed to un-
tcover one.
"karuizawa,'' was the word | got
from native servants in tenantless
missionary homes: and Karuizawa,
said the red guidebook, which is the
tourists badge of greenness, is a re-
sort in the mountains of interior
Japan much frequented by mission
aries and other foreigners. When 1
said "Karuizawa' to one of the polite
;ofhcials at the railroad station
he straightway took my affairs in
hand; attended to my baggage. requi-
tsitioned the proper porters, and then
himself went with me and ordered my
ticket and saw that l got the right
change; all without expectation of a
fee, which he, like the Japanese DO
iliceman, would consider an insult.
The ticket. by the way, was second
class, | found; and later learned that
II is thus that all missionaries travel
in Japan.
The Simple Life In Japan.
In the light of what / see here in
karuizawa, the many tales / have heard
OF the missionary's opulence are rap
idly being dissipated. The mission
aries here are unquestionably repre-
sentative of those throughout the orr
ent; they are of all ages. are of all
denominational names. are engaged
in every branch of mission work and
come from every part of Japan, as well
as from three or four other countries.
All alike dress most inexpensively,
and one does not have to look closely
to see the evidences of enforced eco
nomy familiar in the case of the coun-
try parson in the home land The
summer homes hereabouts can boast
little except fine views and plenty of
fresh air; they are not on a par with
the cottages in the resorts l have
named. The buildings are plain wood
en- structures, generally unpainted or
else an ugly red color, and each
dwelling seems to be crowded, in the
approved summer resort fashion; for
expenses diminish by division. There
is always room for the hospitality
which missionaries learn in the east.
If they never knew it at home; and
manifestly these are homes of real re-
finement, since four-fifths of the mis-
sionaries are college bred The mum.
Der of Phi Beta Kappa keys worn, stand
ing as they do, for highest rank in the
best American colleges, inpresses one
Interested in such matters Since
coming here | have had no occasion to
blush for my countrymen, which was
not the case in Yokohama
! The Easy Life of the Orient.
: There are more servants here than
in any similar resort over seas. Each
household has from two to five native
servants, depending generally on the
number of children in the family. This
is not quite so luxurious as 1t sounds
for servants are plentiful and cheap
here. Housekeeping in Japan does
not entail the domestic drudgery com.
mon in the west, and altogether life is
smoother and more comfortable. Al
ready it has been made plain that the
commonly entertained notion concern
ing the hardships of missionary life. in
Japan. at least, is erroneous. This is
a civilized land. Most of the convent.
ences and comforts of life in America
are obtainable here, plus many not
known to the occident So far as the
material aspects of residence in Japan
are concerned, | see no reason for the
fearful pity and sympathy so frequent
1y extended to the missionary. Life
in the Sunrise kingdom may be as en-
joyable as life anywhere else.
One less pleasant aspect of the mis-
sionary's lot was brought to mind at
the first Sunday service l attended, in
the new Auditorium, which is situated
within so yards of an old Shintc
shrine The seating capacity is about
450. and the building was filed with
Europeans (as all white folk are called
out here). interested brown faces
peeping in at doors and windows. Dur
ing the first hymn many persons
even to little child in front of me,
were anected to tears. ! could not un-
derstand why anybody should weep !
over the hearty singing of familiar |
hymn until 1t was explained that the !
sight and sound of so many Christians
singing together was too much for /
the missionaries, who. for at least a
year. had been shut off in the interior
towns and villages. seeing only Japa- |
nese faces and hearing only Japanese
speech. Then | began to realize the |
lone tl!ness which is often one of the
AM MlSSIONARY-2177-ART. 3
The Corn Root-Louse.
The corn root-louse is to some ex-
tent disseminated by ants, which col