Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-25

japan they are copied and then the
Japanese manufacture them them
selves This has frequently been cited
as an example of Japanese dishonesty.
Part of my errand IN coming to Ameri-
ca was to purchase some surglcal IN
struments which l could not buy in
Japan. 1 bought an instrument Tor
SIS which, the clerk informed me, would
have cost me $100 in Germany. You
see, when they send over an instru-
ment we have a wooden model made,
he explained, and then we make 1t our
selves. We can undersell them every
time Many of the criticisms of the
Japanese are, belleVe, tully as UNJUST
as this
"The most severe attacks on the lit
tie people are made by persons who
should know something about them, put
who really know nothing. Most or the
residents of the business colonies live
in treaty ports in clans and seldom get
into the interior, where they would
have a chance to learn something. They
take no pains to learn the language and
keep to themselves entirely with their
whist parties and balls.
The School System
"The school system is one of the most
remarkable revelations to the critics of
the island who will take the pains to
learn something about it, l was visit
ing the interior of the island a year
ago with a party of friends, and we
passed a school yard where they were
| building a festal arch of evergreens
| in honor of a Buddhist festival. We
stopped to watch and the teachers came
out into the yard and invited us in.
The buildings and grounds covered sew
eral acres, all in perfect condition and
on entering the school house we We're
shown into large, well lighted recep-
| ton ROOM On the walls were free
hand and mechanical drawings, water
colors and sloyd work, all of stand
ard fully up to the average of an Amer
lean school, The teachers showed us
number of daily reports of the work
of the students, kept by system by
which the progress of each student is
recorded every day. The reports showed
that a Japanese student has to go
through infinitely more drudgery than
an American school boy.
"We entered the door of the main
school room and over the entrance hung
photograph of Theodore Roosevelt
over the door of another room was
picture of W. e. Gladstone The walls
were decorated with maXims, all of
them of highly moral tone, taken from
the teachings of Confucius and later
Japanese philosophy. Everything about
the school and the teachers indicated
|
the criticisms of the morality of Jap
anese school children seem almost RI
dculous. The teaching of morality Is
one OF the most important parts of the
curriculum.
Moral Tone, High
1--WE found also that the morality of
the people in general is far above what
1t is commonly supposed to be, and cer-
tainly above that of the American SOL
diers who have gone to the Philip
pines and to Japan. AT the close of
the Japanese Russian war l went on
an expedition to the west coast, a dis
trct seldom visited by tourists, with
letters to the governor of the province.
We met a detachment of Japanese ma
rines returning home after their serv-
ice in the war. When the men recog-
nized us as Americans they gave a
great cheer for America and pressed
about us with the utmost good will.
The men were modest and reserved and
conducted themselves in a manner
greatest pleasure and gratitude at the
country and said they always hoped
ing of their achievements in the war
they always spoke in the third person
and gave all the glory TO the emperor
and the country.
ION our return TO the nearest city we
saw something which contained Valu-
able suggestion for American public Of
licials Crowds lined the roadway cele-
brating the Buddhist festival and