Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-25

ia " iii cause, which WOulu INTER
VAl rupt trade relations between
lEA Ml Japan and the United States
lhHk4Ml would Immediately paralyze
the internal business econo-
my of this country. Inc
| United States is Japan's pest custoilel,
and takes one-third of all that IL mas
to sell. These exports which go 10
American markets are almost an tne
product of Japanese labor, ana the IN
creasing trade with the United states
means more employment at higher
wages. Any H. Interruption of this trade
will spell disaster to the common peo-
pie of Japan, and 1t is not too mucn
to say that, in a material way, Japan
very life depends upon the mainten-
ance of good commercial relations with
the United States. The folly OF Jap
anese governmental policy which
| might tend to lessen the export pusl-
ness to America is too apparent to re-
Quire notice.
Yokohama ranks third among the
| ports of the world in the amount OF
exports shipped to the United States;
Paris Icing first and London second.
The most Important item of export Is
silk This product strikingly illustrates
the Japanese dependency upon the
United States, because the recent W.li
street panic was more disastrous IN
It's results III japan lHdl DIT hOiiiSt Wv
ing to the falling off in demands for
raw silk for the New Jersey factories.
The warehouses here are choked with
bales of silk that long ago should have
been on their way to America. Cap
ital to the extent of $35,0O0,000 is tied up
in this way.
Notwithstanding this temporary
dulness, the future of tn silk business
in Japan is bright. If politics or war
do not interrupt, the United States Will
renew its old demand and Japan will
prosper. Domestic conditions in Japan
are peculiarly adapted to the success
full production of silk. In most SILK
countries only one crop of mulberry
leaves can be obtained In n season, but
in Japan there are three crops. Large
tracts of rough volcanic land, entirely
worthless for other purposes, are
adapted to raising mulberry shrubs,
and eventually will be put to this use.
Much of this land Is located around
the base of Fujiyama, Japan's sacred
mountain. Cheap labor is another ad-
vantage japan enjoys over other SILK
producing countries. Here the farmer
raises silk worms as side line, the
women and children gathering the
| leaves and feeding the ravenous little
worms that make the silk.
Tea is the secon1 item of Importance
| in the exports from Japan to America.
| but the future of this business is not
| so promising. For several years past
there has been a marked falling off in
the volume of ''le shipments, and there
is still a general feeling of depression
| in the trade. The causes of this stag
nation seem to be the strong competi-
| ton of Ceylon and Formosa and the
unfair business methods of the Jap
| anese firms.
Although Japanese porcelain has a
market in all parts of the world, the
United States Is a much larger con-
sumner than any other country; in fact.
almost half of the porcelain shipped
from the port of Yokohama goes TO
America. This is another industry
that probably will have large devel-
opment because of it's adaptation to
local conditions. The artistic tempera-
ment of the Japanese workmen makes
them very skillful decorators, and
wages are extremely low, because the
business is conducted as household
industry While most of the work Is
done by hand, one large machinery
plant has been installed This modern
! factory employs four thousand opera
| tives. and its entire output goes to the
| American market in competition with
the cheap products of Germany.
Most of the tooth brushes used in the
| United States are made by women and
girls in country homes in the vicinity
| of Osaka. The bone used in the manu-
| facture of these brushes is brought
| from Chicago the wood from China
and the bristles from Russia. The rea-
son that this has become the center
| of such an industry, in the absence
of all the raw materials needed. is the
abundance of cheap labor. Workers
may be had for ten cents day.
Another branch of home industry
that is steadily increasing is the man.
ufacture of certain kinds of linen
goods. The material for these articles
is imported from Great Britain. sent
| to the country districts of Japan
where men, women and children do the
embroidery and drawn-work on 1T, af-
ter which 1t frequently finds its way
back to the country of Its origin. This
work is very highly priced for ladies'
waists. and the country people who
| tediously work out the exquisite pat
terms earn from five to fifteen cents a
day. While this may strike an Amer
ican as starvation wages, it is quite
the contrary in rural Japan. The ma
| tives are very deft In this kind OF
needle work. and their habits of living
are extremely frugal. When all the
members of a large family are given
employment their total income rises to
an amount that Is considerable, when
|