Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-11

zzzzzl OI<IO--Japan is on fire with
IK5vMA politics from one end to the
other, for this Is a great CAM
M # paign year in the Land of the
A1 Rising sun, just as 1t is in
49, the United States. A new
diet is to be elected in June, and, for
the first time in the eighteen years that
Japan has had parliamentary govern
ment, there Is redhot issue of prin-
ciple at stake Heretofore election to
the diet has been merely a matter of
personal following, petty factionalism
and bribery. Now come the CONNER
ciaI interests of the nation demanding
q seat at the council table, where they
have never been represented. In old
Japan the people were divided into four
classes and the lowest of these were
the merchants. Commerce was looked
upon as degrading, and the ambition
to make money was nothing short OF
criminal.
The chambers of commerce of the
country recently organized united
chambers and memorialized the gov
eminent in opposition to the increase
of taxes contemplated by the diet. In
this protest they were Joined by the Ia
Dor organizations. The government
called the leaders on the carpet ana
told them that the chambers OF COM
merce were business organizations and
that IL they so far forgot themselves as
to NEEDLE in politics their charters
would be revoked. Whereupon the
chambers withdrew, but every indt-
yidual member in every city began at
once to conduct an individual CAM
paign for the election of member in
the diet who would represent the COM
mercial interests regardless of polltlcal
party lines.
| Political parties as they are known
| in the United States do not exist here,
but they probably will be called into
being by this very campaign. When
the parliamentary government was
| first granted the necessity for standing
| together for the new form of admins
| tration made party divisions CANCER
Gus, and Prince Ito, the George Wash
| ington of Japan, frowned upon them.
The cabinets were made up OF minis
| tiers from every important faction. rms
condition continued nominally until
quite recently, and, while cabinet was
really a party affair, 1t was not until
a few months ago that all the ministers
were actually of one group. The cabi-
net, headed by Marquis Saionji, gave to
| the party called the Seiyukwai, or Con-
| stitutionalists, the first exclusive con-
troll of the government by party. That
It's hold is only by sufferance is shown
by the fact that it can muster but 1T
votes cut of the total of S77 in the lower
house, and must always have at least
twenty-four votes from the other par
ty groups or from the independents.
The strength of the other parties is:
The 5himpo-to, or Progressionists,
ninety-three; the Diado Club, sixty;
the Yukowai, thirty-flve, and indepen-
| dent, twelve. In the house or peers
there is no party division.
| These so-called parties have no ex-
| istence in fact outside of the lower
house of the diet. Members are re-
turned from the various districts for
one reason or aotnher, and their party
alignment is fixed after they get to
Toxic. This leaves much room for
bribery and corruption, and it is no
torious that there are many members
of the lower house-in fact a whole
group of them-who may be had by the
highest bidder and IN no other way.
1t having beel virtually decided that
Japan is to have government by party
| cabinets responsible to the diet, 1t is
becoming important that the corrup-
ton in the parliament be purged and
| that the people themselves take an In
terest in the views and principles of
pOl1t1Cal ORGANIZATIONS dS WCil oo VI
| individuals.
This interest is being aroused by the
commercial movement and by the
newspapers, so that in the elections
this summer candidates Will declare
their party Affiliations in a much more
distinct fashion than has been done
heretofore and the people will begin
TO align themselves. In this evolution
the Japanese are following closely the
trend of early American history. When
our government under the constitution
was first organized President Washing
ton, as did Prince Ito, feared the effect
of party dissension at a time when 1t
was necessary for all hands to pull to-
gether to save the constitution itself,
Therefore he invited into his cabinet
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas JEFF
ferson, the leaders OF the two schools
of thought in the country, although
their followings were not parties" as
the term is understood in these days.
Questions essential to the very ex-
istence of the government were upper
most for years. the party alignments