The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-06-26
LETTER FROM THE ORIENT.
Pursuing Ones Profession Under
nifficuIfiaS

LEIIER FROM lHE OhltNl.
Pursuing Ones Profession Under
Difficulties.
Medical men in the United States
and Europe can avail themselves in
cases of emergency of telegraphs,
telephones, railroads and other mod
ern annihilators of space. Not SO
with the physician in China, except
in few cities where western ideas
and methods have been adopted. One
of the medical missionaries work
ing under the American Board gives
a graphic picture of a recent visit
to patients living at five different
places, all within 200 miles of his
station. The journey required eleven
days. He searted out in a sedan chair
but his two bearers, being opium
smokers, caused so much delay and
annoyance that at the end of 80
miles he decided to walk. His lug
gage consisted of food enough for the
entire "Trip, cooking utensils and bed
ding, load of medicines and instru-
ments, also literature to distribute
among the Chinese, for they are a
great reading people. Fancy an Amer
lean doctor starting on round of
visits with such parapenalia! Its
weight, $50 pounds, was divided be-
ween two carriers who walked from
Is to 27 miles per day with appar-
emily little fatigue, The route took
them along fields where rice was be-
ing harvested by precisely the same
methods used 1000 years ago. There
were no roads, in our sense of the
word, nothing but narrow footpath
paved with small, round stones,
| which had been worn smooth and
slippery from being traversed by
thousands of sandaled feet for cen
turtles. Naturally a foreigner be-
comes a little footsore walking over
these stones. Another drawback was
the native inns, full of dirt and YER
min, where they had to spend three
nights.
On reaching "a village the doctor
made straight for .ne little chapel
used both as a place for Christian
worship and schoolhouse, and thi-
ther the natives flocked for treat
ment. The scene, at such a time,
is almost an exact parallel of the
one mentioned in Luke 4:40. The
native pastors in these villages are
intelligent and often well-educated
men, being graduates of the mission
schools. With the present craze for
western learning they could o~~''--
earn more money in government po-
sitions. But believing that Chris
tianity is the supreme need of Chi
ma at this hour they stick to the work
of spreading it's truths A typical case
is reported of young preacher who
manages somehow to support
wife and four children on the munifi-
cent salary of three and a half dol
lars in gold per month! AS the medi-
cal missionary tours among these
people, and sees what stuff they are
made of, he prefers to pursue his
profession there, in spite of the diff
ficulties, to an easier job in the
United States.
School Teacher of the Orient.
This is the role which Japan is
now playing among the nations of
the east. Through the $4,000 and
more Chinese students in Toxic and
elsewhere Japanese ideas are greatly
influencing China, and even India is
being stirred by her distant neigh
bor Last year the president of the
Doshisha, one of the foremost uni
versities of Japan, in company with
the president of government school
in Toxic, made lecture tour through |
the principal cities of India. Their
visit created quite sensation, es-
pecially their claim that Japan's sue
cess lies In Christian education. Their
audiences were Brahmins of high |
degree. prominent lawyers. mer-
chants, bankers and other natives of |
influence. They also had large gath
erings among the students in, Calcut-
ia. which is a great educational CEN
ter, and in other places. President |
Harada was graduated from Amherst |
and Yale and Mr.. Motada, his COM
panion, from Johns Hopkins. Both
are the direct product Of missionary
effort in Japan If the American
Board had done nothing else than to
train such leaders as these, who are
helping to shape the educational pol
icy Of great empires like China and
India, 1t would be well worth the
outlay of men and money. OF the In
tellectual life of the Japanese them i
selves an American tourist writes:
''The visitor needs not to search for
signs of 1t. To me 1t seemed that
ran across schoolhouses of every
grade about as often as in America.
Whether in city or distant hamlet
the sight Of children going to and
from school was, never wanting. In
higher schools the boys wore navy /.
blue uniform of European cut and
a cap bearing the insignia of the
the girls have adopted a
straight, pleated SKIRT which is worn
over the Japanese costume, the wide
sash being abandoned. And what
nation of readers! In waiting rooms,
On trains and steamboats, most travel
ers were absorbed with papers, mag
azines or books.
TO ENTRYMEN ON CAREY LANDS.
Final proofs will not he accented I'M