The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-16

the unl,,lstakable. evidence OF Arneris
car influ i There are sevsra, dlfs
Welt" and BOOK books whici, ' hide lt their nys.
tcries under tho cryptic. Chinese char, J,
Wcters declare their origin by the llalf|
tone :. cover pictures q Washington
ami other great men Of the occidcnt.
The great majority OF books trans,
lated from English into japanese ar.
Many standard English novels have
been translated. but many moro arr
to be found in editions for the stu
4 dent of English, containing coniout
foot notes IN japanese. IN this way
the Japanese student Is introduced q
the delightful ronances OF Sir Walter
Scott and to the stirring tales Of nd
Dumas, coming from the Frenc, vis
the English. The Influence OF Western
/ literature Is making itself felt upon
! japanese writer's, and many aovcls
arc appearing which take English fc-
tlon fora model of constructions. Here
toforc Japanese poetry has been con
fined within the narrowcst possible
] limits OF mechanical Journalism. the
custom requiring that a poem ninst
consist ofleither thirty-onc or sixteen
| syllablcs. no more, no legs
4 The agitation in favor of abolishing
! the use OF Chinese characters by law.
and of substituting the Roman alphabet
has resulted IN tho Introduction OF
years before the change Will come
about. The radical difference between
the spoken and written language OF
Japan makes a phonetic rendition very
difficult. and the universal adoption OF
/ the Roman characters would cause
great confusion. Nevertheless, the use
OF the typewriter, the study OF Eng
lish. and tho new. ideas OF literature
are bringing about n condition which
will one day relegate the Chinese char
acters from everyday use to the limbo
| of the classics.
| Everyday use of Engllsl, is increas-
| ing more rapidly than exact knowl-
edge OF correct grammar and orthog-
raphy. and the result is multiplied
| ton of ridiculous errors. Even the
ambitious publications are not always
careful of their transations. Tokyo
! Puck Is comic weekly modelled along
the lines OF It's New York contempor-
pearance, but differing vastly in the
character OF It's humor. This publica-
| ton Is entirely the product OF Japa-
aes saess bat N app sna M
Its illustrated jokes and cartoons have
their Japanese legend attached at the
right hand OF the picture, running
VERTICALLY. and their English legend
underneath.
| Its humor is SO coarse and broad
| that It would not be permitted to cir
culate in America, and 1t IL condemn
| ed by the higher class of Japanese
newspapers as indecent and scurrllous.
However. 1t has a big circulation. IN
politics It IS "agln the government"
and 1t does not hesitate TO attack any
thing short OF the throne. In a recent
the prime minister and the minister
of finance seated in carriage. their
faces distorted as IL In terror. reading
a newspaper. Above were portraits Of
. Ia Ing - t.rx - ~ st, -tv,rn nj
Portugal, and underneath this legend:
marquis Saionji and Mr. Matshda. who
| raised the taxes, read the news OF
the Portuguese assassination" Some
although printed in English. are SO
vile that their exact character may
not even be limited at
The usual English MS she is spoke"
curiosities may be seen everywhere in
here is puzzler until one finds that
"ferrules" Is free rendering OF
fuel" Beef and hen met here" Is
the sign over a butcher shop. Cen
Itrifugalized milk is milk from which
the germs have been expelled by the
Pasteur method. The sublime tailor"
and the higher washman" are out for
business. as Is the man who writes
my company do send baggages into
any direction with a good cheapness.
The sign over a candy store reads:
European infections here" Even these
OF the national ambition forAWestern
learning.
The influence of the Japanese adop-
ton OF English on the future OF world
politics is not to be underestimate
A century ago English was spoken b.
20 100000 persons, fewer than those
,Yho spoke French. Russian, German or
Spanish. Now English leads the list of
European languages. being used by
] 80 900. 900, the other languages follow
ing respectively: Russian, German,
French and Spanish. In another gen
Grafton Japan will add 1O.O00.000 or
more to the list of Notwithstanding
people, and for that reason their con-
nection with Anglo-Saxon ideas and
ideals Will be much more close than
liz they had decided to adopt French
or German as the medium through
which they were to come into the
Western world of letters. II the pres
emit difficulties between the United
States and portions of the British er1l-
pire on one hand and Japan on the
other can be brought to a peaceful So
hutton Anglo-American standards of
thought Will ultimately triumph in the
Orient.
Copyright. 1905. by Frederic j. Has
KIND
To-morrow-The Theatre In Japan.