Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-05-04
The SITUATION
JAPAN is FACING
NEW CIVILIZATION is A BURDEN
IN LAND WHERE WAGES
ARE NlGGARDLY.
LOAD TOO HEAVY TO BEAR
Peoples Eyes Opened by War With
Russia to Luxuries Which They
Cainot Afford; Must Hold
to Simple Life.
LOAD TOO HEAVY TO BEAR
BY Frank d. Carpenter in Chicago


| Kyoto. Japan--Have the Japanese
bitten off more than they can chew?
| Can they support the western civili-
alton with its luxuries and its extra
| vagances?
| Have they the natural resources to
hold their own as a great world power?
| These are some of the questions
which are staring the statesmen of this
| country in the face.
| Japan has, all told, good farm lands
of about half the size of Kentucky. 1t
has some coal and a little iron 1t is
discovering petroleum. but this is of
poor quality, and it has considerable
amount of copper and plenty of fish.
| All these resources, however, are not
enough to warrant the support of the
| increasing population, and the country
must have outside lands or develop it
self along the lines of industry and
| commerce. Suppose you should crowd
more than half of all the people of the
| United States into the southern half of
| Virginia, could we live as we'll as we
| do now? Would we have meat three
times a day. carpets on our floors and
| pianos in our parlors. and over and
| above all money to burn? AS to Gull
| tivable territory, that is the state of
Japan. She has now 50,000,000 inhabi-
tants, and she is adding 100000 new
| stomachs to her consumers every year.
|
| two decades, and the avalanche of new
babies rolls on.
| Where are they to go, and how are
| they to be fed?
AS to outside lands, Formosa, which
came as result of the Chinese war,
| is the onlp property absolutely In hand.
1t is just about twice as big as New
| Jersey, and it is already supporting
twice as many people. 1t has 100000
or 10000 900, mostly Chinese. who have
gobbled up the good land and cannot
be moved. In addition. there Is Corea.
which is controlled by japan, and
Which many think is to be exploited
for the good of tie home population.
Corea is twice as large as Kansas, but
lation is about 100000. There may
be some chance for expansion in
southern Manchuria, but altogether the
chances for emieration are few.
Simple Life in New Japan.
This being the case as to the terri
torv, the only thing left is expansion
along the lines of industry and COM
merce. Japan is pushing both of these
possibilities with all her might, and 1t
, may be that the natural skill and in
defatigable work of her people may
make her win out. If she does so, IL
will be by retrenchment and economy
rather than personal extravaganza and
|
Today the country is s1,000.000,000 In
debt 1t owes on the average 5000 per
head. or $1,000 per family. 1t is taxed
enormously. and there would seem TO
be but little room for either the people
or the government 10 increase their
expenses. The officials realize this and
have cut down, their estimates for this
year. The people are already so bur-
dened that they dare not branch out
and the outlook is that the simple life
Of the old Japan will have to continue
| with the ma sSeS for some time to come
This letter is to be devoted to the Jap
anese laboring classes I want to tel
you how they work and the wages they
get, and also the prices they pay for
their daily necessities. You can then
Judge Of their ability to support a civ
ilization like ours.
Only short time ago nverythi~- in
Japan was made by hand in the houses
; There We're no large establishments
and practically no factories. TODAY
there is still an enormous house indus
| try but there are, all told over 10000
factories and they employ altogether
about 100000 workmen. There are
thousands of men who labor in the
mines, and millions in little industries
of every kind which go on in the homes
of the people,
l The seat of the silk industry is here
in Kyoto, but there is an immense dea
of silk made in Osaka and that place
3 has more textile workers than any
: where elese in Japan. Coming to 1t i:
like approaching Pittsburg or Chicago
You see the smoke polluting the. air
l there are hundreds of stacks rfsins
r above the low. black houses, and thu
surroundings are those of the new
Japan. The city now base more thar
, 900, 900 people. and it's population il
!, largely composed of those who worl
: In the factories of various kinds
/ There are long lines Of low houses, thu
S homes of the workmen, and life SEEM
hard
In Osaka some of the factories worl
$ their hands six days Of the week 9th
t ers work seven. and in the textil
= trades the hours are 10 everv day
There isl considerable child labor. blu
not so much as Is generally supposed
= In all Japan only eight hands out o
" 100 are under a. and of these four
/ fifths are girls. In the house industry
the proportion of children is niue
larger Fully 60 per cent of the factor
e employees are women and only 35 pc
II cent men. An increase goes on fror
year to year in the number of wome
laborers. and the females are doin
q more than their share of the work c
l. the country. This is so, notwithstand
ing their wages are often only one-hal
- those of the men and the work quit
as hard.
e. High Wages are Low.
:. / have before me a table of wage
which has Just been made. 1t has bee
gotten at first hand from the child en-
is ployers of Osaka and Kyoto and it ma
to be relied upon as correct. 1t shows til
g. increase in wages in the last thre
a. years, and the present wages whic
are considered exceptionally high. Tai
the clothing factories. where wome
are now getting rs cents day. worl
ing seven days of the week Of mir
IN hours each. They received only i:
a cents 10 years ago and 10 cents in 100
re Sewing machine operatives are no
w getting q cents per day for their wor
"a They were paid 20 cents three yea
~ ago, and only Is cents in 1895 AS
nc tailors. they now receive from 35 to
ur cents day and are getting about thr
he times as much as they did 10 yea
is ago
Ir. They have some glass factories hel
as The blowers who are especially his
nd priced men, are getting 81 cents. al
~ they have only two rest days durfl
" the month. Some of the wages are