Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-04

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/ |IS "a I'll erner who would hustle the
/ l2lISXANI east, but here in Japan the
east is hustling itself. The
! hustle is so great, the expense so
| heavy, the future so problematicaL
that the world is asking itself what is
next upon the program of the japanese
and whether this "plunger" among the
nations will not meet with crushing
reverses. Leaving for the moment the
| question of the aims and the destiny Of
| Japan as a world power-putting aside
the vexed equation in which the fac
tors are high taxes, burdensome ma
| tional debts, eXtraVagant army ana
navy outlay large subsidies to enter
prises of doubtful outcome-the visitor
who returns to Japan even after a
brief absence is impressed with the
rapid passing of old Japan and the
rapid upbuilding of new Japan.
Since this country became conven-
iently near to the west through the
| improved transportation facilities that
resulted from its doors being opened
to the worlds trade and travel, the
island empire has been the happy
hunting ground of the tourist who has
a penchant for the picturesque. Some
of the picturesqueness of Japan is
being destroyed as the country is being
reconstructed in the image Of it's ad-
vanced neighbors overseas. This is
causing those who loved the Japan of
a generation ago because of its quaint
ness to lament. There is also material
for the ruthless western joke in some
of the methods adopted by the Jap
anese to attract the attention of the
tourist to the sights" of the country.
To Illustrate, there are now along all
of the railway lines large square Signs
upon which are Catalogued the points
of interest" within reach of the station
11r Af lrrI fIr-I,s
One reads with amusement that there
are cherry blossoms-in season-a mile
and a half from the station in an east
erly direction. There are plum bios
SONS 230 yards from the station in
westerly direction. To southward 400
yards there are iris flowers. Due
north three miles there is a hill from
which a beautiful view of the sur
rounding country may be had. Phrases
from the literary works of eulogists
of Japan have been lifted and put
upon these guide posts to revelry in
| the picturesque. Every sight is
down upon the chart for the seeker of
the beautiful, the crumblngly ancient.
the distinctly "Japanesy."
Japan is drawing a much needed an
nual revenue from the globe trotting
contingent, and in her effort to get
them to tarry as long as may be and
litter their routes with yen and sen.
rather laughable extremes are resorted
to. But if Sthis offends the artistic
sense of the super-aesthetic visitor to
| the land of cherry blossoms and kimo-
nos of tea houses and temples, of wis
terra and witcheries, there are COM
pensations for the grossly material per-
son who likes the comforts of a western
10 f-tn al
of sojourn in an enchanted toyland
of lacquered temples where "jcss sticks
turn to scented smoke the little sins of
little folk where the farm and the
farm house look like a water color
sketch, and the farmers daughter is
Costuned as if for a fancy dress ball.
Within an incredibly short time Jap
an has gone west, as young nation
should do, and has picked up a good
deal of the best that is in the west
appropriating it to her own needs and
to the uses of those who are strangers
within her gates. The government, so
the protesting Occidental insists, calm
ly appropriates the patents of firearms
from rifles reduced to fit the arms of a
Japanese soldier TO cannon large
enough to fight another Russian navy.
Private enterprise so the foreign busi-
ness man AYERS, snaps up the useful
trademark that sells a western made
article, sticks it upon a native article,
and markets the illegitimate product
with a clear conscience and a bulging
pocket, placing substantial reliance in
the courts of his land to arrive at
truly Oriental verdict of mot guilty"
when he is hauled up by the proprietor
of the genuine article to answer for
his conduct But all of this is far from
the care or ken of the idler who comes
to Japan to move here and there across
pastel country and nibble the lotus
flowers of contentment amid scenes
that soothe the eye. Nine times out of
ten he is as little moved by the incon-
gruities in the aspect of things, caused
by the discrimination of Japan, as he
is by the crouch of the gun maker or
the proprietor of proprietary articles.
And he is very much pleased to find
that he has about him all of the COM
forts of home, to say nothing of the
luxury of perfect service which he