The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-11

-the harbor and so boarded her once more for Kobe, 35o miles to the west. The two cities are also connected by rail. but the sea route Is preferable in many ways. especially so during the summer season. What the later statement means all travellers in Japan will easily un- derstand. The thermometer. it is true, does not go so high as at Nashville, but the atmosphere is exceedingly Sumid and oppressive. For a foreigner to ex- pose himself to the direct rays of the sur is very dangerous I soon learned to do what have never done at home, to carry an umbrella even on short walks. Conditions are rendered still more dsagreeable by the presence and enter prise of countless hordes of mosquitoes. who put forth their best endeavors to make life a burden. Not even on the coasts of New Jersey, nor in the delta lands of Mississippi. do these pests of humanity ply their vocation more inees- sanity Up to the present no organized warfare has been waged against them, but in due time it will certainly come. What has been done in New Orleans and Havana, and Panama and Rio de Janeiro will be done here.
 I had hoped to get a view from the ships deck of F'uji, the peerless mountain of Japan; but the day was misty as we passed that part of the coast, and so 1t became necessary for me to wait till a later time for the gloxous spectacle. Ger tainly it is worth waiting for a long while When we reached Kobe another busy scene presented itself to our eyes. One is startled, in fact, by the signS of life in these great eastern ports. Who ever supposes that the Orient Is asleep would be speedily disllusioned if he were only to make a visit to this part of the world. Fortunately for me friends were again present to meet me and take charge of me. If it had not been for their kindness I should have felt son e what bewildered. Getting through the customs was a comparatively easy job. Whether because the officials knew from my appearance that was travelling light, or for some other reason beyond my knowledge, I was treated with the utmost courtesy Nor was my case at all ex- ceptional It is only in America, as I krow, that all incoming travellers are dealt with as suspects, first required to make oath as to their belongings, and then searched upon the apparent suppo- sition that they have committed per- jury.
 Well, the law is the law. and as 9
 Christian citizen l shall obey it while il stands on the statute books or the na- ion. This, however, does not in the least alter my judgment that our tariff, with It's lStS or more llldu GuVV NldlldOAC dAtA- cles. framed, not primarily for the sup nort of the government, but in the inter- est of favored manufacturers. is an ini- 1llitv and an immortality. Moreover, 1t cannot fall in the long run, to retard Nealthy progress All restrictions on trade. save only those that look to the public health, and the public revenues
 Ire evil and evil only. If ever a party qrises among us that is courageous +a1r DOcifiOn and hold r vithout trimming or evasion of any sort
 I shall be glad to join it, for good and all
 Kobe proper is even more modern thar Yokohama It was founded as foreig' settlement in 1868. But the adjacent Cit
 f IIyogo, which is now virtually par
 If 1t. dates back for long centuries. Th' present population of the combined mu-
 icipalties is probably not much, If any
 ess than 100000. Owing to the purenes'
 and dryness of the atmosphere, and thf uosition of the city at the head Of tn Inland sea and in close proximity to tho
 great cities of Kyoto and osaka, 1t Is tn
 favorite part of Japan, having a large
 export and import trade than any othe
 fly in the empire. Seen from the decl of a ship 1t has a most beautiful appea
 irue, stretching miles and miles along tho 1ay. and running back to range o wooded mountains whose highest peaks ,re over 2500 feet above the sea- Ol closer inspection it does not quite Justif, expectations. The old and the new arr
 iostled together in 1t after most sur prising fashion. Tn close proximity to blocks of the finest modern buildings al
 9 ines o1 cheap structures one or tive stories high and illustrating all the pc ,uliarities of the native architecture
 The main business street, Malo-machl is far from making a presentable appear .ance. yet there are hundreds of things about it to attract a foreigner. If he ventures into the shops where porcelalns and silks and lacquer work ana othe4
 such things ar sold, he is more than likely to part company with good DOT tion of his money. He is fortunate if he has A resident friend along to put him
 on his guard against useless expendl-
 lures and extortionate prices. For some
 reason of other, the opinion Is general in the world that Japanese merchants will bear watching. If the exact truth were known, I suppose 1t would come to about this, that there are honest ner- chants and dishonest ones here as In every other part of the world. My per sonal experience in such matters being limited by the capacities of a marrow
 purse, I do not presume to speak with much authority Of one thing l am quite certain, that there is scarcely lady in all America who would not be glad to go through Moto-machi. Nor could she be blamed, for even a mere
 man Is charmed by the display. DIS
 play is scarcely the correct word; the finest things are not displayed at all,
 but are hidden on back shelves or up-
 per floors to which you must ascend on
 the rickiest of stairs. But when you once find them you are quite ready 10 admit how exceedingly beautiful they are, and to wonder why they are moi
 thrust to the front. The Japanese mind works in it's own ways, and no doubt mas a satisfactory explanation of this busi-
 ness peculiarity-of this and of other ones just as strange For instance, there seem to be no regular hours of business. At 10 D. m. many of the houses are still open to catch stray customer. In
 America the clerks would rebel against such a custom; but in Japan clerks are plentiful, and there is no danger of a strike
 Out in the street the sights are as
 novel as in the shops It is impossible
 to walk without seeing something that arrests the attention. The jinril1isha men are everywhere. either running at full tilt or sitting asleep. Now and then a
 beggar solicits aims, exposing the stump of a limb or hideous sore 10 excite compassion. I am compelled 10 confess. however, that mendicancy Is far less common than I had expected, not half so much so as in English or Euro bean cities Of poverty there is enough, to be sure. but it does not obtrude itself upon the public notice. Quite frequently a little group of men or boys beating drums and carrying flags as an adver- tisement for a theatre or other form Of amusement comes into view. At corner lightly-clad baker Is making and COOK ing in the open the sweet cakes whlch Al, ,o Iarnnaca children so mulch like. A