Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-08
ANGELENO TELLS
OF WORLD TOUR
Homer LaughIin Says Japanese
Staggering Under 80 Per
Cent Taxation
MANCHURIA LIKE NORTHWEST
Signs of Awakening in China to
Modern Ideas and In
pr0vements Noted

Homer Laughlin of Los Angeles, ac-
companed by his daughter, Miss
Gwendolin Laughlin, and Mrs. Homer
Laughlin, jr., who arrived in New
York last week from a tour Of Europe
and are now visiting among their old
friends in Ohio, gave out an interest
ing interview to the New York sun
while sojourning in the metropolis.
Mr.. Laughlin's trip around the world
embraced Honolulu, Japan, Corea,
China, Java, Ceylon, India, Egypt,
Palestine and much of Europe, stay
ing as long as he liked whenever he
found a place unusually interesting.
"The only exciting experience of the
whole trip" said Mr.. Laughlin, was
when we were hit by a typhoon in the
China sea and kept getting it for
four days. The ship, the Princess
Alice, was driven 400 miles out of her
course. We had a fearful time.
1--WE made a long stay in Japan. 1t
was my observation that the Japanese
are a very busy people who are MAX
ing the most of their opportunities,
though they are suffering in finan-
cial way from the strain of the war.
The burden of keeping up and i'm
proving their army and navy is very
heavy and taxation is more than 30
per cent. Everybody, down to the
jinrikisha boy, has to pay. They are
a remarkable people who can make a
living in a country practically no
larger than California and in which
only IS per cent of the land can be
used at ALL They are now beginning
to harness up the water from the
hills on a great scale.
eve found them cheerful and polite
and did not meet with a single re-
buff.
at was impressed by what Is being
done in Manchuria. That country, at
least what saw of it, is something
like our northwestern prairie country.
It has a good soil and produces cereals
splendidly. Last year 100000 tons OF
beans were exported, alf of which
went to Japan.
'"There is no doubt that Japan has
done a great deal to rehabilitate Corea.
It is the poorest, most God-forsaken
country 1 was ever in. The habit or
caste seems to prevent its making any
headway at all on its own initiative.
I heard talk of disaffection when |
was there, but there were no signs OF
it on the surface. 1 cannot help but
think it was necessary for some out
side country to take the management
of the ancient kingdom.
Java is an example to the world
of successful colonial government.
There are 30,000,000 people making a
living on an island only a little over
800 miles long, and narrow. You don't
see a sign of distress anywhere. In
China saw many signs of the awak-
ening we hear about. For instance, IN
Peking many thoroughfares are being
macadamized and whole streets are
being torn down and widened. The
number of men who have cut off the
Queue Is remarkable. I saw a great
| deal of the Chinese army in Man.
churia. The commanding general was
on our train coming from Mukden to
Tientsin, and at every station troops
were drawn up in line for him TO re-
view.
'In India there is Enthusiastically q
good deal of unrest, especially among
the Bengalis in the Calcutta district
and among the people in the foothllls
of the Himalayas, which manifests
itself in occasional bomb throwing and
assassination.
zone could not help being struck
with the difference between the Dutch
and the English method of dealing WITH
deperdencies in the east. At present
| in India there seems to be lack ol
government. We are getting the same
problem in the Philippines, where we
| have to deal with races that have an
| other point of view from ours. But q
great work is being done in India In
! the interest of the natives. Irriga-
| tion projects are being worked out ir
the districts subject to drought ano
| famine"