The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-10-14

tContmued tr)m page nineD

quate explanation of so many mis-
statements; they constitute charges at
once so serious and so specific
againt the whole foreign community
of Yokohama that it seems reasonable
to ask that your informant should
o,enly shoulder the responsibility of
his sweeping indictment"
After pointing out misstatements
end inaccuracies one after another,
Mr. Blake concluded his letter with
the following sentences:
81 trust that my remarks up to this
point will have demonstrated to you
that the great majority of statements
in your article, at least as far as they
concern Japan, are contrary to facts,
and will convince you that you have
done your own countrymen, as well as
other foreign residents here, a great
injustice and incalculable harm. AS
this publication is calculated to do a
serious injustice not only to your own
countrymen, but to all the English
speaking community of the Far East,
and it is likely to foster rather than
retard any tendencies toward race
prejudice, l am directed by the eXecu-
tive committee Of the American Peace
Society to request that you will give
the same publicity to a correction of
your inaccuracies as was given to your
original article, in order that the mis-
chievous impressions which have been
scattered abroad may, as far as pos
sible, be counteracted,"
Melville Stones Reply.
To the letter of the American
Peace Society Nj Stone sent a reply
dated New York May 16, in which,
however, he neither admitted that he
was inaccurate nor corrected his mis-
statements. At the beginning Of his
letter he says:
First I havet never at any time
written any article for the magazine
referred to. In October last l did in
dulge in an after-dinner talk to a small
company of American friends, perhaps
fifty in number, on Race Prejudice in
the Far East The dinner was not
a public one A portion of this talk
was reproduced, with lamentations, as
if it were an article written by me
for the Geographical Magazine. How
it was obtained for such publication
do not know"
And he concludes his letter:
"In general, however, l do not be-
lieve l have done any substantial in
| justice in this matter; nor do l be-
lieve that any amount of quibbling re-
speeding details, several of which you
say are inconsequential, goes to the
merit of the matter. l might say as
Coriolanus did of his Volscian critics,
that seem to have caused "a flutter-
ing in a dove cote But there are
much larger issues involved than the
question whether you have two or
three native japanese in the Yoko-
hama United Club or have none. 1t is
the general question Of race prejudice
throughout Asia, and it was to this
that l addressed myself"
Foreigners Not Pleased.
This letter was addressed to D. H.
Blake, President of the American
Peace Society of Yokohama, Japan,
ana e. G. Babbott, Hon. Secretary of
the American Asiastic Society of
Japan. But the resolution of the
Yokohama Board of Foreign Trade
was ignored and nothing was heard
from the publishers of the National
Geographical Magazine.
The publication of Mr.. Stones re-
ply in Japanese papers, and especially
in English papers in Japan, excited
the foreigners, who were determined
to have the misstatements withdrawn
The prominent foreigners in Yoke.
hama consulted as to the further
measures to be taken on this matter
by the foreign residents in Yoke
hama, against whom many of the
statements were aimed, bat the Amer
lean Peace Society of Japan decided
not to take up the matter any
further, saying;
1--WE would express our regret that
Mr.. Stone has not seen fit to assist in
correcting the wrong he has done the
foreign community of Japan by more
general retraction of his many incor
rect and harmful statements. In view
of his attitude we feel compelled tc
place on record our opinion that the
great majority of the statements made
by him are incorrect, and that the so
called race prejudice as far as Japan
is concerned, is more imaginary than
real.
However, regardless Of the merits