The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-02-01

methods introduced by the mission |
aries, the 100000 children are born, |
but they do not die" This is true |
of every other Oriental country. Mean |
while, in the countries of Europe the !
increase of population is slow, and, !
in some countries, as in France, it
is hardly increasing at all. In Amer
lea race suicide is becoming alarm
ingly prevalent,
In the recent war between Russia
and Japan DR.. Louis Seaman, who
visited their field hospitals and talk
ed freely with their army surgeons,
found that the Japanese had out
stripped us in almost every depart
ment of military surgery The for
eign colonies of Toxic and other Jap
anese cities employ native physicians
in preference to Europeans.
Asia is coming into her own again.
It was Asia through Arabia which
gave Europe the literature, the arts,
and the sciences, which we have de-
veloped and of which we now boast.
Gunpowder was probably invented in
China; it was certainly introduced
into Europe from Arabia. The finely
! tempered steel of Damascus went
| over from Arabia at the time of the
Moorish invasion of Spain and its
manufacture was continued at Tole-
do. The coppersmiths of Bagdad sup
piled the worlds market with their
wonderful productions centuries be-
fore there were any industries in
Europe. Weaving of silk and cotton
had it's birth as an industry in Ara
bia, and the. weaving of wool was
learned by the Crusaders in the same
wonderful country. Astronomy, math-
ematics, the mariners compass-all
came to us from the Arabs.
One can not have forgotten that
the Psalms, the Gospels, and the
; the Koran are all of Arabian origin.
The inhabitants of central Arabia
have today the oldest liberal gov
ernment-practicall a republican
earth. And. if you go farther afield
to India and China, and Japan, you
shall find a civilization older than
history and marvellous in its char
acter. One can not read that great
library of Eastern Sacred Writings
edited by DIR. Max Muller, without be
ing tremendously impressed.
, 1t will not do for us TO assume tina
ours is the only civilization. VIVA
I are the basic virtues, the sum o
f which we call our Christian civiliza
, ton? | hope we are all agreed tina
they are not primarily beliefs in Gel
p tain theological dogmas, or certail
q forms of church polity or in the shap
p or length of priestly vestments, bu
? in the attributes Oh correct Christia
i living. Is frugality a virtue? You
n Asian far exceeds us in frugality.
# industry a merit? No people on cart
It work as long, as persistently, and a
r conscientiously as they. Is integrit
:, esteemed? 1t is the unchallenge
r. judgment of every European write
e that the word of an Asian was goo
/ until they were corrupted by the il
# roads of Westerners. Is politenes
W which is but another name for tn
a. golden rule, to be commended? Nc
/ where will you find such scrupulor
n politeness as is daily and hourly o
served east of Suez.
is Is observance of law desirable? Tt
re peaceable and orderly lives which IL
IN great mass of the people of Asia hay
l. led for centuries attest their habi
20 of obedience. There are cities in l
l. dia, Japan, and China with crowdC
in populations running from a hundrt
thousand into the millions whe
ne there is scarcely the semblance
no police control, and where crime
TO hardly known. They are a call
a thoughtful people, to whom what N
at Arthur Benson has so well called I'll
all gospel of push" and what our oy
re, vigorous Roosevelt calls "strenuo
mt life," is unknown. But am not
TO all sure that this is an unmixed ev
Die for there are no "brain-storms" thel
TO and neurasthenia is provided for n
al where. In the light of the fact tn
the number of inmates in the insa
mt hospitals of our country doubled
m: six years, according to the late
we available statistics, | can not but fl
CO. that we need less strenuosity ratt
for than more. Compared with WestC
on. civilization, theirs will not suffer pr
md haps as much as you would imagir
Dis. and perhaps you will agree that
in chief characteristics of our civil
an, ton are push and extravaganza, a