Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1912-08-23

clares Hamilton Holt, ed
n itor OF the Independent. Mr..
Holt recently returned from
a tour of observation that covered
japan. Korea and Manchuria. mot
even the French can surpass them IN
that respect" he continues. such
pretty, genuine and universal cour-
tesy from all classes, higk and low,
have never experienced.
IN cleanliness no people in the
world approaches them. 1t probably
not very far from the truth to say
that every Japanese man, woman and
child takes a hot bath every day. Co
ing over to Korea from Japan l went
down into the hold of the steamer
about midnight.
There were 800 or more third class
passengers fast asleep, all packed in
like figs in three tiers of beds. Though
the only ventilation came from sky
light above, the room was as fresh
and odorless as the deck above. Those
who have visited the steerage Of any
transatlantic liner, even the best. will
appreciate this novel experience.
The cheerfulness and contented-
ness of the Japanese are as apparent
to any visitor as their politeness and
cleanliness. Every Japanese has a
perpetual smile on his face. He has
schooled himself to be contented.
''As for their estheticism In refer
ence to art, architecture and paint
ing, shall refer here to two incl
dents. went to the chrysanthemum
shows in Both Toxic and Nagoya. In
both places the halls were literally
packed with poor people who had paid
good money to see nothing but rows
of potted chrysanthemums.
Great Self-controI.
ION the railroad from Kyoto to To
kio we suddenly came in sight Of Flu
jiyama-the Peerless Mountain OF
japan. There were some 30 Japanese
in our compartment. Every passen-
ger on the opposite side Of the car
moved across the aisle. and then the
entire carload gazed in rapt alteration
at the sacred mountain during the
half hour we were skirting its base.
Their self-control is trait that i'm
presses every one. One of the most in
teresting talks had during my trip
was with a young grandmother of
forty, who would not admit that we
Americans excelled the Japanese be-
cause we were demonstrative with
those we loved and communicated our
happiness to others by freely ex-
pressing 1t.
mo Spartan woman ever made
sterner sacrifices than the many Jap
.anese wives who during the Russo
Japanese war committed suicide 30
that their husbands at the front would
not have to waver between home and
country in the battles crisis.
There is no doubt that the business
morality in japan is generally low
er than in the west. The testimony
of foreigners doing business in Japan
ia almost unanimous on this point.
The chief complaint is that the jap
anese have two prices for everything.
and that they have but a rudimentary
sense of the obligation of contract.
I was told, for instance, that 1T was
a common thing for house builder
to refuse to carry out his contract IL
he found he had miscalculated on his
estimate and was not going to make a
profit.
"There are mitigating considera-
tons. however, that should be taken
into account. Before the Restoration
the business men constituted the most
despised class in japan. except the
criminals. Under feudalism the classes
were graded as follows: l. The en-
peror, above all; Q. the mobiles; 3. the
Samurai 4. the farmers; 5, artists
and artisans; 6. the merchants and
traders: 7, the criminals and out
casts.
In no country in the world is there
more religious freedom than in Japan.
Three religions flourish = Shintoism,
Buddhism and Christianity. Shintoism
Is the indigenous religion of Japan. Its
foundation stones are loyalty, and the
worship of ancestors, heroes and ma
lure. Shintoism is the religion of the