The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-12-20
JAPAN'S BRIGAND
 TRIBE IS BROKEN !. UP BY POLICE
It Has Existed For Century By
 Preying Upon People / Of Valleys.

{ | Tokio, Dec. 2O.-An entire native
 tribe devoted to brigandage has just
 beenx broken up and scattered by the lJapanese police. With their elimina- tion,' something has been learned of
 how these robbers operated
 1 The tribe has been compared to the tautom obi1e- bandits of France, in that theyahu together for self-protection and resisted the authorities with the
 same dogged determination. This robber. clan, numbering about three thousand, had it's refuge in the noun 1 tains of Hakone. It had existed since the old days of feudalism, and long list of depredations, savage, ruthless
 and cruel in character, has been laid In times of peace, ,athat is when the
 pursuit of the authorities was not too persistent, the bandits would live with their wives and children in tents down
 in the valleys. The men went. out
 unbrella-nende ders, 1ocksniths or beg
 gars, their real purpose being to re-
 connoitre the field for robbery, Their system of operation was always eau tious, but they fought desperately
 when cornered.
 By we'll planned .robberies and mur-
 ders they kept whole prefectures ter rorized for months at a time. At the first indication. of. real danger, how ever, the tribe disappeared into the
 mountains.
 Several policemen who tracked the
 bandits were killed and their bodies
 nuti1ated. Recently four detectives succeeded in joining the band by ruse, and it was by that means that the leaders were arrested and the gang scattered.
 Tokio, the meeting place of the great international Sunday School Convention in 1916, is preparing in ,farsighted way for the great gathering Already preliminary arrangements are being made so that every. detail may be worked out to ensure the success of the congress. S- Japanese business men and fnanciers have come for ward with the promise of funds, and active workers like Count Okuna, Baron Shibusawa, Mayor Sakatani and Dr.. #Soyeda are >energeticaIIy helping in' getting the convention machinery under way.
 A meeting of Japanese and Ameri- cans was held recently at the home of Count Okuma, who is president Of the Japan Sunday School Association, and it. was proposed, among other things, to erect a great ball for the meeting of the. convention. But the question of Accommodating several thousand foreign delegates is the most difficult to solve. From 1,5OO to 2,O0O dele gates are expected from the United States, and owing to the scarcity of hotels in Tolkio the problem of lodging the visitors is perp1exing.
 It is estimated. that the existing for eign hotels would take care of about a thousand, but as the convention meets in June many of these accom- will have been taken by tourists. The suggestion,e therefore, has been made that residents of To- kio possessing foreign style houses should help. out the, general commit tee by placing one or two rooms at it's for the use of delegates.
 The first official utterance from Ja- pan concerning the effect of the open ing of the Panama Canal has been made by M Yukawa, chief of the Bureau of Ship Supervision, before the | Japanese Ship Owners Association, | and it indicated anew the importance of the canals opening upon the worlds commerce.
 MT. YukaWa confirmed the belief | held here that cotton from the south |