The Washington herald., 1917-01-07
Interesting Chats
From Hotel Lobbies

The high cost OF living is bothersome
not only here, but In fact is worrying
nearly every civilized people on the globe,
no matter whether they are at war or.
not" yesterday said Zieuli Onacha, Of
Kyoto, Japan. who is stopping at the
Shoreham. Mr. Onacha Is a graduate Of
the University of Michigan.
I'm my travels all over the universe.
especially in South America" he con-
tinued- I have found complaints against
the enormous amount needed to live on
In these civilized days I have to pay
nearly three times as much for a ship
load OF edibles as / did two years ago,
and I am told that there is nearly twice
as much produced in the world as there
was In 1914
The warning powers have searched
every corner OF the world for foods and
this demand has sent prices a. high as
the sky. Even the japanese coolies are
finding II so much harder to earn q few
yen, and still harder trying to make one
yen go as far as II did once. In Japan
II takes two yen TO DO the work OF one,
and every one tries to earn two instead
CT ono. But the storekeepers raise the
prices, and one yen is about as much
good as half one used to be.
You Americans are having an easy
time compared to what South Americans
are; some OF the things that are COM
mon hore ars luxuries down there
NO. don't think that any real Amer
lean wants TO see a war between Japan
and the States. and know Japan does
not. We are reasonable and want fair
treatment"
There Is some Misunderstanding as to
just how Australia stands on conscrip-
tion," said z. NJ Hedderwick Of the
Chamber Of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce. Of Melbourne. Australia, who is
stopping at the Ebbit. Australia is a
country of pronounced Socialistic ten
denotes without any Of the most objec-
donable drawbacks OF Socialism. There
are very few able-bodied men in my coun-
try who have not seen military service
Of some sort, and the continent OF Aus
tralia 10 a poor place to 30 TO avoid mill
tary service.
Our country has already made a name
for itself, one that can never be erased
The Anzacs have endeared themselves for
all time to the mother country. What
the people OF Australia objected to is a
conscription OF the sort now in vogue
In Germany and Austria. Conscription
in too complete a phase would be just as
Objectionable here. and I think the only
way to raise an efficient and sufficiently
large army Is by compulsory military
service. Then the individual thinks more
Of his own country and has immeasure-
ably more respect for the flag.
The citizens of Australia responded
in large numbers to the call to the colors,
but here as elsewhere there are slsok-
ers. / believe the recent attempt at a
stronger form OF conscrtption was made
with the idea of getting at these slackers
who shout for the country and do moth
ing else. It is the same the world over.
and Australia is no exception to the rule
We have. Just as you have, what L. known
as mouth fghters,' who run at the sight
OF q gun and say horrible They argue
to excuse their own laxiness, and they
are only too willing to let someone else
do the fighting while they stay home and
yell. They want to be protected but be-
lieve in letting George do it"