New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-14

state should squander two or three
months time of such men as Niscount
Ishii and his fellow commissioners, not
to saw anything about the few hundred
thousand perfectly good and much APP
preciated yen, just TO make a pretty
bow-however pretty the bow-for no
other reason than that the United
States has Joined the Entente Allies
in the World War, is quite enough to
make all the dead fish laugh-except,
perhaps. the shrewd diplomats of the
high and mighty Foreign Office at
Surugdai. Toxic.
japanese Not Deceived
Certainly, il does not fool the Jap,
anese on the Pacific Slope of the United
States-not a bit. The illuminating
side light of what they think of the
meaning of the mission was given in a
little story published in the "Nichi-
Bel" Of San Francisco. 1t spoke of the
formation of a committee of five made
up Of the most prominent japanese on
the Coast.
They are, of course, representative
men. This committee of five was ere
sted for the one purpose Of preparing
an exhaustive document which they call
Chin-Josho. IL is to be a detailed state
ment of the actual conditions of the
japanese on the Pacific Slope. The
committee had already completed a
rough draft of the significant document
and had submitted IL to the regular
meeting of the leading Japanese citi-
Gems OF San Francisco, including the
officers of the japanese Association and
the publishers of the two leading Jap
anese newspapers there, as well as the
representatives of the japanese Cham
bers of Commerce and the associations
of Japanese farmers.
The document deals with the various
and varying problems the Japanese
communities in the United States have
10 meet. It does not discuss them; IL
visualizes them by a series of plain life
tales, plainly told, by the plain state
ments of everyday facts. Japanese
farmers receive particular attention
in it,
The committee Of five has called upon
all the different Japanese associations
throughout the Pacific States to fur
nish such data as would be needed for
the thorough presentation of their life
conditions and problems. And the doc
ument was evolved out of an enormous
mass of data so collected. There is no
question of its being an extensive col
lection of actual facts as they exist to-
day among the japanese there.
Document Is Serious
The committee takes a very serious
view as TO the value and significance of
this document. That fact was brought
IL hi 80 kfprr q
ton for commanding sufficient time and
consideration of the lshii mission for
carefully examining the said document
The committee wishes TO explain 1T 70
the Ishii mission by word of mouth.
and answer such questions as would
occur to the members of the mission
on the themes presented in the docu-
ment.
Now. the Ishii mission will be the vic
tim of all sorts of governmental and
private entertainments the minute. 1T
lands at a Pacific port. knowing TINS
fact, the committee Of five has provided
a careful and canny programme Of trap
ping the attention of the mission. The
silly but very serious dinner. luncheon
and speechmaking engagements may
rot leave "A single sane hour for the
Ishii mission to con the epochal docu-
ment of the committee of five. Very
we'll; the committee has arranged for a
trip aboard the same train which will
carry the Ishii mission to Washington.
The committee of five will stay aboard
the same train as long as it is neces-
sary to command the full and adequate
attention OF Viscount Ishii and his fell
low commissioners for the ft presenta-
ton Of the document and the accom-
panying exegesis OF the same, so that
its meaning may filter into the inner
beings and understanding Of even the
defenceless victims of the continuous
bombardments of public dinners.
All of which shows how seriously the
Japanese on the Pacific Slope take the
meaning of the now approaching Ishii
mission.