The herald., 1917-11-01

in this district since war had been de
Clnrcd in Europe, and the public az
we'll as the soldiers were very curious
10 see what new methods would be
used, and It's curiosity was fed most
generously for the next three days
We were lullcd To- sleep at night by
the popping of guns and awakened he
fore dayhreak by the roar of the can
non, as the sham battles progressed
next morning. The city was taken and
retaken. Every hay stack, canal and
rice paddy was pressed into service.
The new trench and harbed-wirc meth
DDS We're tried out, for Japan must bo
up Ia the minute in warfare, IL she bo
behind in everything else. No batUlc
on the European field of war has been
fought more earnestly or with greater
feroCity and with happier results, for
there We're no dead or wounded after
the noise of the guns had ceased and
the smoke had cleared away.
Trained From Cradle.
japan Is n nation of soldiers. They
train them from the cradle. HetaiSaR
Is favOrite game with the small boys.
Often the narrow streets are block
AIDED with squads of small, kimOnO-
clad figures-shOulders erect and with
tiny paper flags and wooden sticks for
guns, If not in the net of fighting, be-
Ing put through innumcrable drills by
small captnin. They are put into
uniforms as soon as they leave kinder
garten. All government schools In
towns of any Size are military schools,
where boys get the training of soldiers
along with how to read and write.
Every man must do military service
ut the age of twenty-One. They are
divided into four classes, according to
physical perfectness. Ffrst-Class men
enter the army at once and do three
years straight service. Second and
third classes do several months Of the
year for three years. then go into the
reserves, subject 10 be called out at
any time. Even the fourth class,
whose physical condition Is far below
normal, get "A few weeks of training
each year for three years. Only tho
deaf, dumb and blind or physically dis
abled escape military duty entirely.
Well Fed and Neat.
The expense of the army to the gov
eminent is very small, considering its
size. II takes very little food TO keep
them ''well fed" A bit OF beef Is add
ed to the daily fish and rice when some
unusually hard trimming Is being done.
In appearance they are neat md
clean. Uniforms much the same an
those of our own soldiers are worn
blue flannel in winter and khaki
trimmed In red for summer. Puttees
are worn with foreign" shoes, and
after never having worn anything but
straw sandals or wooden geta Except
for the few who were fortunate enough
10 have attended military schools
| where uniforms similar 10 those Of the
| soldier Ore worm getting accustomed
tn the foreign shoes Is not the least
Of hardships OF military trimming.
The regular soldiers are paid about
yen 1.50 Tor 20 cents sold) per month,
/ for tobacco and spending money, ev-
I erything else being furnished them.
7 To us this seems an absurdly small
( sum, but in Japan, where the cost OF
! living is so low, this seems Ia provide
very comfortably for the modest needs
of the japanese, who have practiced
/ sclf-dcnial from infancy.
The patriotic spirit Is absolutely ma
iioual. II has been in~tillcd into them
since Japan was nation, ana is ono
of their most marked characteristics.
, In the days when the old feudal lords
and daimiOS ruled the land