New Britain herald., 1917-03-16
THE w. l.. DAMON co.

correct. In more senses than that 1t is altogether wrong. Some of my friends here present may, perhaps. Dc astounded to hear that the northern most edge of our. empire cuts the nifty first degree north latitude, tho same line which hicks the. northern tip of Newfoundland and runs through Siberian snows; while in the south our Nland of Formosa kicks its southernmost toe through the twen- ty-second degree north latitude--the same line which goes through .., the feart of the West Indies in the Carib- bean. From north to south. there tore, the Empire of Japan covers rluch greater reach than this great United States. All this naturally gives Japan Q wealth of veryfng cli- matic belts and their agricultural and marine products. But the impression oe the spacious reach of the empire created by what I have said should be largely discounted. Japan IS by no means a continuous chain of isl- ands stretching from the fifty-first degree north latitude down to north lltitude' twenty-one degrees and for ty-eight minutes. A trAns-Pacifc ex- nress :ineEscah steam from Kaho- shima. the southernmost port of the group of Islands forming Japan prop; CT, to Keelung, the northernmost port of Formosa, without sighting land for days. With all that, with our over- sea domains, the Empire of Japan has today the total area of over 26O,- O0O square miles or nearly six times as large as the state of Pennsylvania. or about 2,OOO square miles smaller than the one state of Texas. And on that area 77,2s9.OO0 people have the:r ! eing according to the official report of 1916.
 "And this empire Is no longer drunk with the color and perfume of the four seasons; neither does it sit a long night through chanting to the silver witchery of the moon. It has laid aside the happy and simple life of Acadia along with many other childish things. It has come to- life in terms of trade and accumulated wealth. As with you Americans. 1t is the poetry of achievement that guilds the headlights of its dreaming and it's aspirations" Ambassador Sato told the story of Japanese industrial growth He told O. the first silk filature, established in Japan in 1872 under the supervision of French engineer. at time when the total exports of Japan, ';including everything from silk to dried cuttle- fish" amounted to only $S,5O0.OOO a year, whereas last year Japan's ex- port of raw silk alone was valued over $133, ,500,000. He told how an obscure student established the first match factory in a private house in Tokio in 1875, and how Japan had developed this industry until in 1916, she ex- ported over $1O,OO0,O0O worth of matches. He told of the first cotton ginning mill of the western type in Japan. It was of British manufac- ture. completed in 1868 and managed by an American expert. Today" he said. Japan has 16O spinning fac- tories with the combined paid-up cap- Hal and reserve of more than $62,-t 900 0,O00 gold, while cotton yarn came next to silk as the most important item in Japanese exports. Today Japan seems to have more ships in the Pacific than all the American over- sea traders put together
 Of. late, he said, a great deal has been heard of the whitening competi. ton of Japan, especially in the mar. ,---- of China, but he declared that this was largely nightmare. The things which Japan WIS exporting to China were things which America was not anxious to furnish and the things which the United States was selling China were things which Japan was not furnishing to any appreciable ex- tent.