Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1917-03-29

sionaries and seamen's homes through.
out the world, signed by Captain Ricke.
and bearing n hundred or more adj
dresses of potential friends from the
canal to the capes.
kohasashi San speaks English hettes
than most Japanese, though he has lii,
tie chance TO practlcA His work is on
the little island of Yugeshisna. whithet
the Engiish-speaking traveller seldom
comes. but he has kept with him these
40 years the knowledge of English
which he gained from an early missions
airy i'm Niigata.
With his sweeping panama. his
heavy beard and mustache. his vivaci
GUS manner. he would look as much
at home in the Place de rOpera as In
this lonely island of the Inland sea
where one has storms for companions
and indescrihably delicate sunsets for
friends. He is like no other Japanese
have ever seen. Frank, full of fun
witty, and, AZ he says, having "a bit OF
American in his head" he is as inter
esting in the way he acts as I'm the way
he talks.
In the harhor of this out-of-the-way
island we were discussing the exten,
sion of the American navy. Imagine Il
cowboy In the West giving thought to
whether Japan built one more battle
ship or adopted new foreign policy
"When you get these new ships
where viii you get the men to handle
thenf" asked this principal of schoo
in which hundred young men are TAX,
ing the first three years of Il nine years
course TO fit them TO be captains OF
merchant ships. "you can build SHIPS
i'm short time, but it takes much long
er to build officers"
How Captains Are Trained.
He ought to know. for in the school
which we had visited, from fencing
mask to sextant, chronometer, com
pass and bowline, the whole equipment
Is for the training of officers In Japan's
constantly growing commercial fleet.
The school grounds are spick and
span. The school garden contains nc
weed. When visitor enters the study
room, there is a quick command by the
student In charge. and every white
clad student is erect and at attention
"Prussian methods" you say. Yes
and all directed to the development OF
individual worth and responsibilities.
These students are not to be stokers
but captains. No discipline Is too strict
for the training of those who are to
command.
After three years of training In one
of the ten schools. or in the college In
Tokyo, the young men go to sen to
serve three years mere. They would
become stiff and too old for training II
they stayed in school long. Three years
they serve as apprentices in active
service, with study every day and re
quent examinations. They then have q
second mates certificate. Three years
more Of examinations and tests, and
the apt scholar can become Il captain
at twenty weight.
The merchant marine in Japan Is not
a trade or last resort for drunken
ne'er do-wells. 1t Is career. The
III 'AbttAS w bV
treated as gentleman.
Japan's shipping Is ON the boom.
New lines are reaching out for trade
with the continents and islands of the
seas. Japan Is the coming Britain OF
the Pacific the Phocnicia Of the far
East. Heavy subsidies are pouring
profits into the pockets Of ship own
ers, and each vessel, from tug to liner.
is paying for itself every day the war
lasts.
Commercial connections are being
made In new territory. Many say that
these markets will revert to those who
held them before the war broke out.
Put the japanese are persistent and
polite. A passenger on one of their
liners knows what ii Is TO be looked
after. They are branching out in In
dustry. and wages are almost as low
as ever. Japan In sacrificing woman
hood and manhood to win world mar
kets. Other nations viii be slow to
pay the same price for gold.
Hammock Seats for Autos.
A German automobile builder fl ex-