New-York tribune., 1919-03-25
Also Indifferent


"There is, however, something even
more surprising than this neglect on
the part of Japanese silk producers to
my way of thinking. l mean the ap-
parent indifference of Americans to
personal observation of the actual con-
ditions under which Japanese silk is
produced and marketed. II anybody.
the Americans, who are thorough in
their business methods and scientific
IN their investigation and management,
should have been the first to do this.
They haven't, though. 1t is the rarest
thing in the world to see them study
ing the details Of the production of
silk in Japan. l cannot understand it
really. l hope you will make it clear
to our American friends connected with
the silk mills and in the silk trade
generally that there is a sincere and
hearty welcome waiting them on the
other side of the Pacific whenever they
lind it their pleasure to pay us a visit.
III American customers. who natural
y are thoroughly familiar with the
conditlons OF the American markets
and the details of American demands,
would take the trouble to come to oul
country and see the whole process from.
the moth to the filament with their
own eyes l have no doubt whatever
that they could and would give us a
good many suggestions which have
never occurred to US.
what have / gained through obser-
vation on the present tour in America
and from the intimate talks | have had
with the gentlemen Of the American
wouldn't mind telling you that I have
taken plenty of notes, mental and 9TH
erwise, but believe 1 am not quite
ready to make any dogmatic pro-
nouncement on my observations.
| "One thing, though, impressed me
| greatly from the very moment we
landed at San Francisco: it is the i'm
mense possibility of the American
market for silk. Take hosiery, for ex-
ample: not SO many years ago, / have
been told, silk hosiery was luxury
enjoyed almost exclusively by Amcri-
can ladies of means. 1t was not the
fashion then for men to wear silk
socks. All is different now. AS you
know, an overwhelming majority of
the men of the wealthier half Of the
republic seem TO use them. Silk has
ever been the hand maiden Of refine.
ment since the dawn Of history. And
Americas progress toward refinement
and culture is marvellous.
1--WE look at the breath-robbing sight
OF American advance in industrial and
mechanical enterprises. we stand
dazed with amazement. And too often
we forget to take note Of her progrcss $
in the more delicate and finer details OF
llfe. was here some thirty years
ago. There is a tremendous contra t
between what l saw then and what
dazzled my eyes now.
There is no human skin which silk
cannot soothe and few eyes are proof
against it's shining witchcry. 1t lends
itself readily to ali sorts of underwear
Tor every human being who can afford
1t. The final arbiter Of silk, however,
IS the purses Of the women of a coun-
try. AS far az l can see, there does
not seem to be any limiting rail fence
to the purchasing power of the Ameri-
can ladies'.
"In 1914 Japan produced 171,4S7
bales of silk, the value of which was
about $S4,000,000. Last year our out
put Increased to $500 bales, valued
at SlS3,1 10000. In other words, since
the war began the value of our silk
production more than doubled. There
Is hothlng In the above fact bitter and
sad enough to make the Japanest silk
/ producer shave his head and take to
mendicant's bowl.
american consumption Of Japanese
SILK Is especially encouraging. Some
five years ago, about 70 per cent of sill
the raw silk used in the United States
came from Japan. Now s3 per cent
OF the annual consumption of silk in
the united States is Japanese. And
in the judgment of some of us incur
able optimists, not one one -hundrcdtb of
the tale hath yet been told. And our
american friends can get hint of
just what this rosy prospect means To
the, people of Japan by pausine a sec. c.
ond or two over the following fact:
Japanese Producers Prosper
"Can Japan supply the ever increas-
ing American demand for silk? NV
answer is, yes--as far as can see
now. Of course. there is the vital
question OF the cost Of production
Tho cost Of labor in Japan In the rais rails
ing OF worms and the production of
cocoons has increased more than 100
per cent since the beginning Of the
great war. The manufacturing cost
IN steam filnturea has douhkA1 ai.o I.