The sun., 1919-07-27
By N. P. D.

oidchDelIy uuSntS, are plcheu ny the pun
fishers and are preserved or jammed and
put away for the day when they may be
needed. Only some such explanation can
account for the fact that when the whirl
Of world events suddenly stops at Japan,
for example, books on Japan are immedi-
stely as plentiful as blackberries in the
blackberry season when the picking is
good.
Only the other day Japan bodied up in
the headlines in regard to China and the
Shantung dispute and straightway the
books on Japan began to appear, and soon
there was no reason why editors and peo-
pie generally should not be well informed
and even learned not only about Kiao-
chan and Shantune but about every
thing remotely connected with China and
Japan and the world war. One of the
mysteries of the mysterious publishing
business is the 'timely" book
Modern Japan, by Amos S. Hershey
and Susanne W. Hershey, is small, IN
pretentious looking volume, but it appar-
emily contains everything from Perry to
the present crisis. Readers in hurry may
prefer to skip the earlier part of the
book and turn to the later chapters deal
ing with more recent developments The
authors on the whole seem to be anti-Nip-
pom, or at least are not Jap-a-lacked.
They are against any relaxation of this
eountry's japanese immigration laws.
They can see no just parallel between our
Monroe Doctrine and an Asiatic Monroe
Doctrine, and do not agree that what is
sauce for the western world is sauce for
the eastern. They discuss the "possibili-
ties of wsr' and counsel preparedness.
Even the picture Of Japan given in the
earlier part Of the book is not the usual
familiar and attractive one. A chapter
is significantly called Cherry Blossoms
and Realities. Among the realities are
apparently unbelievable poverty and ig-
norance and wretched living economic con-
ditions. A "two mat" or a "six mat"
home In the Kobe slum, for example,
which the authors describe, is far from
picturesque, and the sanitary arrange
ments are little horrible, since even
cleanliness is denied to the japanese
Japan is said to spend less for educa-
ton than any country in the world.
Teachers receive on an average a trihe
over So month. Men farm laborers
average 10 cents a day and the women IL
and a half cents. In the factories
women work with babies on their backs
and food is passed around at the ma
chimes so that no time may be lost; the
payment is usually monthly" but some
times semi-annual or even annual. In
no country in the world do so many farm
ers own their own farms, but as these
farms are only from two to four acres and
are heavily taxed farmer has to exc ont
his living with some additional occupa-
ton. Although Japan with its many
small farm holdings has the appearance
of being bucolic land of peace and con-
tentment, these authors maintain it is a
question of appearance" only and that
the poverty could not be endured if the
people were not so ignorant
All of which hardly prepares the reader
for the good record credited to Japan in
Corea, where it is said to have done much
toward the reforestation of the country,
in encouraging agriculture and improving
agricultural methods, and in establishing
and improving schools. One of the great
needs of Corea las of China) is refores-
tation, and Japan has established hun.
dreds of nurseries. On a certain day set
apart as arbor day, $500, 900 young trees
we're planted the first year, the second
over 100000 were planted and the
third 100000 more. In regard to edu-
cation, whereas in the year annexation
was carried there were only 100 common