New-York tribune., 1921-02-28
By Nathaniel PETER

Copyright, 1881. New York Tribune Inc,
TOXIC. Japan, Jan. 25.-The impulse
behind the. dem oeratic and social move
ment in Japan springs from four
sources, all more or less interrelatcd
The first is political. This ,is ex-
pressed in the demand for universal
suffrage and in the liberalism of the
younger men in official life, oppressed
by the heavy weight of bureaucracy
with Its minutie Of regulation that
touch all phases of existence. They
want more democratic domestic govern
ment and freer play for their ideas in
administration, They want less ag-
gressive foreign policy. They are
irked by the Irritation Of restrictions
and squirm under the suspicion held
toward Japan by the whole world. AS
indictment and they feel it is unde-
served. Involved in this also is pro-
test against universal military service,
though this. is lesser factor. Only
the most liberal Japanese have grown
far enough out of the military tradi-
tion for that.
The second is the, intelligentsia, In
this are included university professors,
school teachers, students, writer's, ar
lists and men of those walks. 1t is
nunlericaliY a small group, but lit in
cludes, some of the best ntenects and
the finest spirits of Japan. And by
reasonsof its position and its power of
expression its influence is irradiated
widely and permanently. It's members
are in9the flow of currents Of thought
all oveT the world and they are direct
ing those currents through Japan.
Middle Class Discontented
The th5rd source is the middle class
Seing sgneezed from above and below
1t is entirely commercial. 1t lives in the
cities, unGor the necessity of moi
taininssan arti6cially high standard of
living imported from the West before
its meat1s have become adjusted to meet
it. II aecans under the burden ofgtsX-,
ation which it sees used for purposes
n wh '@ftiC has no direct concern. The
aggra arqigemcnt Of empire has brought
1t noth5rg but increased burdens.
The Fourth source is labor. There
is q Rtofound stirring in the lower
classes Conditions of living have be-
come hasd. Nowhere in the world are
prices proportionately higher. Wages
are low,shours are long, working con-
ditions5 Sre bad. Workers are forbid.
den to- organize TO use the right to
strike, which means there is no collec-
tive bargaining.
The primitive factory laws that exist
are iaKgsey ignored. Of social legisla-
tton there is almost none. The young,
especially girls, are brought in from
the country and their ignorance ex-
ploited.& In the big spinning mills
there is the compulsory dormitory sys-
tom, and the women employees are
practically prisoners, with. rigid super
vision and various subtle controls. In
no Western country is the lot of the
factory worker s. had Socially japan
is to-day where England was in the
middle Of the last century.
Workers Demand Redress
For decades the workers considered
their lot the normal state of things,
Now they have learned better. They
demand redress. They demand it all
the more, violently and insistently for
the suddenness with which they made
the discovery and the extreme to which
they have been abused. Perhaps they
want redress more quickly than it
would be possible for any economic
system to adjust itself to.
Thus far the discomfort among the
masses is confined to city factory
workers. 1t must be remembered they
are still small in number 100000 IN
population of 57,o0O,00O. Here as