The New York herald., 1921-02-28
UPLIFT PROBLEMS
ENGAGE JAPANESE
Employment, Housing and the
Cleaning Out Of Slums Be-
fore the Diet.

Three important bills have been intro
duced by the Japanese Government to
the present session OF the Diet, says the
East and West Netcs. They are. trans
lated literally. the public employment
agency bill. the home supply corpora
tion bill and the slum Improvement bill.
The first bill aims to establish an ef-
ficient national system Of employment
agencies. which has long been contem-
plated and which is now considered in
dispensable in view OF the present mag
nitude OF unemployment. 1t provides
for the installation OF public employ
ment agencies in villages, towns and
cities all over the country. These agen-
cies are to be directed by local authori-
ties-village headmen In case of villages.
town headmen for towns and mayors
for cities. These local directors will
receive instructions from the central
board OF employment, to be established
under the direct supervision of the Min
lister OF Home Affairs. In this way the
Government hopes to facilitate the ad-
justment OF demand and supply Of LABOR
throughout the country.
The second bill provides for the >crea-
ton OF corporations for the purpose Of
enabling the people to obtain homes
moro easily. This step has been deemed
necessary on account OF the fact that
rents recently have gone up by leaps
and bounds and the matter OF housing
has become an acute problem. Projects
of building small residences In subur-
ban districts of large cities have been
contemplated by many real estate
firms, but they have not materialized.
due to the lack Of adequate capital.
The bill is n kind Of special corpora
ton law to be applied exclusively for
mutually financing associations created
for tho purpose of building and supply
ing houses. Such corporations may be
formed by a combination OF twenty or
more people having a 'desire to obtain
homes for reasonable sums.
The third bill Is for the general inn
of slum quarters. 1t aims TO
encourage local authorities to take up
systematic campaigns for constructive
social settlement work. IT demands
payment OF necessary sums by the local
governments for the undertaking and re-
quires the central Government to sunA-
dize them.
There are particular kinds Of slums II,
all large cities Of Japan where ''eta," o.
class Of people, live. hese
people are segregated and detested by
the other classes OF Japanese, much like
negroes are maltreated in some portions
of the United States. The reasons for the
exclusion are diverse. but the principal
one is the historical fact that 'cta' be-
Ionged to a profession of killing animals
and selling their flesh and hides at the
time when Buddhism came in, some l,ooo
years ago. Buddhism condemns killing
of living creatures as the blacklist OF
sins. Hence. when the religion was en-
braced by large majority OF the peo-
pie. the "eta" were held as an abomin-
able class. This traditional prejudice
became fixed In the minds of the people
and clings even to this day.
Now these segregated people live under
an entirely different standard OF living
from the ordinary Japanese and consti-
tute the lowest stratum of society. 1t IS
the Improvement Of this particular class
OF people and their conditions OF living
that the bill is especially aimed at.
The passing Of the three bills above
outlined, possibly with some minor modl-
fications, is q certainty.