New-York tribune., 1922-10-15

1t stood at $685. 900. The increase IA
moro than fourteen and half times in the
course of five years. There is more drama
IN this than in all the theaters along Broad
way to the eye that really Sees And this cold
array of dry figures spells out nothing less
coorfu and tremendous than the story of a.
revolution in the lives Of more than 60, ,O00, 900
people on the other side of the Pacific.
AS for the American typewriters the value
OF their export to Japan amounted to about
S43,000 In 1914. It rose to $23l 900 in 1919.
1t has not slumped much since then in spite
OF the black tidal wave of aftar-war depres-
sion hlch overwhelmed Japan. All the
standard makes Of American typewriters are
represented there, and in Toxic they sell at
about 200 yen-that is to say, slightly below
Sl25 OF American money at the current ex-
change rate. That is really much cheaper
than the same articles are selling in New
York, taking into account, of course, the i'm
port duty and freight charges, for the Amer
lean typewriting machines must pay the duty
of 80 yen a 100 kin, or, to translate it into
American terms, about s35.27 per 100 pounds
But all the above is just collection of trade
returns. 1t means good deal, but it means
less than nothing compared to great fact
back OF this trade report-the fact that the
English language is at this moment and has
been for some years past the commercial Ian
guage OF not only Japan, but of the Far East
as Tar as the international trade is concerned
1t is getting more and more so as the years
roll by. There are many persons in Japan and
In the Far East who think hat the English
language is not going to stop with commerce.
The modern written Japanese is mixture of
the original alphabet of Japan, which is en-
tirely phonetic, like the English letters, and
the Chinese ideographs, which are composed of
characters representing ideas and not mere
sounds. There are some 1000 Chinese ideo-
graphs in constant use in the present day
written japanese literature. That is the rea-
son the great metropolitan dailies of Japan,
for example, are compelled to set the entire
text by hand. Ths use of linotypes is utterly
out Of the question there. The construction of
a japanese typewriter along the simple lines
of an American or European machine is also
impossible. Of course, japanese typewriter
has been produced but it is about as slow as
writing by hand, if not a bit more lesurely
Many attempts have been made to expel the
Chinese ideograpns from the written Japanese
and spell every word out in the original jap
afese letters. 1t has been going on for about
quarter of century, but it has not made
any signal progress. Another movement, led
by an association called Roma ajikai--headed by
such eminent men as the late Marquis Inoue--
has been trying to induce the Japanese people
to use the Roman letters in their written Ian
guage That movement has not achieved any
greater headway than the exclusion of the
Chinese characters from the written Japanese
language.
The upshot of it all is that it would not sur
prise any close student Of Japan to see the
English language working itself gradually into
the good graces of the people there. But that
is quite another story, and a much bigger one
than can be included in this brief survey of
American achievements in Japan All the
same, the never ending and ever-swelling i'm
portation of American typewriters into Japan
is one OF the most eloquent mile posts along
the way.