" BUNDLE OF STICKS."

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1908, Page 8

" BUNDLE OF STICKS."

A PARABLE OF NEW JAPAN. WHICH THE WORLD IS LEARNING. (From Our Own Correspondent.) HONGKONG, 21st July. "And ' the father said to the sons: ' Behold, the sticks which thou canst break with ease, the one and the one, ,thou art helpless to bend when united.' " The microscope loses the -whole in its part, and the world has been playing the microscope to modern Japan. Ye 6 to-day the greatest thing which Japan is teaching is the old parable of "the bundle of sticks." The first perception- of one meaning underlying the lesson set ir« force a movement which is making a new China, and stirring India and Egypt, and will perchance yet be 'discerned as the key which unlocked the door of the Yellow Century. The second meaning of that parable is the-sec-ret of commercial success - - . the mergence of the individual in the nation. If a history of commerce were finished to-day, its key would be the enterprise of the individual, but who knows whether future histories will not~show a commercial socialism, a battling of nations in commerce ? More and more the lesson of the bundle of sticks is being felt, and those who complain most bitterly of the relentless competition of the Japanese are really groping towards perception of the fact that a, new "trust" has arisen, in our own' time — the "trust" of a nation, the, monopoly of united Japan. STRIKING FIGURES. In 1889-90 the revenue of Japan was 96.687,979 yen; in 1908-09 it will be 619,797,671 yen; the yen being about 2s id. In 1897-98 the profit from monopoly was 292,142 yen (the first year)-; in 1908-9 it is estimated at 50,571,231 yen. In 1890 the value of Japanese imports and exports per head was only 3.42 yen, in 1907 'it was 19.01. In 1894 the value of- Japanese exports to Asia was 32^5(17,556 yen, but in 1907 -. •it was 191,766,071 yen, the imports for the same years fvom Asia were 48,942,177 yen and 200,095,612 yen. In 1892 the tonnage of the steamers entering Japanese ports amounted to 1,761,592, in 1907 the steam tonnage, was 20,199,653. In 1903 the steam tonnage of Japan was 657,000 or four times what it was nine years previously ; yet in 1906 the steam tonnage aggregated 1,041,000, and in the last eighteen months there haa been another great advance. These and a score of other comparisons become full of living interest when it is claimed that the primal and the final cause is the welding of sticks. ABOUT SHIPS. The Japane.se go down to the sea in ships, but the nation rings the telegraph aad shapes the course. It is estimated that Japan built fives times as many . ships in 1907 as in 1900. and a Japanese wfter puts the parable very neatly when he states : — "Subsidy, bounty, trail contracts, and every manner of government assistance, have, entered into the up-building of the ship-building and merchant marine enterprise." That is the primal and the final cause, though our Japanese friend spends consideration on other and intervening causes, such as the shifting of the world's centre of gravity. Yet wo have absolute and conclusive evidence in the Economic Annual of Japan for 1908, the mirror which Japan has silvered, and in which the expects the world to view her. In lc"7G the Government announced that ship-owners would enjoy the "special protection" of the Government. In 1696 the Navigation Encouragement Law provided for subsidies proportionate to ■ the distance run and the tonnage for Japanese-owned vessels. To that law v/i probably owe the N.Y.K. service, to Australia, as the official mirror states- — "about the same time .... regular*services on the Bombay, Australian andbna of Japan routes were by special, trder of the Government opened," etc. Mark the words "by special order" — in it you have the binding of the. bundle of sticks. Twice in the next paragraph you will note the occurrence of the word "ordered." If we turn next to the antecedents of Japanese shipping and seek to find the operation >of the Government "trust," you will note the birth in 1896 of the Shipbuilding Encouragement Law and the Shipbuilding Regulations, and you will also find in the face of the mirror the fact : '"The industry has since advanced with •remarkable energy."-- The bundle is not yet complete. In the present financial year provision is made for a loan of 2,980,323 yen for the establishment of a steel factory, and if we turn aver the next 175 pages of this Economic mirror there is apparent the meaning of this factory — "Finally, as regards the home, supply of shipbuilding materials, great hopes are entertained that our shipbuilders will before long have ample supply of the* necessary materials from the Government Steel Foundry at Wakematsu, and thus be freed from the cisadvantages they have been labouring under through the importation of such ' materials from foreign countries. ' ' Lastly, there are the magnificent harbour works of Japaq. Is it to be wondered at that the Japanese flag is increasing in the most wonderful way, so wonderful that men talk with meaning in the Far East of the day when Japanese shipping may control all within immediate reach ? On the other hand,, the P. and 0. have been defeated on the Bombay run, and on the other it is rvr>oured that two of the smaller vessels now trading to and from Australia, will be taken off owing to the Japanese cmpetition from Sydney to Hongkong. It is small wonder when the Japanese jop.ts rim like expresses and arrive on vetch ticks. CHEAP CAPITAL. "We are not afraid of the individual merchant, but whdh the - Government is behind him the fight is unfair." These are -the words, quoted from memory, of the head -of one of the wealthiest and oldest British businesses in Hongkong, and the nail is hit squarely. With his hitting there was much bitter complaint about methods, but to quote further. wouM be confusing, for few would hesitate to "nationalise" the tactics of the outpost as the result of obedience tothe wish of Japan — in the fighting line the soldier does more things than drillbooks ■ dream of. It is only necessary to allude in passing to a few points which illustrate. When Japan burst in on the j piece goods market of Manchuria, the i combination of Japanese merchants was stated to have » received a large sum of money on loan from the Government, and the conditions of the loan were of such a kind that there was practically no payment of interest for a certain I term, though nominally there was a pro- [ vision for interest. This command of ■cheap capital gave the Japanese a great advantage over their private-competitors, ■who ihad to go on the open market for any money required. When the Japanese wanted to- obtain, lumber concessions on I tho YaLu the Government lent its aid. •TheL.South Manchurian Railway Company was formed with a capital of '£20,491,803, of -which tho Government contributed £10,245,902 • and the public £2,049,180 ; also the Government guaranteed to keep dividends up, if neces,KffiX/ b X contributions, to 6;per cent, jw

annum, and in addition guaranteed payment of the principal and interest of debentures. Recently a company was formed "to exploit Korean resources, and the Government guaranteed the payment of the principal and interest of debentures up to £2,049,180. Reference to tho high protective and revenue wall round Japan is surely unnecessary, nor is thero need to emphasise the lesson of the above. JAPAN'S MONOPOLIES. Thus far this little attempt to explain a parable has dealt- with ostensibly private enterprise, but in other directions the steady nationalisation wears no masks, and is announced freely. If we look at the mirror again we- may catch, a glimpse of some of the monopolies of Japan. In March, 1906, the- Railway^ Nationalisation Law was passed, providing for the purchase of 2812 miles of lines, whose costof construction had been, roughly, twenty-three and a half millions sterling. The purchasing extends from 1906 to 1915. A loan of £45,135,246 will provide for payment and the loan will be redeemed by the profit on the railways within thirty-two years from purchase. After redemption the annual profit is expected to be £5,430,328. Since nationalisation the railways are said to have given satisfao'tion. The Government now holds the monopoly in tobacco, salt, and camphor. While the estimated receipts from the salt monopoly for 1908-9 show an enormous drop on the estimates for 1907-8, which may be due to the Government simply controlling in order to greatly cheapen the cost of production and distribution, and not for revenue-making, yet the other monopolies show splendid increases for "tjie current year 3& against ■1907-8. Under the head of profits ofi .monopoly there is an increase of revenue, 'in the one year of 18,902,661 yen, and •railway receipts, estimated also, show a clear increase of 5,741,590 yen. Th© -same tendency to increase is apparent in the figures relating to forests,/ postal and telegraphic, and other public undertakings. Forests occupy sixty per cent, of the total area of Japan, and one-third is the property of the State. The Government makes grants to the people for tree-planting. Special encouragement is given to co-operative enterprise by tho agricultural class, and special banks have been established by the Government to facilitate the supply of capital for agricultural purposes. In relation to seed investigation, diseases and insect pests, agricultural implements, and horticulture the nation is ever facilitat•ing the work of the individual. ' TheGovernment aid is particularly noticeable in regard to the improvement in the silk and tea industries. Government bulls and stallions are lent to private individuals in order that the standards of stock may be raised generally. Encouragement bounties have been granted for deep-sea fishing, and fisheries institutes established. As a result of mining encouragement and of private enterprise, there were 38 per cent, more applicants for the working and prospecting of mines in 1907 than in 1906. The keen interest taken by the Government in manufacturing progress, and tbe measures adopted to encourage, need not be specified, since we may read the whole in the fact that in four years the export of manufactured goods rose from to £18,237,705. Banking is another branch of the country's wealth whero the hand of the nation can be discerned, inasmuch as the struggling. institutions were assisted by every wise provision to become strong and independent. The enumeration of the sticks may be concluded, although the bund!©is not nearly completed. Apart from cant and apart from dishonesty of methods individual, can it be doubted that the Japanese nation is simply working out to a legitimate conclusion the bounty system which older countries consider quite legitimate? Parables are the property of all.

An amphibious game, half water polo and half football, was played in the lake at the Athletic Park between the* Wednesday representatives and a Horo-* •whenua "B" team yesterday afternoon.. What with wind and water, scientific 'football was impossible, but players and ,speciators obtained some amusement out of the muddied oaiery. Rising to the occasion a Maori member of the Horowhenua combination paddled about in bare feet, and now and then managed to kick the overburdened ball. Cording swam over the line twice, while, Watson added a third try for the home.; loam. Horowhenua had a little the better of tho scramble in the second spell, •and Royal scored a try, which Rigder converted. In a torrent of rain three .Wellington players fled the field amid an outcry from the spectators. The referee "then bowed to the elements, and the game was adjourned sine die. The players afterwards removed the mud in a pool before the stand. Mr. C. H. Atkinson, in gum boots, ofiiciated as referee. A severe outbreak of influenza among natives attending the Native Land Court sittings at Tokaanu having been followed by several deaths from pneumonia, the court was closed yesterday by order of Judge Jackson Palmer. Melbourne's recent visitation of infantile paralysis was referred to the Chief Health Officer (Dr. J. M. Mason) yesterday, by an Evening Post reporter. In the absence of further information, the doctor could not say much about the Melbourne case. There had been, he • said, a similar visitation in Wellington some years ago, before his time, and the permanent effects of it in atrophied limbs ware to be seen to-day in individuals who were then attacked. The* medical works on the subject state that acute atrophic paralysis, as the Melbourne outbreak may be, is due to an affection of the spinal chord, and . al* though cases are not usually fatal, yet ■complete recovery is rare. Mr. iM. Murdoch (City Councillor) and • Mrs. 'Murdoch, who have been visiting the Old Country, are expected here on Ist September by the Oswestry Grange from London via Melbourne and Sydney. The annual report of the Public trust* Office for the past financial year shows a credit balance of £35,458, as compared ■with a credit balance at 31st March, 1907, of £18,212. The Star of Newtown Lodge, No. 24, 1.0. G.T., held its weekly session in St. 'Thomas's Hall. Bro. Petherick presid>ed. There was an excellent attendance of members and friends, in spite of the bad weather. One candidate was initiated. A very enjoyable evening's entertainment followed, the item on the programme being, "A Dialogue Night," also "A 'Musical Evening." Songs were given by 'Misses Wakelin (2), Jolly, Messrs. Kelley, Cooper, Henderson, Cresswell, Lambert, Davis, and Boyds. The additions and improvements, which are nearly completed, to Messrs. David Anderson and Son's premises in Molesworth-street, from the plans and under the instructions of 'Mr. Wm. C. Chatfield, will make the building one of tho most modern grocery and produce establishments in Australasia. Th© additions are costing £10,000, and tho internal fittings are of an expensivo character. They are of marble, cedar, and American pine, and the panelling is worked in with glazed tiles. Tho brnlding, externally, will be~a- handsome structure with a. frontage to Hawkestone- , street of 88ft, and a frontage to Moles-worth-street of 89ft. It will have three stories and basement with largo cellar-.