JAPAN IN THE PACIFIC.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7506, 13 September 1902, Page 2

JAPAN IN THE PACIFIC.

_ « ■ THE LlffU vtffeftWA MAN ANjft TRADE. T3B T-UiTgESS OF WB ' ORIE2TI ARS saCTOOTfI' ASIAiIO TRADE. Mr P. G. Carpenter/ * the, '_ vr&laxaiil American trave_inf / corresp<mdent, fUpp&*B the New Orleans " Times-Democrat" with the^pwin^ tefy fhtefesting arlide:— Tfcir Upfxteke _JteHa,boUt to esfcabifch. • bureau of foreign commerce, v Parliament has already discussed the question* and tha plan has been outlined. Then* will be at centr-1 department of Toldo, arid h**n«l» offices in London, Paris, Berlin, UfayrYbrk^ Boiton, Chicago and other places. Tttia business bf the tfareau Witt be tb look up openings for Japanese trade and inform iJ^psnese merehpits. It wiH be aonwjwhMl like our bureau of commerce of the Stat* Department, which is said to be the beat 'of its kind.inthe world. The Japanese Goyeponieht is straining to capture toe trade at. the; Pacific. Ia hopes to make Japan the. workshop , of tha Orient, and has commercial: and training schools under Way for thai purpose. It is also sub^^ising its arlei^sldp^.li-^i giving ipdustriiii ea^^tiohfl Sha &Btosi#i'' '^^f^J^fkM^^^P' -X \ y X JAPAN'S COMMI&CIAL MUSEUM. " I $_c. i&sts£n£ x'<£_b**» ;ciat museums at the pforts of "th» ur *Ea<i&4 I found one in Singapore under the m_n_j*" ment of JhWevV T^l ;p)an is r miwh like" t^.jp^^sb^|*. •Mujg^l.- rsave that ite goods 4t^ are clocks, shovels* hatsy fans a»d* Iwuatafr all-made in Japan. There are sam^.w Japanese rugs, stationery, umbrdlas, trunk* afad satchels* aatwdl aaoi safe,. Ksen «4 'cotton goods. ' There .*»; carte r-aoo- jl&j rikshas; thfe is*ter^a*t?_ta'g\Une;»f tJ»*,cihi« exports to the diffwrrotVeeietea^th^ M*. Eist. Japanese^^ ji___k_haa;.afe : rteed -ta Pekin,-manghai; flongfao^j, Stigoi* an* •SMgk^oie:-' - The**: h4a- Seen a£ attempt to introduce thfem intfr the phm"p£k*i, •:***:*• far^'o0 v '<S6^eTiisiieiit Kali* $roWi&& Jo&'ifwbS 'tdh. as * cab^or_e?)iid- tU *tt»a*t **■ *o* -bee? successful. . ' . " :. v *A2t '* i^ ao <£&1# #*% £***** It is ti»»^y,«*^ & 'the trip' around the world, aad it » ithe w&te* ¥gbwi^a. *o dffie^^pa^M* ■India, Siam, the Philippines, Austta^, iGbiha »nAoEnw|e jdm&S, &JPWI: H 'T* harbour. Fift^rfivfe th««a»l4 ■*«¥*■ P"? •into it wery year, /rand jtm go** **4»-----amounts to 283,00^CK)Od.U 13» J«WW* tho trader* asih#«oilMk working Aot ot&f '&* Siß*»**re $nfa<X» the eoufcfci A^BftSh Mpfirt^MUgk gfc-g*-nore To Singapore aloUe the J^pauefj «_plfcte _lMa^anH*Untv^.4bßUt '5,000,000 dol in gold. ■' A- '-• - '•" ~a* - -- ' THE' OAJRRIS3JS O&WS ''tMP*sp-[ . x^iitefr^^*^^*^^ tK*P«Siflj>, - , among Ihe beat «agv or&otm wbtfd. Tb** takei WVwutor .1A« ducks^ -_%tir <fcuntiy consist* ol.about 4000 mountainous islahds, running thrOugtt ifc -Eacifi-dn^the f orm of i* «"*^*,"* *?g ag fr&r !f% Y^L OUctof "S^ffe most of the islahds^^s^y^vt*?;^* of -the ,population,Hves uea_' the «^-^^f c a Bdit/'a^d feast feneration- *^j_^"f* beeh'nb^fbr their jiiiilto^ndw^^selsv Hey haveJvlways dbne a ti^&W****£. fe ievy^g.:sbjl^att sgps as you wiU 'find, anywhert,^and ttjr are bniidiig, some of 6000 tons e?^ i* tha* omshipy^ds. -^c : e gf Nagasaki, and,are-under suhsidy W «J Gortrflme»fe.; :Tbe>_^^feg|Mg buyins^^m<^« J?^W<^ SSifced States,, »^|^^^ bringing in new vessels I^;^.^??^;* of t&e filyde^'i>y^".t ..''"C .'r, >it--?:r£t'*i. ix^ " i They BaVe t^hy U«baidddni «t^^l in th^iifi^ba«^«^^*2apd^biJu|c|^ fotftfntt §3u£l3 ot-EUsopeait.-typ©. -,^#I»3F: i^fe^OG^' nrftiv^^feia^uiad^xwaffl^ gMe boatli IrTou can xmw^a»|o^-l f^%dfld^ih-a JapiMttse^ateai^r^ mm f^a linfe :> of twelve great flaps -ftp* *im* hiffia td^Ldifdun -bj* m<BH*s£&*&. *»J i United States to Japan.. -^*P^*M Eftisha^ hair-* «teatters .of *fiy«kj«w wlritsh ««il 8 * to * '^KShttnrs ; by^w*yt crf,-i#bii(dulttf:«n» thm& 6_ Ho f^^^M^i Tbe NfP^»h ; :WaM<&'lfyi™m*w*M?ify steaa^ft^ aad *gi>«&ftgj gti^i^s "oallsK I»cWJan#«nd' TwjiSpait^ » &^w ptopfcSed to establish-* iint to tha west coast of SdUth>jAmSrica f and as Soea as tiie Isthnaah Giuial i»,opei^^«^^ll \fe i-regular -Japaifese* service -from J&pan tp" the Unite* St«tei alfl rßUtopi, Even nbw^ J«piileoe yeasds^wfce -ibtoi.^u^ Qiilf 'fl dilittf&f g^iW^of *»w i»t*ofti*ildvrirdii^ and the day is not far distant 'frhon s : »Seamb^ i t^ift ■Yekblaihi'in^cije ti&a? : ; all al_ng ; dtif aoast. ft- • "«'V> t-» :' -» -T f .h-.y ;..^: AfjS^^^q,^ -p s&XiyX The Japanese are i#mh}Qg&w I w*&#M PhUip#»* trader They. ssniLi^ißS ?»ff*!arLy.tiw^winto, ,*a»d j:k^fe. o» : ,te«_s«r*!i» via Whurfedaiy Island. Bivthat Unfl_thg^ are six steamers of 3000 tons each,' compwa » ing the best that cadl.^t tho Philippines. direct st^ajpship conneotifm mtt% Siberia. --> :T|ie j^s«^|.£»tort. at Kbb» md eqli at .Nagasaki, . Puein ,«nd :';Oe4"? san>- jCiore^^.on., their jeay. toiryiadivostok. It was *on oii_»;»f-.tiiese ships., ihat L wens fo Siterq^a .short while.agoi The . cap* jain was* an Englishman _hd the. engineer a :Swede,. but the .rest of the officers. Were . Japanese, and dlso -ithe ... sailors. TheieTare other linfes which go from Japan to Manchuria^ ahdalmbst-^ily vessds^to. Shanghai and the ¥ang-tse Kiang, A _fe|ular line connect^ Yokohama and Kobe -with Galciitta md Bombay, bringing tSotfcm and jute from India, especially jute for makiiig thVrJapanese mgs, which are 'sold so ek^apiy ;ih_ur: Amerieanvfetetes. indeefl>- t|« Japanese flag is more «omm6n^in the ports of the world thinl the American flag,- and in the Far East iUis safe to say that thele are twenty Japahesft vesreli to America's on*.: -y.vpS- ; ;*:;.; ;Q; y y i^i .vii -*■•• n-' JAPAN IN COItEA. ■ , " The Russians,, tmd ih,e v J«^anese a|e each grasping alter Cofea. c "Q?Ke relations o| the two nations «fe. sjrained- by the .sSfuggle, and, it in^y ,e*venjt|airy b^ihg laboiit^ ifc>war between them. it hbt:fcff ßussia" the Japanese vt^uld ibwn the w^i>}e r . country. They made* tbelr yya't ". pi. Ifi94"' in order th?it they might/.J^vß^ " Xhiif tforean. trade, and to-day they aTfe doing the inqst ol tha import^and export business, of the Eeninsb^,- Xste jir^ shipping Cofta 6ohke,^»ttbtt goods, Jbut the ;of ;Jasfe year j^dnntett to.2,Gopsoo yjenr,and.|n^r h^e.t'he.na^st oiihe tc^ejn fls%Jso<^ Sixty-five per cent of all the ships thai call at, the" v«riou^ v ports /are >-Jap^iese» and the Japanese o ar« , now building i^ilroads wihch will open up. for thsm VPOUJ!* of^-the best part^ pf tjfcie couja^y. n Sjfty have bopght the railroa^ *;• which ppme/rf our Denver men built from.Ohempulo to Seoul, and they ar^ now i^tf .con? structing a line, frojm Seoul to jusanj This^ railroad ,-vyill be 300 miles sjohff? Fusan, has alre^y. a •• large Japanew-col-ony, and it is but a short distance from the Japanese coast. Goods , most ferried across frpm one .country ;.. to the other, and i by meana o^.this, railrwi sent direct to the J^nanese fs*P«_l. I Corea furnishes Japan a "great aeaj pi rice and fish, and the Ooreahs,buy " : aß^ sorts of Japanese goods. The Japanese have P^t MB. tdagrtp^l lines connecting Fusan with all parta ol 4

Iha country, and from Fusan there is a cable to 'japan. The big Tokio banks have branch offices in Seoul, and at some Of the Corean ports, and there are Japanese post offices at the principal cities. Japanese money is the currency of the country, and the Japanese have been granted concessions for mines and other things. THE JAPANESE IN CHINA. The Japanese have been crowded out of Manchuria by Russia, and the Powers have not permitted them to take possession of any part of China. Neverthelees, they aw pushing their trade-^ throughout the Chinese Empire, and will have their •haxe of China's commerce. There are Japanese steamers . doing , a regular carrying trade on some of tlie Chinese rivers. You can have your houseboat towed through the 'canals of Kiahgsu by Japanese launches, and can go Up the Yang Tse Kiang or the Peiho on steamers owned by Japanese.The Japanese have concessions at many of the open ports. At Shanghai their consulate is one of the finest buildings, and there is much Japanese money invested in that port.* They have a conoession for a cotton mill there, but have concluded . that it is cheaper to make cotton oloth at Osaka and ship it to China. "Indeed, this is so with all sorts of goods. The people hope to make Japan the workshop of the Orient. In in interview which I had with Marquis Ito, : he said that foreign capital should put up factories in Japan to supply the Chinese markets. He assured me that such capital* would be sife,- and that Japanese 'labour could be more easily handled than Chinese labour. Ido not doubt that this is correct. The Japanese are not so thoroughly organised into trades v unions as the Chinese. Their labour is good, and exceedingly fcheap. Both women and men work -in the factories, and among the most skilful of the hands are children. I went through some of the finest iug factories Of this empire, and had myself photographed with one of the employees standing in front of me. This was a little girl of ten years. She only reached to my waisfe but she was weaving a rug for the American market when she went out to be photographed. ' ' The Japanese Government is thoroughly awake to the possibilities of foreign trade. It is encouraging manufactories, and is even now considering the building of steel wotfa at Kure at an initial cost of more than 6,000,000 yen. These works will make steel plates and other shipbuilding materials. JAPAN AND ITS COLONIES. I don't know that one can rightly speak «f Japan having colonies. It has, however, two great islands' at the opposite ends of the empire which are undeveloped and which will add' much to its wealth and its position an the Pacific. These are Yezoand Formosa. Yeao is about as big as Indiana and ita population is about as great* as that of St Louis. It haa an excellent' olimwte, and «■ soil raises tha finest of 'grass. The Government Colonisation Department is trying to develop the country. ' Y€«ohaa excellent coal. There are three UmO mines now in operation, end railroads connect these with the coast • There are no large towns exoept Hakodate, /which has 75,000 people, of whom only about 100 are foreigners. $he most of the inhabitants are A«in-, _h_ h^ay/ aborigines of Japan. Formosa is smaller than Yezo, but of far mora value from its wonderful natural resources. The island i 8 260 miles long and about 70 miles wide in its broadest part. It is Ml of minerals ; hut owing to its wild nature has not been carefully p?o-----epeoted. Coal amines are already worked and gold is found in many of the streams. Tha island has a xidge ol mountains running through it from one endto the other, some of the peaks being over two /miles in height. Along' the west slope of these mountains there are many rich, fertile valleys which lead to a large rolling plain settled by the Chinese. On these lands is raised some of the finest tea of the world. Tbey produce more than 20,000, 00p pounds of tea every year, and the moat of this goes to the- United States. Indeed, Chip, and fte "United States are the chief customers for Formosan products. Japan itself takes butaittie. Our tea is sen* across the strait to'Amoy «nd shipped from there to San Franckoo and/New York. ., The most of the tea leaves aire dried in the sun and the packing is done/ by trampling them down with the bare feet. THE JAPANESE IN FORMOSA. * The Japanese ha*"c not yet attempted to do much with Formosa. They remitted taxes (for one year after they took posse*: sion, but are now attempting to make it sett-supporting. The population is largely Ohinese, there being about three million on the' island. Thephief towns are Tamsui and Xehang in tha north, and Tainan and Takow in the south. Taipeh is the capital. The Japanese are now building railroads In the northern past of Formosa, and one is to go irom Kelung on south to Tsinan-^u. This will pass through the most thickly populated portion of the. island, including tihe richest of -the sugar and rice regions. It is at Tamsui that our consul lives. This plaoe has a club, several banks and a number of merchants and exporters. One of the great products ol Formosa is oamphpr made from the camphor tree. It is chipped to ail parte of the world. The Japanse have had considerable* trouble with the Formosan savages, who live in villages scattered throughout the mountains. These people are much like our wild men of the Philippines. They live by hunting and fishing and a little agriculture. Some villages have small farms about them. A few acres are enough for one hundred people, each family having its own plot. The men axe head-hunters, not unlike those of Borneo, and it is said that tt man cannot marry "until he has brought in at least one head. Tbe Chinese are the g&ne'of tho headhunter. He sneaks up on them whilethey 'are at work in the field, and spears them to death. After this he cuts off the head and goes home rejoioing. The tribes are continually warring with one another, andl the Japanese soldiers have to conquer them tribe fey tribe. So far no great progress bas been made in civilising the people. '* I am told that Jonnosa has rich minerals. Coal is found in different parts, and there* are evidences of petroleum. Not long pgd some Chinese employed two PennsylvaniaM to test oertain oil fields. They sank a shaft, hut their drills broke at 300 ft from the surface, and so far the work has not been resumed. WHERE JAPAN GETS HER MONEY. The Japanese are by. no means a povertystricken nation. They have many millionaires among them-, and they are gradually building up great financial institutions, -which will enable them' to compete with us. •.They are good financiers, and their banking system is "modelled on ours. Marquis Ito, who organised it, came to Washington, and spent some time studying our Government finanoas, and then went back and formulated the policy of the empire. To-day Japan has a paper currency which is at par with ite silver, and' the country is nominally on a gold basis. It has one bank which acts as the agent of the Government, having much the same place there as the Bank of England in Great Britain. This is tbe Bank of Japan. It has ai capital of 20,000,000 yen, divided into 150,000 Shares, and its dividends range from 15 to 16 per cent per annum. The shares aire all registered, and oan be owned only through the consent of the Japanese Secretary of the Treasury. The bank has a half billion dollars of deposits, and its loans amount to about 300,000,000d01. Its bank building in Tokio cost more than a million yen. Another large bank is the Kokuritsu Ginko, which has a capital of about 24 000 000 dol in gold. It hag deposits amounting to about 500,000,000d0l in gold and loans of more than half that amount. The Specie Bank haß a capital of less than 3 000 OOOdol, hut ita deposits amount to

150,000,000d01, and its loans run high into the millions. IN THE TOKIO STOCK EXCHANGE. I have spent some time in the Stock Exchange watching the Japanese bulls amd bears. The exchange is right in the heart of Tokio. It is a three-storey building, more like a great barn or warehouse than anything else. It has a cement floor and about the walls aire great galleries. As you go in you' have to take off your shoes, and there is a room at the right of the entrance where the brokers check their clogs, and where they are given straw sandals in exchange. Everyone in the house dresses in gowns, although some of the more swell brokers wear overcoats as well. When I entered the exchange there were at least one hundred Japanese yelling and pushing each other as they crowded this way and that, betting on the various stocks. They were all bareheaded and their hair stuck out like the black bristles on a shoe brush. The sleeves of their gowns were loose and their arms showed bare to the shoulders as they swung them and shook their fists, shoutingl&eir bids. Their almond eyes were full of anxiety tod. their mouths of noise. I was interested in the signs which they used in bidding. Putting up one finger indicates an advance of 10 'cents, two fingers 20 cents, and a closed fist 50 cents. The president was an old Japanese in a black gown, embroidered with a white coat of arms. He stood on a rostrum in the rear of the chamber amd directed the selling. The quotations were written in Japanese on black and white strips of wood. The white strips gave the face value of the stocks, and the black strips indioated the selling prices. The president tells me that the Stock Exchange has a capital of _ million and a quarter yen, and that it is now paying dividends of 25 per cent. He says that seats are worth about 12,000d0l eaoh, and that the daily sales approximate 50,000 shares. Most of the business is small. There is no such watering of stocks as in the United States, and the result Is that some shares pay high dividends. The Tokio tram cars/ for instance, pay 35 per cent, the Yokohama iron works 25 p4r cent, and some other stocks equally well.