CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 



My engagement at Yokohama being over, we left for 

 the provinces, accompanied on our trip southward by 

 Mr. Watase. S. Tomiyama, secretary of the Peace 

 Society, and some others also went with us as far as 

 Osaka and Kobe. Tomiyama afterward entered 

 Stanford University to continue his studies in inter- 

 national relations. 



The Japanese railways are still very inadequate, Japanese 

 being narrow-gauge, the coaches fitted with a long '■''''"'"^^ 

 seat on either side as in old-fashioned trams. The 

 sleeping-cars, of the same type, are intolerable for 

 their cramped arrangements and the constant smok- 

 ing — one of the besetting sins of the Japanese as of 

 some other races. 



In 191 1 I saw no evidence of any improvement in 

 railways or highways since 1900, the army road from 

 Kobe to Shimonoseki excepted. Military necessity 

 will put through what civil exigency tries in vain to 

 accomplish. To widen the Japanese railways is 

 a very pressing need, but their many tunnels would 

 make the task a costly one. In this connection, Comjon- 

 however, I am reminded of one comfortable factor of ^„^„-^ 

 travel in Japan — we always felt perfectly safe as to 

 our belongings. In addition to the usual pieces of 

 hand luggage we were everywhere loaded with 

 presents of varying value and utility. These we could 

 leave on the platform or on the table in the waiting 

 room with absolute certainty that nothing would be 

 disturbed. For even the worst Japanese regard it as 



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