Japan, America, and The Orient 



5oi 



method was proved to them beyond all 

 doubt. China is now almost awake. 



A large number of Chinese students 

 are now in Japan in search of western 

 knowledge, as it is considered by them 

 to be the quickest and cheapest means 

 to attain the end. Japanese institutions 

 are copied, Japanese books translated, 

 Japanese instructors engaged by the 

 Chinese. In short, Japanese influence 

 seems to be spreading quite rapidly. 

 It is not right, however, to call it 

 Japanese influence, because it is in re- 

 ality western influence. 



The present stage of China's trans- 

 formation will soon pass over. The 

 next stage will be the sending of an 

 increased number of missions and stu- 

 dents to America and Europe, con- 

 struction of railways, improvement of 

 water communications, introduction of 

 machines, spread of Christianity, and 

 the increase of the productive and buy- 

 ing powers of China. When 400,000,- 

 000 people begin to produce and con- 

 sume the articles of foreign commerce 

 as much as the Japanese people do to- 

 day, the volume of the world's trade 

 will be immensely augmented. Japan- 

 ese influence in China is after all a 

 westernizing influence which cannot 

 fail ultimately to benefit the whole 

 world. 



When some years ago the Chinese 

 customs service was organized mainly 

 with a staff of Englishmen, the rest of 

 the nations felt exceedingly jealous; 

 but who ventures today to deny that it 

 benefited the whole world? Japan 

 cannot and will not go back to her old 

 ways. China will not learn from Japan 

 anything but western methods. There- 

 fore, if Japan is now in a position bet- 

 ter fitted to exercise civilizing influence 

 over China, she ought to receive full 

 support of other nations instead of 

 their jealous suspicion. 



Fears are entertained by some people 

 that the Chinese may use the western 

 method against the westerners. I am 

 inclined to think that such a fear is en- 

 tirely unfounded, because it is certain 



that the more the western influence 

 spreads among the Chinese, the more 

 intimate will they become to the west- 

 erners. Even should such a thing hap- 

 pen, nothing need be feared, for the im- 

 proved means of communications of 

 our days enable us to make ample pro- 

 vision for the common defense of com- 

 mon interests, as was done in the case 

 of the Boxer trouble. 



(5) INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL 

 DEVELOPMENT OE JAPAN 



The last war with Russia has in- 

 creased the national debt of Japan to 

 the amount of 960 million dollars — the 

 interest of which alone requires nearly 

 50 million dollars annually. It is in- 

 deed a heavy, an enormous burden. 

 And every dollar of it, interest and 

 principal, must be paid. Japan will 

 and must devote her full energy to her 

 commercial and industrial develop- 

 ment, and with the capability she has 

 shown in the past no inconsiderable 

 achievement can justly be expected of 

 her new efforts. During the ten years 

 that followed our war with China, the 

 wealth of the nation increased more 

 than ten times and we are now per- 

 fectly confident that we will fully re- 

 cuperate from the effect of the present 

 financial drain in due course of time. It 

 is absurd, however, to say, as some 

 ventured to do, that in the course of a 

 few years American goods will be 

 crowded out of the Chinese market by 

 Japanese competition. 



You know quite well how long it 

 took for the United States, with all the 

 advantages she had in inexhaustible 

 natural resources and in better facili- 

 ties for introducing foreign capital into 

 the country, to recover from the effect 

 of the Civil War. Japan has got to 

 labor under an enormous disadvantage 

 compared with the United States of 

 that time, and it is feared that a long 

 period will have to pass before we can 

 put the new commercial and industrial 

 development on a sound and vigorous 

 condition. The apprehension enter- 



