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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1905)
11 THE SUNDAY OKEGOiSIAN', PORTIAXD, AUGUST 13, 1905. ywmmc mKTN tojus rrow they vTOaSTLL vtto the sngu3t? lmgugie: to get ttops 1 m'fWW TOKIO, July 10. (Special Correspon dence of the Sunday Oregonlan.) In tholr heroic determination to ac quire a knowledgo of tho English lan guage the Japanese produce eome rare specimens of rhetoric. I was notified by mall that "Wada & Co. do send baggages Into any direction with a good cheapness." The boy in astore said "Of tobacco I no have got." Nailed to a tree was the an nouncement that "This park is a house to let" The "sublime tailor" and the "higher waehman" are both in tho same street with the butcher whose sign reads "Beef & Hen Meet Here." Nearby Is an enterprising native whoso versatility is astonishing. He announces In substance that ho Is a specialist In treating scrofula and an expert in serving milk shakes. The bakery displays this legend, "fresh bread made quick," while on the window of another shop there Is emblazoned the rather startling statement that "knives are drawn here" (scissors-grinder.) Although he makes funny blunders the Jap perseveres with flne determination and eventually succeeds In making himself understood. Sometimes it goes rather lard with the American who has to de pend on a servant having scant knowl edge of English. I have a boy whose vo cabulary consists of about twenty words. "When he Is told to prepare the bath as likely as not. he will bring a bootjack. He never falls to do something when spoken to but guessing what it will be 1s as risky as taking a chance on a "hundred-to-one fcShot." Eccentric Business Methods. Japanese reading and writing are done backwards and many of tho business methods are Just the opposite to our ideas of such matters. "When you go to a shoo store the dealer shows you his goods, but should you want a pair out of stock they will cost a dollar more than If made to order. An American dealer would rather dispose of odd sizes and not risk possible loss from the stock becoming shelf-worn, but the Jap does not figure that way. Neither doeB tho small dealer under stand the wholesale principle. An Ameri can toy buyer told me about an experi ence he had with a retailer of dolls. The latter had several hundred toys of a par ticular size which were worth S cents each. When urged to mako a bulk price for the lot he not only refused to make a reduction, but said that he did not care to sell more than a dozen at a time. After luch useless argument a happy thought truck the Yankee buyer. He bought a lozen, paid for them, and had them wrapped up. He then ordered another lot and continued to buy, paying for a dozen at a time, until he had secured the whole etock. Although the dealer would not sell In bulk he raised no objection to this method. This will strike the wideawake American dealer as an absurd proceed ing, but buyers in many lines here en counter the same difficulty In negotiating wholesale transactions. Sample of Eastern Cunning. While the Jap seems to lack acumen Jn falling to take advantage of the larger profits to be made by selling In quantity. he employs many tricks and dodges to dispose of goods at his own price. The ruse that an old female pedler worked on a number of European ladies was strategy of no mean sort. As eho called upon each she presented a letter written In English from one prominent society woman to another. The note advised the lady to whom it was written to look at , the rare articles the old woman had with her, as they could seldom be obtained at fall, and to offer her Just one-half the prico (she asked. On the face of it the pedler had made & mistake by showing the letter to the wrong party, yet every woman on whom she called promptly followed the instruc tions it contained, laughing in her sleeve "meanwhile at the thought of her luck in fretting ahead of the lady the recom- . meadation was Intended for. Tho wily aid pedler sold so many make-believe theirlooms at a seemingly sacrifice price lat her operations began to resemble an jndless chain scheme. When it became known that the introduction was a for gery and that the numerous buyers had all paid dear for their bargains, there , was much merriment at their expense. Not Afraid of Thirteen. The Japanese have many household su perstitions. While they do not object to thirteen people sitting down to a table, or mind beginning a Journey on Friday, they, nave many beliefs of a Elmllar char acter. If while eating, a person bltoa his tongue. It is taken as a sign that some one begrudges him his food. The room of a house must never be swept lmmedl When there is smallpox in a commu nity all parents post notices in front of their houses announcing that thIr children are not at home, which Is sup posed to be a sure preventive against tho disease. Wise old women shako their heads when they see a girl bltingJ her finger nails, as It signifies that when she becomes a wife she will bear children with groat difficulty. Whon ever a Japanese housekeeper buys salt she throws a pinch of it In the fire to prevent quarreling In the family. Young men who light their pipes from lamps will not marry good girls. A bird flying by a window Indicates that a visitor Is coming. Ignorant country people used to consider It wrong to eat beef, believing that every butcher would have a cripple among his de scendants. This idea Is associated some what with tho saying that tho birth of a deformed child Indicates wicked ancestry. When a young couple are married neither wear anything purple because that color Is quick to fade, "therefore Its presence would be a bad omen. Where tho Pious Tread. Closely related to their household traditions are tho odd religious beliefs of the Japanese. In the temple one sees a score of straw sandals hung on a grating before til gods. Those were left as reminders to the deities by peo ple who had been praying for relict from sore feet. On another screen in the canctuary aro braids pX -fet "glP OJaPSiM :mim- I soil Is considered so sacred that all dirt MWl!iLT"'L" 'fciVW!. and clnders which stick to tho sandals a J. 1 01 uic pilgrims aro saiu 10 una ineir C "T'VY i back to th- mountain. from the heads of women as pledges that they would keep certain vows. The Oriental's respect for dumb brutes is prompted by that principle of Buddhism which tells him that the souls of his ancestors linger on earth in the forms of animals. No man wants to kick a" Jog for fear of perpetrating an indig nity upon the invisible substance of his grandfather, nor strike a horse lest he Insult tho shade of some great uncle. Fujiyama, the sacred mountain, at tracts thousands of pilgrims every year. These devout worshipers bellovo that all prayers offered to tho sun from Its summit at dawn will be speed ily answered. According to the legend Fujiyama was created In a single night It is supposed to be about 2000 year old, and was made as a retreat for Fuji San, a goddess who was a woman hater. Stories are told of devils seizing women and carrying them away through the air. consequently it is aa unpopular locality with all members of the fair sex who believe in this super stition. No horses are allowed to defile the approaches to the summit, and the RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN L. SULLIVAN The ex-Chnmpion Mnkes a Patriotic Call on American Scrappers to Down British Aspirants for Championship Belts. WHEN I went through Texas on my big tour in 1SS3, I had enough ad ventures to give Oliver Dowd Byron material for a play. In several towns, ambitious cowboys took a chance of getting their blocks knocked off by giv ing roe dares In places where wet goods were sold. In the poll to language of the hlgh-skled West, I had many Invitations to friendly fights without any set rules. Just plain rough-house work. Of all the scrapes In Texas, one that came my way In Dallas was as serious as any. A local politician got tho crazy. Idea that If he could wallop met ho would be the biggest man In the state and be fit to run for President or something like that. The Texan's scheme was this, as Frank Moran, who was managing things for me, explained afterwards. He was to get me soused with liquor, then polish me off. This might go through all right, but If I twisted the plan and polished him off which I would have done, sure thing ho was to use his gun and end everything for me. Moran got next 0 his game and hlsted me out of reach Just as I was be ing ripened for the killing. I suppose if that Texan had shot me full of holes, any Coroner's Jury would have Indorsed him and the Peace Society would have sent him a medal. And I don't mean to say 'that this would apply only to Texas at that time, for such a scheme might havo been pulled off anywhere in the states and the man behind the gun would get away with a "self-defense" ex cuse. The average man at that time had the idea that I was romping from town to town looking for inoffensive citizens to knock out in broad daylight, and the Texan "pol" would .have come under the head of peaceable citizen .who simply protected himself against my terrific and unprovoked assault upon him. Such was the Impression all good people got from newspaper romances. Yet the fact re mains that I did all of my fighting In the ring and always according to the rules. Sometimes I wonder that Tm alive. "Squire" Ablogton, the Englishman, It Is doubtful If the ancient builders of Japan's temples and castles, striving at thoir work so many centuries ago that the actual dates are lostln obscu- who went funny on fighters, was the easiest mark that ever came across seas. He was the sort that sized up a boxer by what fortune-tellers told him, or by some other trick that nobody else ever got tho combination of. The "Squire" wa3 whip sawed In elegant shape during his career as a promoter and backer of men who worked with their knuckles. It cost him a fortune and finally his life, for a cold he caught at a fight carried him off. He got It where the lady wore tho beads in more ways than one when FItz walloped Jim Hall In New Orleans, losing enough money to almost pay the National debt at that time and I think It was at that fight that ho got the cold which ended in hl3 death. If this "Squire" Ablngton didn't have tho genuine British contempt for every thing American, Including American ad vice, he might bo alive today with a good hunk of his wad. Friends of mine tried to give him some hints which were worth lots of money to him. but ho gave them tho shoulder. The cold he caught might have been cured had ho taken an Ameri can remedy in time. This song of "Swamp him, swamp him. get hl3 wam pum." reminds me of what they did to the "Squire." He used to give "me an icy hoot if I talked of fighting, and ho made me feel as if I'd missed my calling and ought to be cutting up feed In an old ladles' home. He was very chesty with the work he had cut out for himself, to show us the gaxna over here, collect all the belts and cut them to fit Englishmen's tummies, and, on the side, to gather a couple of barrels of our coin before sailing back to get the Queen's thanks for doing us. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last Eng lishman to get wise over watching things happen. Patriotic Call to Slim Scrappers. There will be some more British boxers over here again soon. Jabez White isn't satisfied with what ho got. and Is on tho chase for more. Jem Bowkcr Is going to take a gamble on losing the bamtam welght championship of the world, and Owen Moran will also surround some rlty. realized what a heritage they wore leaving to posterity. Present genera tions thrive on the toll collected from tho foreigner come to view the won ders of the hoary past. In a little valley at Ka.mn.kura squats the wonderful bronre Image of Buddha. For 600 years this figure of the Light of Asia has bal anced upon lt3 lotus-leaf pedestal In tho attitude of holy meditation. Tho height of the statute Is 49. feet. It Is composed of shcats of bronze and the eyes are pure gold. The interior Is hollow and pilgrims are allowed to enter for a small foe. Even tho sacred atmosphere of this ancient place 13 not immune from the wit of the modern Joker. On tho wall inside there Is a notice which read3i "Persons are requested to write noth ing here." An obliging wag has scrl bled under this sign In capital letters tho word "Nothing." Storms and tidal waves have several times shifted the position of tho great image, but It still preserves an upright attitude, tho clas sic features of Its benign countenance towering above tho surrounding trees as It continues .Its long watch with time. A fund Is being raised to erect a tomplo over the big idol so that it will be protected from the ravages of the weather. The visitors aro Importuned by boy priests to contribute something, and nearly all comply. A Thousand Christian Churches. The foreign religious denominations are actively pressing their work in Japan. At tho present time there are 793 mission aries In the country. These are divided between twenty-seven different American, American dollars and whatever else is coming to him. 111 bet Frankie Nell gets the championship away from Bow kcr In quicker time than Jom got It from him. and if Nell can't do It, some other American should be ready. When I lost the championship in a foot race, I announced: "I am glad It has gone to an American." even If I didn't like a hair In the waterfall on his forehead. The slim scrappers ought to get ready for theso British tourists so that any fight titles they may bring over with them may stay here, where they belong. It Is un-American to have anything els happen. Boxer as a Temperance Lecture. All the boxing that's worth while now adays Is being pulled off out here on tho Coast, and I'm glad I came. Tho sports In the East are missing a lot of educa tion. The good boxers that have the price aro hero already, and the others aro coming by the One-Eyed Connelly route on the bumpers. Every day I am handed tho happy mitt by boys far from home, but they'd rather be In Chicago, Phllle, Now York, Beontown or back In Baltimore If the science wasn't so to the bad In the bean and pie districts. Tho only bout of Importance la the East, news of which we got here, was that in which Sandy Ferguson punched Jack Johnson below the commissary depart ment. Sandy beat himself two ways by fighting a charcoal charmer and losing him by a yellow finish. I'm sorry to see any man with a white skin getting down to a black level, but when he goes to the yellow, too, I throw up the sponge for him. t Somo day, the sports In the East with soma ginger In their blood will get up on their hind legs and demand less legis lation around boxing. Then real sport will come back. If somebody would put It up to the good, boxer who is holding that 550.000 Job of referee between the people and Congress Jn Washington, I bet he' got the sand to make a holler to Congress so rings could be set up again In the East for at least 20-round bouts all over. If the sports who can vote would make Canadian, English and German denomin ations. There are 1233 Christian churches and preaching stations in tho Empire, where the foreigners are assisted by 735 native workers, ordained and unordained. The total membership of proteatant churches In Japan Is 53,315: of Roman Catholic Churches 5S.0SS; of the Greek Church 27,365. There are 12.5SS pupils at tending the 13 mission schools of all kinds. The country was first opened to- foreign residents In 1S59. and by the end of that year three protestant societies had taken advantage of the opportunity to put their representatives in he field. The Episcopal Church of the United States had the honor of sending the first protestant mis sionary to Japan. The Bible Society be gan work, hero many years ago. The gospel of Matthew was translated in 1871, and the whole Bible was In circula tion by 1SS0. Its campaign of enlighten ment has now become so extensive that last year 512,069 Bibles, and portions, were put Into circulation. This was a largo Increase over the distribution of tho pre vious twelvemonth. Aside from the out put of tho Bible Society other Christian printing houses put Into circulation last year 575,130 volumes. That the Japanese converts are enthusiastic workers In tho cause of Christianity is shown by the fact that they raised among themselves dur ing 1904 the sum of J67.470 to be used la church work. The sum sent into Japan during the same period by all sects for tho furtherance of church work, exclusive of the salaries of missionaries, was $133, 990. The Cause of Education. The various foreign religious denomina tions aro given free reign here In their educational work. In fact, many of tho teachers In the Government schools havo been recruited from the American Y. M. C. Ck. Although these Instructors aro In the employ of the Crown, they have abso lute religious freedom. They teach Chris tianity, morals and athletics. There are about 29.000 primary schools In the Em pire, having an enrollment of nearly 5. 000,000 pupll3. At the present time fully 90 per cent, of the school population Ja taking the prescribed course of Instruc tion. The period of compulsory attend ance Is from six to ten years of age. During this time there Is no tuition. Th common school fees are nominal In all Instances, ranging from 15 to 30 cents per month. The course Includes tho usual studies, together with such special sub jects as drawing, singing, sewing, gym nastics and manual training. The universities afford all kinds of scien tific Instructors, even to the "professor of earthquakes." The college graduate Is very much In demand. There are less than 5000 educated people among those now practicing In tho principal professions In Japan. A recent complication showed that out of 1700 judicial officers lass than 300 wore college men; among 33M high executive officials only 400 were uni versity graduates; out of a total of 43CO teachers Jn the middle classes only 400 had diplomas; while a count of tho 40.000 physicians and surgeons In the Empire produced only 500 who had received a col lege education. Such a scarcity of talent naturally creates a demand for the ser vices of trained people, and even thoso of ordinary ability find no trouble In se curing good positions. There aro more young men clamoring to enter the uni versities than these Institutions can ac cept. With present facilities about S graduates are being turned out yearly, but the certain expansion of tho educational system will soon add to tho number that may be accommodated. The Science of Jul-Jitera. The Japanese craving for proficiency manifests Inself In many ways. The other day I was Invited to tho police station to witness the weekly lesson given to a squad of patrolmen In the science of Jlu jltsu. This 13 not wrestling, as many suppose, but the art of self-defense. Tho principles of It are taught the policemen so that they may not only succcssflly resist attack, but overpowor an unruly culprit stronger than themselves. Main strength counts for nothing against ao. agile adversary who knows how to reach the vital points. Thl3 was demonstrated to a nicety by a little bantam who took on six strapping fellows, one after the other, and did Just about what he pleased with them. At each encounter he man aged to get such a hold on his antagonist that the latter had to cry enough or suf fer a broken bone. Ho twisted the neek of one, rammed tho spine of another, and cramped the elbow of still another. It was a pretty exhibition of science against strength. It is said there are no expon ents of this art In America as expert a3 those who practice It in jRpan. FREDERIC J. HAS KIN. the same beef for their rights to ceo boxing that the women, who can't vote, make for what they call their rights, the men with the long whiskers who break Into Legislatures would take no tice. Take It from me that tho successful boxer Is a walking temperance lecture. That's no con, because the more success ful a boxer Is In his trade, the more temperate he Is In his living. It's only whon he crooks his elbow and stays out at night that he falls down. Push that argument along as straight from me. and If there's anything to offset it, it will bo made out of whole cloth. Tips From His Australian Tour. My share- of the loot from the three months' tour of Australia In 1S91 was over 520.000, and nearer J25-.000 than the first figure.' They are a. hot herd of sports on that Island, and they paid the price to see my moving pictures of the Yankee clout. On that tour. I met a fellow who had followed us from America to see If thero would be any chance of picking up some money betting against me if I got into any championship battles over there. "For some years I have made It a prac tice," said this man to me. "to back any, Australian who makes a match with any body from any other part of the workl In fighting, rowing, wrestling, runninr. Jumping, or any other sport. Some of the times, the Australians I've backed havo lost, but more of the times the Australians have won, so I am ahead of the game. I thought there might be somebody In this country able to surprise you. and I In tend to get the long end of it and take a chance. But there Isn't a man In the land fit to take your measure, and I'm going Xo charge tho expenses of my trip to experience. I won't make a sou markeo on the trip." Eor a place supposed to be off the map, Australia Is chock full of good ones, all alive, and there are some boxers In that country today who could give our best a few warm moments. I am thinking of taking some of our boys over there for a trying out. Just for. the sake of being neighborly. Yours truly. JOHN Ii. SULLIVAN.
