The Sunday Oregonian., April 05, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 5, Image 51

THE STJNDAT OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, ArRIL 5; .1903.
Am
WW
AND THE
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NOW STRIVE
ING TO COR
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RECT A CUR
i..r
THEJZVTTfE&S or
SONS OF
JJ3T3 JZASJfTCW
MHT curious. of all amhitlons. Japan
ts engaged In a great national
movement tn get its leg pulled,
men of the Island Nation are
sturtving the question of Mature tn order
to And the mcaos of taking the thought
that will add stature.
The Jnu want to be tall. He is tired
of being: apolcen of a. a midget. His
lack of stature Is a constant source of
humllllatlon. His soldier on parade,
though admittedly a (treat fighter, looks
absurd In comparison wltli the warriors
of olher nations. The physical deficiency
In height stands as the only disadvantage
which Nippon has yet been unable to
overcome. Now the entire nation is
pledged to an effort to produce taller men
and women.
The campaign is to begin at the cradle
and the voung Jap coming; Into the world
Is to be raised differently from the ancient
form of his forefathers. By measurement
It has been shown the body of the Japan
cue baby left alone will be not far short
of the sljfl of the bodv of the son of
other nations. The shortage Is In the
legs, once lengthen the lower limbs and
the problem of how to get a taller Jap
has been solved.
Some of the best authorities of Japan
have been Investigating the causes that
have kept the ration undersned. Their
researches have led to the opinion that
the sedentary habits of the people are at
the base of the trouble. Apart from those
engaged In the more muscular forms of
activity, the Japanese workman performs
all his tasks while seated on the floor,
his legs crossed under him.
This attitude Is characteristic of the
people, and Is followed even In the hours
of rest, for thcro are no chairs In a
Japanese home, members of the family
squat on their heels after the manner
of their forefathers for centuries back.
Manv a prosperous merchant spends the
greatest portion of his life In this position,
not even arising to wait on customers.
A bov is kept to hand purchases to those
who buv, the merchant sticking reso
lutely and uninterruptedly to his pose of
comfort and laziness.
The professional man also adheres to
this position, so do the artisans and
craftsmen who make up so large a part
of the native population.
Terhaps the only exception to the
national habit of sitting for the trans
action of all work is to be found among
the farmers. Naturally they are ex
empted, for no way has yet been found
by which a man with a hoe can do his
work while equatted on his heels. But
the kind of work performed by these
farmers Is so arduous that they never
have a chance to get properly devel
oped bodies. All the stature Is bent
out of thorn, so to speak, by the process
that converts Into beasts of burden
men who have not the natural physical
equipment to stand the work.
This Is the condition with which
physicians and statesmen are trying to
labor.
Their experts tn physical develop
ment have told them that the sitting
posture interrupts a proper circulation
of the blood, keepe the muscles in a
strained and unnatural position, and
prevents the proper development of
the normal height that comes to other
an edict .has gone forth
that the Japs must learn to sit on
chairs. As regards the army, the rule
has been made absolute. The soldiers
will be required to sit on omethlng
higher than the floor. Chairs and
hen. lies are being placed In the bar
racks, and punishment is visited on the
soldier who takes up the old familiar
squat on the floor.
The Japanese army surg?ons are In
tensely interested In the enforcement
cf the rule, for the national agitation
for extended legs comes from them.
They examined and learned lessons
from the fighting men of other nations,
including the giant Russians, whom
the little men made taste such humili
ating defeat.
It is characteristic of the intense
determination of the people that they
declined to believe that the shortness
of stature proceeded from fundamen
tal causes that could not be removed.
According to the new- motto of the
land, there Is nothing that a Jap can
not do. He could come out of obscur
ity In the course of a couple of decades
and win a couple of wars. lie could
mrke commercial etrldes that are the
wonder of the world.
Suppose he wanted to be taller. Why
not? he would go ahead and do it.
The Introduction of chairs Is only
part of the new system. Trained mas
ters In the art of physical condition
ing are now Installed as part of the
army. They have authority over the
soldiers, and their system must be rig
Idly obeyed. They have Installed a
dietary system, and dally put the men
through a severe course of gymnastics.
In the army the syetem of endeavor
ing to attatn height has been made ob
ligatory. Its extensions throughout
the land have not been quite so man
tlstory. but the fact that the Mikado
Mmself takes the exercise is as good
as a command to the authority-loving;
people of the land.
In the schools the children have
K.ft"'-J,
"Tiri-Mi'mmi
TVOZVT S7T22r
boon raise il from th floor. Tlie mats
on wIiiMi thev usp1 to sit have bepn
ahaniloiicii. Cluiirs Hnd dosks arc bc
tnsr in st allot!, and the voimpptora are
subloi-ti'd to a modilli'd form of the ex
ercises Imposed on the soldiers.
Moreover the introduction of pames
callinE" for severe musculfir exertion is
twins: eneoiirhjred. nasrball has already
made Its way into the land of the Mikado,
and it will be recalled that a college
team made up exclusively of Japs toured
the United States last vcar. Graduates
of American colleges who return to their
native land take hark with them the
games that are popular in I'nele Sam s
Institutions, and contribute a share to
ward turning out a line body of men.
These snorts are seized with activity
by the younger element as an expedient
to help toward the national desire to ob
tain height.
The mothers of the nation are being
besought to abandon the old custom of
carrying their babies on their backs.
This. It is explained, is the direct cause
of bandy legs, a deformity so prominent
all over the country. The soft bones
of the babes naturally take the curved
position. In this way Is produced men
who not only have ugly shapes, but who
lose perhaps an Inch In height by the
process.
It has often been remarked that seated
with Europeans the Jap does not look
so small. His absence oT height Is not
then noticeable.
When the conference was held at Ports
mouth that settled the Japanese-Russian
war. thn representatives of the Mikado
presented a very dignified appearance
as they sat at the table discussing the
peace. It was only when they stood erect
beside the towering form of Witte. the
Czar's chief speaker, that they appeared
Insignificant.
The Jap's chest is naturally long and
full. But his legs are on an average of
three inches shorter than they ought to
be. The great wrestlers who have come
here from Nippon have had powerful
chests, but were poorly developed In the
matter of legs. In wrestling, a large part
of which is performed on the mat, weak
legs matter little, but In most outdoor
pports the lack of powerful underpinning
would be a powerful handicap.
Tlie Jap, therefore, for centuries, made
wrestling his favorite sport Instead of
trying to develop legs that would enable
him to become proficient In the other
games.
The favorite Japanese sport Is jlu jitsu,
which created such excitement in this
country about rive years ago. Is really
another admission of the leg weakness
of the people, for Its prime purpose was
to remove the handicap enjoyed by men
of more powerful legs than the Jap had.
A sort of scientific cruelty, it substituted
exact knowledge of the Joints and nerve
centers for natural strength.
Among the giants of all nations It !s
usually found that the greatest develop
ment is In the legs. It is the needed
lengthening of these that make the tall
man. Japan proceeding on this, seeks
to extend itself by creating good props
by an elaborate system of exercise. The
attempt is being made with great sys
tem, and elaborate statistics are being
filed away for use later In determining
the extent of success.
The Home-Bound Skipper.
TVhn the lee rail's under a:r.
An' te sheer planks tnk a hand.
As she balances to leeward.
Just to shun what she can stand;
Oh. 'tis then Poll's sallln.
With a tug upon the sheet
Thtt'fr a-sayin to the taavas.
'T.-t the old tal show her feet."
She's a dancer, she's a prance r.
With the white bone in her mouth.
An' the Norther hard a-chasin'
As she scuttles oft to south.
That's the way she waJks green water.
An' tehlnd her trails the lsc
She's flinsln" from her fcr'ead
As she home'ards sets her face.
Oh. 'tis then I call !t salltn.
With a tug uoon the sheet
That's a-savin' to th" caav&s
"Let th old sal show her feet."
Puck,
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cZiBWESE ZfOIHERS ABE TCB32D2)EZr
2VVW T0 CAESX THEIR. CKZLZJtEN
New York's East Side Czar
He Toc-snt Drink or Smoke and Favors "Woman's Suffraare.
THE fact that the Mayor vetoed the
antl - woman - cigarette - smoking
ordinance has not cast any special
gloom over the Sullivan headquarters.
Little Tim Sullivan took & train for Ar
kansas as soon as he bad started the
discussion, but Big Tim expressed to a
reporter the opinion that he could talk
on the subject Just as well.
For the uninitiated, the Sulllvans are
first cousins. Big Tim Is six feet two
and Little Tim is by no means a dwarf,
standing five feet eleven in his stock
ings, and those who know say that he
always has stockings. In which he dif
fers from some of his constituents.
There is a difference of seven years in
their ages and none at all In the po
litical views, when It comes, to the ques
tion of purifying New York politics.
They have still 4 another point of re
semblance. Neither one of them, smokes,
chews or drinks
There is nothing great done In this
world without imagination. The Sulli
vans have Imagination, particularly Big
Tim. The picture he drew ot the li
cense that might ensue if women were
allowed to smoke In public,, was touch
IOUS CUSTOM
THAT HAS
DEFORMED
ITS NETHER
LIMBS
. i mm r it ..
ill'
mi
ing enough o draw tears from the eyes
of a Teddy bear.
"How could a young feller kiss a. girl
if she had a clay pipe in her mouth." he
asks. "And honestly, just as man to man.
how would you like to see a pretty girl
on Broadway take out her tobacco pouch
from one pocket, her pipe from another
I mean her bags hag, and flu It; the
pipe, not the bag. and then smoke It, the
pipe, I mean, not the bag?
Of course, you have to allow that you
wouldn't like it at all. but you feel It in
cumbent on you to tell Mr. Sullivan that
smoking among women was pretty gen
eral and that the only reason they didn't
Insist on smoKing in public was that they
had too good sense to force an issue that
was purely personal and had no big prin
ciple involved.
Big Tim shakes nil head m surprise.
"Honestly, I didn't know that women
smoked to that extent," he says. "Per
sonally, I don't know any that do. Cer
tainly the girls and women down here
don't.
"If the girls down here took up that
habit, I am convinced it would be very
bad for their health. You begin to form
a habit and the trouble Is that it grows.
H
ii, s I
i
'fir
and the first you know It's got the best
of you; habits don't stand still.
"But don't think I'm trying to inter
fere with anybody's liberty; that's the
very last thing I have In mind, or Little,
Tim. either. We're both great on -personal
liberty every time.
"I'm almost an extremist. I'm a per
sonal prohibitionist, but I ain't advocat
ing prohibition for the masses. I believe
that a man that can take a big drink
and carry it so it don't show ts a bigger
man than one that never drank at all.
"I advocate Ingersoll's famous saying
you know It that a man who don't
chew, smoke or drink ought to be shot.
I'm that fellow, and I know I ought to
be shot. The only thing I can say in my
behalf 1s that I don't interfere with the
other fellow's rights to do all three;
neither does Uttle Tim.
"But I don't want women to think that
fm not their friend, for I am. I've al
ways been, whenever I've been in poli
tics in the Assembly. In the State Legis
lature or a member of Congress.
"For 16 years I was the one Democrat
that voted for woman suffrage.
"I have met all the women pioneers
who have come up to Albany in Its be
halfMiss Susan B. Anthony. Mrs. Kllza
beth Cady Stanton. Mrs. Mary Kllen
Lease, the silver-tongued orator: Mrs.
Belva Lockwood and I liked them all
and thought them very Interesting talk
ers. "Do I believe that women would be as
conscientious as men If they had the
privilege of suffrage? More so. I believe
that women are 40 per cent at least more
determined In their convictions than
men.
"Women talk such a lot and they hear
such a lot of talk that it don't make
nearly as much impression on them as it
does on the man. You can oftentimes
get a man to talk over things and con
vince him by your eloquence, but the
woman Is looking for practical results
every time.
"She will listen, she even likes to
hear the talk, but it don't usually
change her. A man can talk for hours
or days or weeks about his love for a
woman, but until he begins to speak
about the wedding ring and the priest,
she don't get particularly moved by his
fiow ot words; have you -ever noticed
that? It will be the same way with
their votes.
"All the arguments tnat are brought
up against it seem to be pretty silly
from the standpoint of a man that's
right down here In the heart of things
on the great East Ride, that furnishes
uptown with its big men, its lawyers
and its politicians and its actors and
even some of its best-known actresses.
Sam Bernard, for Instance, Peter Dal
ley, Weber and Fields.
"You stand come morning about 7
o'clock at any of these side streets, which
are the great arteries of the East Side,
and you'll see girls and women going to
work, eight of 'em to a man. They go
to the factories and the shop and they
work there until 6 o'clock.
"Sometimes there are 10 or 11 'children
in a family and ten of them are of the
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female sex. I know of Iot of case
where the girls In a family are all work
ing hard so as to give the one boy a
good education that they couldn't have
themselves. That sort of .sacrifice is so
common down here that it don't cause
any comment; it is taken as a matter of
course.
"Then you read of nome man who
makes a speech up at Albany or some
other place, and says with tears in his
voice that the fireside's the only place
for women. That's all right, but Is he
furnishing firesides, or f any one else,
and does he think that thexc ten girls in
a family are going to work In a factory
because they're tired of their firesides?
"Ain't that nonsense! I never knew a
woman that dfdn't prefer a fireside If
there was one around. They're so keen
about it that you'll see fSiem dropping
work and getting married when they
know they'll probably have to work
just as hard In another way, but they
look on it as a release, and It is, too."
Mr. Sullivan Is asked what he would
think about a woman as Mayor of New
York.
"I don't see any objection at all," he
replies. "In fact, I think a Woman
could be Mayor much easier than she
could hold some other- positions.
"Do I think she would be a success
on a jury? Why not? I'm quite sure
If there had been a Jury of women at
the first Thaw trial they would have
found the defendant Insane. As It was,
we had the spectacle of a prosecution
on the first trial trying to make out
the young chap was insane and on the
second trying to prove he wasn't.
"Women on juries will not be moved
by appeals to their emotions, as Is
generally claimed, I believe, as much
as men are. They are going to be cold
er and to reach better conclusions that
will be founded on judgment and com
mon sense, for they'll be fighting for
those very firesides that men are talk
ing about.
"Do I believe that a good-looking
woman would stand more chance if she
ran for office than a plain woman? I
think she'd get plenty of men to listen
to her arguments, but I'll tell you a
little story to Illustrate that.
"A couple of young chaps ran for
some offce here, and one of them used
to come around and hang over the bars,
and go into the grocery stores and
meet men at the corners, and they all
liked him and listened to him with a
great deal of interest, even arguing
points to a finish.
"I'm not saying that the other chap
didn't do the same thing, but the prin
cipal point of difference was that the
first was such a good looker, his trou
sers were nicely creased and he always
had a clean collar ok, and I believe
he'd stowed away a college education
In the course of his travels. He just
about took the Bowery by storm and
had everything his own way.
"The promises that were made to
him would have filled an encyclopedia,
but when the time for electing the can
didate came the voters said: 'Well, of
course, he's a good-looking fellow and
sir "ii 1
,V3 " IIO
ne ccrtnlnly ran talk, and Ms trousort
ain't missed a crease since he first,
started Ir.. but he Just ain't our kind,
that's all.' He didn't got one vote.
"I'm afraid that's the way It will be
with the Rood-looklnfr woman. Rlia
won't have any trouble pettlnK atten
tion and promises, and any and every
man'll atop work to listen to lior. but
when It comes to the showdown I'm
inclined to think that the men'll say:
Well, what about that quiet, plain lit
tle woman that seems to know her
business so well' Don't you think:
she'll be a little mite safer?' And it
my opinion that the plain woman'll
come pretty near standing a chance ot
Kettlnir the office against the Kood
lookinjr one.
Yiood looks are all right for a wom
an to have, but In order to win out In
any flpht she's Rot to nave reason and
sympathies ,is well.
"Do I think that universal sulTrar
will lead to the adoption by women of
mens attire and the repealing of th
law on that point?
"There is no law on that point so
far as I know. If I recall matters rlRht.
there was a test case here once In th
courts, and It was very IntcrestinR.
"A woman sold newspapers at t'lt.v
Hall and, wore trousers and n coat and
hat just like her husband's. Tie bad a
stand, too I believe, but he didn't make
as much money as she did. They also
had two children, named Vcnircanea
and Retaliation, who don't enter into
the story at all except to give what
you newspaper people call local color.
"One day she was arrested and
brought into court on the charge , t
wearing men's clothes, and the defense
was offered that she wasn't wean
men s clothes, for she had ordered tho
sutt for herself at a tailor's, and they
had been made for her. and never was
a man's. She was released on that
plea.
"The law can't touch a woman today
for wearing clothes like a man's: It can
arrest her for being a public nuisar.;-,
that is all. when she draws a crowd
and stops traffic, llut I'm hot afraid
that universal suffrage or anything elsa
wll! make women desirous of wearing
men's clothing.
"I haven'? ever heard of any women
who especially cared for Dr. Mary Walk
er's Ideas In drpss, and yet she's been
setting a fashion for a long time."
"I was on the other side last Summer,
and 1 came back convinced that ihere,
wasn't one point on which they were clev
erer than we are, or one point where
they get the best of us. except In catch
ing heiresses. They're expert at that,
a.11 right.
"Take this much-talked of affair of ths
municipal ownership of privileges by tho
City of Glasgow. That works all right
over there with their form of government,
for voting can't chane things.
"But you let this city own all the mu
nicipal privileges, and what would be tha
result? Every motorman in the subway
would Insist on getting JUKI like the po
licemen, and everybody would want to get
as much as everybody else and they J
have to have It or the other party would
get In and give it to 'em until the partj
that was out promised them more.
"Take the question of transit over there.
You go from London to Richmond, and
every mile you pay a penny, which our
people seem to forget means 2 cents
over here. By the time you have
reached your destination you have paid
62 cents, while from City Hall to Ford -Jiam.
a longer distance, you fay a
nickel. Their penny tube Is dusty and
dirty, and doesn't compare with our
subway.
"But there was one charity I liked
and I wish we. could adopt. There's a
rich old chap there who has started
the Idea of feeding the public school
children at the schools at breakfast
time. I am firmly convinced that that
would be a very good charity for us. to
adopt.
"It seems a little thing, maybe, but
it's pretty hard In this world to tell
what the little thing is and what the
big one is. Giving a proper breakfast
to a hungry kid may mean the making
of a man. and the man may become the.
chief executive of the country, when if
it hadn't been for that the little shaver
wouldn't have the vitality to fight his
way through.
"The fact that it's the little thing
that has such great results is brought
home to me by Just taking a look out
of this window onto the Bowery. It's
a curious fact that the song that swept
through the country some 15 years ago
about the things they do and the things
they say on the Bowery was responsi
ble for a elump of values n real es
tate here that I guess has never been
equaled In the history of any city.
"Places that were worth $9000 in
rents tumbled down to $2000. and a
corresponding loss was felt In actual
sales. It has taken us 15 years to get
the best of that song, and ws
haven't done it yet,, but we are begin
ning to.
"Before that every stranger who
came to New York made direct for th
BoweYy and spent his money here.
Every shopkeeper prospered and mon
ey was kept In active circulation.
"The song made such an Impression
that instead of coming down here
every man who found himself off oj
Broadway thought he was going to be
robbed and murdered, and the great
floating population that supports New
York theaters, hotels and places of
amusement kept away from us as It
we had the - plague. I don't even
know who wrote the song, but these
axe the facts in the case."