apanese banks, on the
other hand, employ Japanese in all positions of trust and authority, as
do all the smaller banks throughout the empire. Many of the cashiers of
these smaller banks understand English, particularly those that have
dealings with foreigners. At a native bank in Kobe, which was Cook's
correspondent in that city, I cashed several money orders, and the work
was done as speedily as it would have been done in any American bank.
The fittings of the bank were very cheap; the office force was small,
but the cashier spoke excellent English and he transacted business
accurately and speedily.

In making any generalizations on the lack of rigid commercial honesty
among Japanese merchants it may be well for me to quote the opinion of
an eminent American educator who has spent over forty years in Japan. He
said, in discussing this subject: "We must always consider the training
of the Japanese before their country was thrown open to foreign trade.
For years the nation had been ruled by men of the Samurai or military
class, with a rigid code of honor, but with a great contempt for trade
and tradesmen. Naturally business fell into the hands of the lower
classes who did not share the keen sense of honor so general among their
rulers. Hence, there grew up lax ideas of commercial morality, which
were fostered by the carelessness in money matters among the nobility
and aristocracy. Much of the prevalent Japanese inability to refrain
from overcharging, or delivering an inferior article to that shown to
the customer, dates back to these days of feudal life. The years of
contact with the foreigners have been too few to change the habits of
centuries. Another thing which must always be considered is the relation
of master and vassal under feudal life. That relation led to peculiar
customs. Thus, if an artisan engaged to build a house for his overlord
he would give a general estimate, but if the cost exceeded the sum he
named, he expected his master to make up the deficit. This custom has
been carried over into the new regime, so that the Japanese merchant or
mechanic of to-day, although he may make a formal contract, does not
expect to be bound by it, or to lose money should the price of raw
material advance, or should he find that any building operations have
cost more than his original estimate. In such case the man who orders
manufactured goods or signs a contract for any building operations seems
to recognize that equity