FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   >>  
present communications, however, the entire tone has changed. They are friendly and pleasant, and appear to desire to preserve friendly relations with us. This should be especially pleasing, for the Japanese are a fine, vigorous race of people, whom we cannot but admire for their spirited conduct in their war with China. It would be a pity if we were forced to regard them in an unfriendly light. It is reported that the reason for the change is that the Government has discovered that the information forwarded to it was misleading and calculated to give a wrong impression. It is hinted that the Japanese minister in this country is the innocent cause of the trouble. It seems that he became very intimate with the son of Claus Spreckels, the Hawaiian Sugar King. Young Mr. Spreckels had of course his own ideas about Hawaiian matters, and told them to the Japanese minister. This official felt that Mr. Spreckels must be thoroughly well acquainted with Sandwich Island affairs, and accepted all that he said as fact without attempting to investigate for himself. He should not have done this, because, hard though it is for us to realize it sometimes, there are always two sides to every question, and all of us, even the fairest-minded, find it difficult to see both sides with equal clearness and justice. With the best intentions it was impossible for Mr. Spreckels to look at matters from a disinterested standpoint, and the minister should have grasped this fact, instead of sending as facts to his Government statements that were merely the views of an interested party. As it was, the Government in Tokio was told that there was not the slightest fear of the United States annexing Hawaii, that it was all talk and would never amount to anything, and that Japan could go ahead and force her immigrants on Hawaii without interference. As a matter of fact, it now appears that Japan had no hostile plans in sending her immigrants to Hawaii. While it is true that many of these men were soldiers, it is stated by those who have studied the matter that they were not soldiers in the regular Japanese army, but men who had fought in the war with China. The enormous strides which Japan has made since the war, and which have roused the admiration of all her sister nations, cannot have been accomplished without changes in the thoughts and habits of the Japanese people. It seems that the progressive spirit which the war awakened m
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   >>  



Top keywords:

Japanese

 

Spreckels

 
Government
 

minister

 

Hawaii

 

soldiers

 

sending

 
matter
 

people

 

Hawaiian


matters

 

immigrants

 

friendly

 
intentions
 
amount
 

United

 

States

 
annexing
 

impossible

 

standpoint


justice
 

clearness

 
statements
 

grasped

 

slightest

 

interested

 

disinterested

 

roused

 

admiration

 
strides

enormous

 

fought

 

sister

 
nations
 

progressive

 
spirit
 
awakened
 

habits

 

thoughts

 
accomplished

regular

 
interference
 
difficult
 

appears

 

hostile

 

studied

 

stated

 
present
 
information
 

forwarded