The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 15, 1901, Page 7

THE SUNDAY CALL EAR ADMIRAL BEARDSLEE has recently arrived here from Japan, where he devoted much time to promoting the erection of the Perry monument at Gora Hama. As he is the only survivor of the expe- dition of the American squadron that went to Japan in 1853, under the command of Commodore M. C. Perry, he it devolving upon him to push public interest in Japan along to the completion of the memorial. He also made a study of Japaness conditions of to-day as compared with those of half a century ago. They roved gratifying to one remember- y when representatives of navy first set foot, againss much opposition, on the land where now a monument is raised in their leader’s honor. ») found Some of his observations and con- clusions are set forth in the following article, together with his account of the unveiling of that monument on the fourteenth of last July. It was the work of months to get the Japan- ese interested in the plan; that work meant the raising of a large sum of money. The way in which it was ac- complished is related here. APAN of to-day place from the Japan that Commo- came upon is a very different dore Perry’'s squadron forty-eight years ago. You have read in Perry’s own nar- how the mnatives received us summer of '53. How dhey refused rative in th to let us land, knowing nothing of our ways and fearing the unknown; how the final landing was made after endless dip- lomatic involutions; and how we entered then an Oriental country that knmew al- most nothing of any other. To-day the traveler in European dress is met with the most courteous reception wherever he may travel in Japan, and he finds everywhere who are fast following his own customs in dress apd manner. My point of view of that very chilly reception was from the Plymouth. That was one of the two sloops-of-war that went along with the Susquehanna and the Mississippi when the voyage to Yeddo was men commenced. The Saratoga was the other; they were taken in tow by the two steam- ers. We spent the Fourth of July that year ge. A few days later the squadron anchored off the city of Uraga on the vo nd came face to face with some Jap- Their crews stared ent at us, lit- tion to come fore the affair of Those Japanese could little hat Perry then { material wh woul never say ced the Govern- th an expedition g to enter Japan be- For Perry had remember, to ed him in the ico was closed; Cali- State: he argued. but for e Unit we Not more ours, we were now of as high time that we ations with the in- ocean across, Asiatic coast. that seemed to in- already But Japan had for apart from other unknown_ life. was enough to stir any penetrate the islands. China was herself her own enough now, in the to believe half a century ago Japan ge ent developments, was to us, less Europeanized. e little island country is our ways, our inventions, so as if she might be teach- ; while China has afraid of rself superstitiously ¥ t day Japan was, of her own m the rest of the world. the matte thor- books on the ‘ ad arrived at the con- i fre tudied as from ation had isolated itself r circumstances, ture conservative empted to force Japan would not result was its pe- s, and the It was misunderstood, he po believed How deep his penetration of the condi- time, and & short time at that, Japan has shown herselt able to learn the les- and America had to verbial I remember well enough all the refusals the Americans met with when they L drew near the islands in "53. Men in boats came form us that it would be ssible for us to effect a land- utterly impc Japanese guard boats ing any point. came off the land in pursuit of us. Many of the people had been on board the Columbus in the Bay of Yeddo and had Ives friendly and quite will- to accept American hospitality; but were decisive in their refusal to let shown ther and accomplished what he wished in means of long diplomacy. He d received them. President ¥illmore him one to the Em- It opened in thiswise: “Great and good friend: I send you this er by Commodore Matthew C. cer of the highest rank in y of the United States. I have di- d Commodore Perry to assure your Imperial Majesty that I entertain the kindest feelings toward your Majesty’s person and Government, and that I have sent let had given peror let no o thac the United States and Japan should live in friendship and have commercial intercourse with each other.” The reply, prefaced by many phrasings of Japanese politeness, read in conclu- sion: “Because the place is not designed to treat of anything from foreigners, so neither can conference nor entertainment take place. The letter you will leave here.” It was American enterprise and tact pitted against Japanese stubbornness. You all know which won. And both win- ner and loser were gainers, and the little isolated country was led into acquaint- ance and friendship with the world of nations. Considering all that Perry did for Japan, I can assure you I saw pathos in the way he was forgotten. When I arrived in Japan I could not at first find a single person who remembered him. The spot where he had landed was not known. His memory had been as entirely wiped out as if he had not been the opening wedge between Japan and the commerce of the world. The first thing that I did was to hunt up the exact place where the landing was made. There it lay, smoothly being received, the quiet Gora Hama, a curving shore backed by hills and facing the blue water. It recalled that day when, a peaceful welcome hav- ing been assured, the Japanese scuilers guided the American officers into the har- bor. Guns boomed then as they boomed the other day when the celebration was held in honor of that early event. Cap- tain Buchanan, in command of the early party, was literally the first of them to put foot on shore. 1 paced the ground there and recalled it all. Then I mingled among the psople and tried to find some recollection of that day. It had gone completely from their minds. The place there had not changed espe- cially in those years. except that thers was no hostility to the advances made by Americans—no great curiosity even, for American tourists are by no means rare. But the people in those out of the way places have not taken up European cus- toms as those of the larger cities have. They sit much as on the floor and wear kimonos 4 ever and give never a thought to chairs and tailoring. all the course of my traveling In Yapan ¥ found almost none upon whom the com- modore’s landing seemed to have made any impression. One old man of % and his son of 70 appeared before the conclu- sion of my visit—men who had seen Per- ry, remembered him clearly and realized what he had done for their nation. are the two whom you see standing be- side the monument. They are both, fath- er and son, fine specimens bf Japanese ol4 manhood. Finely knit and erect of car- riage, they look many years less than they are. It gratifies me to know that T had a ng that handsome monument as a memorial. hand in rai vas a It I thought my task hopeless one when I first set about it. was a long time before I could arouse any but a stance They were of the Bei- “*Ameri interest in the matter, last 1 con- trived to gain the a fluential Japanese. yu Kyokai, or of some in- Friends.’ d been ans’ Up to' that time my talking of no avail, although I was received most hospitably, being entertained in princely manner by men of great distinction. My appeals had fallen upon ucaf ears. But when the right men took hold of the mat- ter it was hurried along with admirable execution. Even so, the raising of funds took nine months. The $25,000, which means 50,00 yen to the Japanese. This is no small sum to them and it was only by patient collecting that the thing monument cost It seemed strange enough that I could could be accomplished. 1 r object in sending him to Japan not come upon old residents, and plenty Finally the yapanese and American gov- They tiou at the unveiling a very memorahle occasion, and all of us who had worked hard for success felt that it had achieved a fitting climax when t.e 14th of July ar- rived. There at’Gora Hama, in the same wa- ters where Perry’s squadron had arrived, lay eight war vessels belonging to the two governments now in such friendly re- laticns. There was no longer any of the suspicious and cautious character shown in their relations that had been in the first place. cing and friendliness over a commen cause. Tor- pedo-boats were there to help along the celebqation. There was a booming of guns and flashing of day fireworks. The splen- did monument was unvelled amid the re- joicing of two happy nations. It is delightful to me, now that the journey is over, to leok back upon Japan Instead were open rejol and see the way that it has grown since visit. In the cities education is advancing and broadening at z rapid rate. In many ways the country's civilization s not excelled the worla' over. Its cour- tesy and hospitality are renowned. An put to propose to your Imperial Majesty of them, who remembered Perry. But in ernments assisted in making the celebra- American woman can' travel there with SR £ el ok B s S PER - L - AMBESSAROR FROM T PRI BTG G L ANDED X ADIIIRAL —Z> n.ore satety than 1w £his speaks for itself. Many things are still undeveloped. All will come in time. If Commodore Perry tould look upon the result of his mission he surely would find it as gratifying as he could desire. Houses of Glass May Yet Come Into General Use. m JULES HENRIVAUX, who originated the Palace of Light o at the last Paris Exposition, % believes the . time will come when the people of civilized countries will live in glass houses. Of course M. Henr vaux is an enthusiast on the subject, and his views may be a trifie overzealous; but it is within reason to believe that glass will be more and more freely used in fu- ture years for building purposes, because the raw material from which glass is made 18 practically inexhaustible, while wood and even such metals as iron and steel have their limitations as regards the supply. The adaptability of gl to all shapes and forms. its durability and its cleanliness are other points in its favor. Color effects and finish of surface make it especially suited to decoration. M. Henrivaux gives an imaginative pic= ture of a glass bullding. The foundations and walls would be constructed of a vari- ety of glass invented recently, known as stone glass, which has already stood the severest tests. It is harder than steel. As a foundation for modern tall buildings, M. Henrivaux says it has no equal. The walls of the building would be of glass fastened together with angle irom, 80 as to permit hollow spaces through which pipes would pass, conveying hot air, hot and cold water, gas, electricity and everything for comfort and health. Even the furniture, cooking utensils and other house implements would be of glass toughened by new processes. One can see how all this would contribute to cleanli- ness, for everything about the house from cellar to garrret could be washed without harming it. Dust and other dirt would not find much place for lodgment. By employing opaque glass or varfetles tinted with brilliant colors, such build- ings ‘could be made a veritable fairyland of beauty, with effects of silver and gold, crystals and prisms like diamonds and rainbow combinations. As glass can be made out of almost Paris or, London. / <A BEARDSLEE % ?} EAR o7 ANE anything amenable to the influence of fire, the cost of manufacturing it is not great. Stone glass is made of substances former- ly regarded as waste. The slag heaps in > e The tron district contribute abundant terial. Since the matter of cost is portant, it counts as another point i vor of glass,