On A Low Plane

It has long beeu knowti to those who had dealing with the Japanese rhat commercial morality in Japan stands almost on the lowesü plane possitile to a ivilized people. With few exceptions ven those Japanese who prove estima)le and high minded in all other mattera are not to be trasted in business transacïon. Iu Japan the man who fails to ike advantage of hisneighborin a barain is looked apon is a fooi. The exilanafion of this state of Üliugs given y Robert Yonng, who edits a Kobe pajer, is that merchants in Japan have ïitherto oceupied the lowest rang on the OOial ladder, beiog deemed inferior to rie tillers of the soil and but little above he pariah class. Up to a comparatively (cent period trader was but another ame for trickster, and the pursnit of omincrra was held to argüe a lack of ntegrity. With changed commercial coaditiona liis low standard sim-ihs to have renained unaltered, so that the Japanese rader is alwaya thinking how he can 'best" the foreigner, and he will not 'ulfill his engagements if bysodoing he s likely to suffer loss. Mr. Younggives ogeut reasous for believing that the nikado's subjects soon will lose the forign customers they have gaiaed unless heir (()(!( of oommercial moráis is ma;erially and rapidly improved. Already Japanese consuls have reported that the eountry's foreign trado is serionsly injttred by merchants who Bend abroad matches that will not strike, rice that is not up to unple and stuffs the only merit of whieh is eheapness. Guilds have Icen formed to introduce better methods of business, but they have not wrought mueh improvement, and the situation cannot be radically changed so long as there is no public opinión to support the application of morality to business. At present the ordiuary Japanese trader has no conscience, and until he acquires one the expected eompetitioii of Japan in the markets of the world is not likely to be worthy of serious consideration.