“Local authorities are trying to urge combinations among manufacturers, but so far have met with little success.
“This isolated working purely for self interest is undoubtedly the root of what is called Japanese commercial dishonesty.
“To France we must turn to-day to see the supreme example of thrift and industry and reciprocity of helpfulness. Japan unfortunately does not yet give us as hopeful a picture of economy.”
Laughingly assuring Baron Takahashi that we had a personal sympathy with the people who could not save, he answered playfully that we must all acknowledge the wisdom of providing for old age and children, and with that very human and humane observation our interview was closed. We felt the man spoke rather than the financier.
TOKYO OBSERVATORY
If you look at an astronomical map of stations of observation, you will see what looks to be a meteoric shower of dots on Europe, where there are one hundred and thirty observatories, sixty-five in North America, six in India, six also in Australia, two in the West Indies, three on the coast of China, and following the line of sea and shore northward in a vast region of watery waste only two lone spots which are the two Japanese observatories. Their importance to science is therefore obvious. Though situated on a height which seems to crown the city of Tokyo with the picturesque foliage of Hibiya Park, where the lungs and the mind expand, we are surprised to be told that for star gazers, there is not enough space. The observatory is soon to be moved; so bad are the atmospheric conditions and it is all but impossible to obtain good results in astronomical photography. In spite of this draw-back some very successful work on the Milky Way has been obtained by Prof. S. Hirayama, still as the enthusiastic young assistant says who has just returned from two years at the Yerkes observatory at Williams bay, Wisconsin, it is very unsatisfactory.
The work just now of the Observatory is the observation of variable stars, and the study of the deviation of verticals for which the observers must go out into the country to other heights. The chief work of the staff is along the line of time service, variation of latitude, solar observations, though the most important work is possibly on the Milky Way. The staff has been up to this time small, but there is now a sufficient force to ensure greater results of a more searching character. The present officers are:—Director, Prof. Terao; Professors S. and K. Hirayama; Assistant Professors, Sotome, Midzuhara, and Ichinoye.
The Astronomical Society which has just been established intends to popularize the study of astronomy, and they will have for this purpose, a series of journals published in Japanese. For scholars there will be also journals in English, German and French, giving an account of the work done at the observatory as well as matters of universal interest to astronomers. In eclipse trials many observations have been made; some of the plates are most beautiful, one taken of the corona of the sun by Prof. Hirayama was exquisite, this work was done at Padang, Sumatra. The instruments are three equatorials, two meridian circles and several smaller telescopes. Proudest of all is the institution of their Reflers clock which, I believe, is the only one in the Orient. The library is excellent, containing very many valuable works of reference. Mr. Ichinoye, while at the Yerkes observatory, took special work in spectroscopy and double stars and he speaks with enthusiasm of Profs. Frost, Burnham and Bernard, who are among the leading astronomers of the world in solar and stellar investigation.
An account of the taking of the coronax of the Sun is given graphically in the “Annal” of the Tokyo Observatory.