tlefield. She has fought over it twice-against China in 1894 and against Russia in 1904. She is about to find there the source of life and of national peace. For of all the thousand troubles Japan has, two are serious: The lack of FOOD and the lack of vital raw materials, such as iron and oil. And Manchuria seems to be the answer,-to a large extent.
Then there is still another thing:
Last year in my wanderings up and down the Homeland of the Sun, I saw that the only path of salvation for our dearly beloved Nippon lay through the industrialization of the country. Over every section of the Island Empire I saw industrialization going on feverishly, aggressively. It was no easy job all the same: every inch of the old country is encrusted with the vested interests of centuries. In Manchuria, building over the wreck of the Russian Dream, all is different. It affords an experimental ground for the Japanese which is hard to beat. At Dairen the Japanese have built a port and a city more modern, more sanitary, with better-built houses and better-paved streets than anything they have at home. In Manchuria, not in Japan, the Japanese brought into existence the South Manchuria Railway Company, absolutely the biggest Japanese company ever organized.
It should not surprise anyone to hear that the future captains of Japanese industries are coming out of Manchuria.
In the preparation of this book, I have helped myself freely to various data given in countless books, magazines, and other publications on Manchuria,