How hard times have become in Tokyo can best be seen by the expedient resorted to by the destitute.
People have been known to commit petty thefts in the hope of get ting a prison sentence, gaol 1 suring them comfort of a sort and regular meals which they are unable to have when in freedom. Only last week, a young man was charged with pick-pocketing to which he pleaded guilty. The Judge, however, was not satisfied with the voluntary _acknowledgment of guilt and proceeded to unravel the evidence. The result was that the man was proved innocent. When acquitted, he pleaded to be sent to gaol, and, in reply to a question of the ' magistrate, said that it was so hard to get a job or a meal that, if he continued to be at freedom much longer, he would commit some desperate crime, or As matters ate to-day, the Kenseikai and the Seiyu Honto there is far '*st*0y himself. note probability of the Kenseikai!
1 the slums, the state of affairs and the Seiyu Honto lining up to- is almost intolerable.
Wives and gether than the Seiyukai and" the children are known to have been pledged for a meal or for some
was in order to o's main reasons for} MKé (rice wine)" while when prevent! money was asked the amount has solution of the Diet. The! been ridiculously small. Red light although numerically! districts report that more women superior as a single party, is below! 8¢ *eeking entrance to the brothels the strength of the combined Sei- than before, while the police have yuki and Seiyu Honto, The at- Jiscovered that secret' prostitution Yomot of the Kencelkat to come to! iS on the increase, largely because an understanding the Sekyu Of the strageie to keep body end Honto is encouraged by persons in soul together. high walks of life, largely because one cares to have a general election soon, since this would mean that Japan's _newly-enfranchise] electorate, consisting of about 12 millions, would go to the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.