On the occasion of the national conference of the principals of Government High Schools recently, the Minister of Education, who is very, sensitive of the spread Nfatieal thoughts" in. student. cles, especially since the discovery fu dune last year_af the existence of a socialistic society and later of Geney among. the sta ents in. Gov-secret league of communist ter
ernment and private universities teened series of instructions to be observed by the principals. The structions were as fellows:—
1, Students not to be_permittel form under whatever name or for Whatever purpose, m.reading 2 All students. are forbidden ty read or stady anything dealing with Social and socialistic thoughts, even for personal information.
5.'No student to be permitted to read the "prescribed "books and Stodents to. be forbidden to make speeches outside their school fo subjects given by the professors 5 All riter-rchoo!speeeh-making forbidden.
The principals were astonished at the nature of the Instructions, still fore at the boldness of the Minister fio issued. them and at the insist nce on their being observed. The egwlations met of course with deter ined opposition on the part of the principals and it wan thought The time that the Minister would be obliged to relax his instructions to JsSome extent. This much has leaked ut, that the Minister has been per-Sosded so far aa to concede that the Prohibitions are to be enforced only Shen "of er seellistie thought Nevertheless the instructions ave rouved a great deal of resentment in the student. world in general, Led the oratorical societies of Tokyo Imperial, Keio and. Waseda Univer-and by similar bodies, college universities, students. are now Thing. in protest and have organized 2 Students" Freedom Protection Lengte, which ie now being Joined toy student. bodies throughout. the Inching the gis A Difficult Situation Okada's Policy The situation is indeed difficult! to understand, because while there has been for some six or eight, months a very decided effort to improve the city streets and give evidence of activity, the newspapers have torn the hide off the aldermen.
The public, at large, pays little! attention to the policy of Minister] Okada, It is not yet advanced enough to tackle questions of this kind and it is only the thinking section of aocicty that show any The scarrifying process adopted bs Japanese newspapers is not like the Jornate and kid gloved vocabulary used by the modern occidental news paper editorial -writer for fear of the law of libel. No, the Japanese: rides rough and his pen is - more! pungent, his readers think, when he calls a Barabbas a low down thief, a whelp and a dirty dog. Libel has no terror for him, and he is not mentary to the newly elect. that one of these was boun ced from the assembly a short time ago because he misappropriated the earthquake relief intended for the widow and orphan, while another, who stood for "probity against corruption and graft" ard sent the arch betrayers of the citizens' confidence to repent at leisure in various gaells, has been badly beaten by the "re:
That section includes educationists, especially college and university professors, who show little sympathy for the interdictions of the Minister lof Fiducation. The newspapers. are all laughing at him though, perhaps it were better that they take him
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.