That was the reason the dig] bankers of London and New York began to look into their accounts with the big banks of Japan, They found it to be a fact that most of the big banks of Japan had been victimized easily by this little "tin horn sport" who had "Kite" and] had only been caught after he had speculated with and lost the money of depositors who had entrusted it] to the keeping of the big financial] inter This was some four or five years ago. Ishii, for some xeason unknown, was not arrested for a Jong time after the disclosure. Indeed every effort was made the "hush man" to minimize Ishii frauds and the accommodating weakness of the banks, But it was too big a mess to ignore and when the hints were made that junior officials and directors of the banks were given a share of the loot by Ishii he was indicted, tried after delay and now at last has sentenced to two years with allowance of 150 days of interim between conviction and sentence, Anyhow Ishii is entitled to his ile, It is intimated that many people inside the banks interested in see it time passes pici would also seem tion was halted at the leers of the directors' rooms!
many banks and that the depositors' funds were replaced in order to prevent too much 1 which mi, have caused a rush of depositors before another Ishii should be encouraged by the hospitality extended by directors of their banks to plausible and generous borrowers without security. far in the list of swindles and of graft written into the history _of the modernization of Japan, the "get away" of gsi with 70 millions of yen head§ the list.
Many of us have thrilled to Pucemi's opera "Madame, Butterfly," which has become synonymous with Japan. Madame Butterfly was character from real life and so was Lieutenant Pinkerton. The pathetic story was founded on the romance: of Nassano Takada and a naval Lieutenant, the latter a dashing, blue-eyed giant from the United States, who met the Japanese girl jat Nagasaki, He shad com Japan on a vacation from where he was stationed. Love the two were married, plight-their troth in a Christian church' nestled on one of the pine-clad hills of quaint old Nagasaki. The man, Inter, pined for the company help-mate. fof his own women folks, returned to his home across the impressive Pacific and there married an Amen can lady. Nassano-san persisted ig that her husband was faith. ful, but' when she was confronted Jwith irrefutable evidence that he was married again, committed cide.
The Practical Side The romantic touch in the pathe-tale naturally suggests the in-levirable broken heart preceding premeditated self-destruction; but there may have very possibly been another motive that led the girl to take her life, this being that, according to Japanese law, she was not legally' married.
Recent decisions by the Tokyo and Osake courts brings this poignant tale, import Puccini, back to mind; decisions that, although belated, now "x-tend a certain amount of legal protection to such girls. Such recognition also throws a side-light on, the gradual emancipation of Japa one women and that Japanese legislaters are awakening to the fact that their women should be more adequately protected.
'The Japanese civil cole of 1898, which is still in force, required that, formal requisite of marriage, it must be registered in the Family Register kept by the registrar of the, locality in which the couple are to' reside. If the two names are regis tered in the Family Register, they ave legally man and wife. If not, they are not. That they may have been married at a Christian church does not make the marriage valid. Even if they have never lived together," but have merely registered themselves in more japonica, they are legally man and wife. many can make them man and wife they do not register.
The Picture-Bride This gave rise to the famous pic-ay in America, discovers that it is not }good for man to be alone and desires to get married. He writes to his home people, enclosing his photograph. They ask such young ladi Jas they know if the man would be acceptable.
'One answers in the af-Her picture is sent to the yang man. He is satisfied. Then' follows the real wedding, accord ts Japanese law. Her name is entered in her future husband's family.
ter, and the two are legally, to all intents and purposes, man and ife, even though they may never Ihave seen each other before. On the contrary, if " Japanese girl fares forth across the seas and, in some
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.