Show Ii H The Japanese Crisis I j jO WI G to the meager reports of events in n Japan resulting from t th the island financial and industrial crisis kingdoms kingdom's many people peo- peo 1 in th this s country ha have v been left to wonder what it is all alt about i Doubtless those who endeavor to 10 keep in t touch uch with world affairs Wilt will ill wonder even more when it is stated that in a great measure the people of the United States are responsible for th the pr prevailing v ili crisis in in Japan b because a se they have begun to show an i. i cl clatt att 1 to get back back- upon a safe sate sane and conservative economic economic- lias s. s 2 t St St Staling ing the the situation plainly the crisis in Japan re resulted from the de decline Unc in the demand for silk especially in the U United if States pt is st stated sted t d on on the authority authority- of leading Japanese statesmen financiers financiers finan finan- cJ ciers ciers s. s a and business men that the world war made lade more wealth r. r Japanese than resulted proportionately in in- any other cou country try With his is wealth came an era of unprecedented speculation both in stock stockS i S 1 js ues e es i and ad d in ra raw and manufactured an material material II t T The people of America contributed to the M e. e expansion pf pf- pf r pan l bubble by increasing asing their demand for silk In Inand I 13 ary and 1914 Japan Japa sold in America about 21 o oo o pounds of raw silk k each year at a little more th thin than n 3 a pound In 1918 t l' l lse se s sales tes' tes increased to pounds while the price doubled ji st r y year yr r- r the sales sates increased to 10 pound pounds while wh e Jh the advanced to approximately 10 a pound Or cir r more than j e times the normal price of pr prewar war days Th The result was va that Japanese purchased gr great grat at amounts of t i v silk silk m n China principally ly for br export to the the United St States tes evi Avi- dently confident that Americans h had d gone crazy over over silk and that there w ws wits wits' s ii no immediate prospect ct of a recovery In this is the Japanese were sadly adly mist mistaken ken With the first firstI i st I indication of f a decreased demand for silk in II the United States came camf came cam st f mp mp in t the e price o of that material in Japan by just half half Oh Other r v commodities CC c some of which had pad advanced per per cent above j J prewar ar figures also atso dropped like e a plummet and the financial and industrial crisis risis of Japan was on r. r h Possibly y the experience of of- of both Countries one in i creating an f unreasoning u rea ning demand for a luxury and the other in n oVerdo overdoing ng its r t i n of supplying such a demand will wilt be of las lasting ng benefit on q 1 sides J d es 0 of f tl the P Pacific ac f IC 0 |