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Show SOCIAL CRISIS FACES JAPAN Km Anti-Capitalistic Mobs Destroy III Property and Voice Anger HI Signs of Luxury. HI TOKIO, Wednesday, Aug. 11 (By jfljl the Associated Press) The newspa- JHJijj per comment here seems to indicato lNl that the food riots throughout the mill country are an expression of growing Wl social unrest among the people and mm to reflect the belief thnt the empire HH is advancing toward a social crisis. j if! The riots are spreading involving the Hug poor and the middle classes. Ml Q It is remarked that the uprisings are lag H often anti-capitalistic, mobs destroy- H If 1 ing tne PrJ)erly ancl voicing aiiger at U H evidences of luxury. Geisha girls have am I been stoned in the streets and the Jpj 1 houses of the rich have been assailed. HR Ru The war has increased the luxuries ifiBn as insufficient wageB are paid. The H! riots arc the first of the kind to occur n since Japan was opened to western ffljgj civilization. Hjjfj ' Disorders broke out in Tokio on Hjjti Tuesday night. A crowd of 5000 mm which was prevented from congregat- Bjj nS m Park marched to the Ginza mm tne great retail thoroughfare of the mm city, where they stoned and damaged Ih 2u stores and restaurants, raided rice Mm depots, and unsuccessfully attacked MM ' the ministry of the interior. Ninety BjlJ I arrests were made and twenty pollce- wM men were injured. Tokio tonight is Mm occupied by heavy detachment of po- mm lice and infantry. The newspapers Mm are forbidden to publish news of any 89 kind relative to the rice riots. g Troops Called Out M Troops have been called out in II nearly every important city In Japan. III Even the naval station at Maizuru is jjJJ affected by the unrest. ljU At Nagoya, noted for its manufac- iln tures of porcelains, a mob estimated HI at 30,000 persons rioted. At several 'II places the soldiers fired on the dis- i turbors. II At Kobe the soldiers and police also H were obliged to use sabres and bayo- I K Mobs Pillage Stores I B OSAKA, Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 15 j & (By the Associated Press) Mobs II today pillaged grocery, dry goods I stores and food depots, and set fire I M t0 tncatTes an( other buildings. The HI military forces called out were at- mm Street railways have suspended op- Rfl ' orations at night and the governor fljB lias forbidden the people to be on the M streets after dark. At Maizura where HI 2,000 workmen from , the naval per- Bfl sonel joined the populace in sacking IV the rice stores, many persons were in-D in-D I jurcd in a fight with the police. II HI Violent Food Riots I I TOKIO, Tuesday, Aug. 13. (By the I OU Associated Press) The food distiirb-H distiirb-H ances are increasing in violence. At R l Osaka during a demonstration tele- ujl phone wires were cut and several mm tramways were forced to suspend ser-Pjfl ser-Pjfl Ice after passengers had been wound -JIH ed. Troops were called out and twen-jgflj twen-jgflj ty-five policemen and many rioters am were hurt. Five hundred persons M were arrested. In outlying towns the wl people attacked the police with bam-Hlffl bam-Hlffl boo spears. WM The disturbances at Kobe resulted mm in the burning of a great rice ware- WM house and several factories and hous- 1 es and a largo number of rice stores. mm The seriousness of the situation led III to a special meeting of the cabinet, IH which decided to appropriate five mll-II mll-II lion dollars Tor purchasing stores of mm rice for distribution among the people mm at a moderate price. The emperor, III moved by the distress, has contribut-jjgj contribut-jjgj ed 3,000.000 yen to the national rice mm fund. Street cars are being utilized m in Tokio by soldiers who distribute mm I rice where the suffering is reported. HjM The press joins in a tribute to the EM emperor for his generous contribution M indicating the spirit of the ruler and H ibe wealthier classes, but the news-mm news-mm papers generally blame the govern -Ml ment for Its tardy remedies. The Kfff Conservative newspaper Jiji Shimpo IV especially criticises the government fl saying that as a result of its policy MM the nation finds itself in the throes mgm of insurrection. mm Several millionaires have contrib- H uted $100,000 each to purchase rice mm for the poor. The Mltzui and the mM Iwaski families have each contributed 5500,000 to this fund. There is an mM abundance of rice in the empire, but it is held in storage by farmers and B brokers. The government aim is to HB force the rice market, but it lias avoid- mm ed regulating the price. |