The Log of the Empire State | Page 9

made and were served with tea and coaxed to buy - "Justa leetle
souvenir." But the kimonos were too much for Mrs. Carrie
Schwabacher and Louis Mooser, who, in spite of the fact that Mrs.
Rockefeller was in Kyoto bidding on some of the same garments
(which of course raised the prices even higher) carried away the
prettiest garments in the shops.
Our party could not help noticing, how much the Japanese people, even
of the lowest class, appreciate their temples and statues.
One of the party asked if anyone knew a person in San Francisco, with
the possible exception of some scholarly teacher, who could describe
even imperfectly the statues in Golden Gate Park. Here the Japanese
journey miles to see a statue. The old scholars always preached the
potency of something half concealed to stimulate the imagination, but it
took a Japanese sage to conceive the idea of building a fine statue of a
favorite war hero and then to bury it. And now thousands come to
Kyoto to the very spot where the statue is buried, imagining its
proportions, and praying for strength and success in their encounters.
We were told that the belief that the Emperor is a God-like being is
strengthened by the fact that he is never seen and therefore his people's
glorified imagery of him is never shattered. We were told that the
Emperor is seen only by a carefully selected group twice a year, once at
the Cherry Blossom season and once at the Chrysanthemum Festival,
and if it rains on these days the reception is put off for another year.
Why, the mystery of the Orient was even found in our menus, and it did
not take long for the Pandoras of our party to find out that "Bubble and
Squeak" was good old ham and eggs and "Angels under Cover" were
oysters wrapped in bacon.
After official business was over for the day, the party "did" Theatre
Street, where our own movie queens reigned beside some poster
depicting a Japanese soldier fighting a dragon. Byron Mauzy told us
that our jazz music is often called for and that pianos with a specially
made case to withstand the dampness, were in demand.
Our party found out why someone said, "There is as much red-tape
necessary to go through a Japanese palace as there is to get married,"
for we faced the grim-armed soldiers at the outer gates, but were not
allowed to enter until our credentials had been carefully inspected.

Then we were permitted to go into a small outer room where we wrote
our names, addresses, etc., in a large book. After a scrutiny of this and a
long wait, giving them sufficient time to telephone and see if our passes
were authentic, we were formally escorted through beautifully carved
portals, past endless, handsomely decorated, empty rooms, over the
squeaky door sill (that is supposed to warn the inmates of someone's
approach) and finally to the canopied gold-mounted throne itself.
We began to feel a little easier, when we got out in the sun of the
garden, but even there we felt formal, for in these sacred gardens no
gay flower or dashing stream is permitted. Nature, too, must be
subdued, and even the little trickle of water circling the buildings, was
there for the sole purpose of suggesting purity, we were informed.
After the reception and investigation tour of Kobe, forty of the party
boarded a train for Peking, under the direction of Hoover's
representative, F. R. Eldridge.
We had enjoyed Fujiyama by moonlight, but did not know that we
were also to glide by the Inland Sea at sunset. Korea's roads, built of
course, by the Japanese soldiers, and the guarded stations of Manchuria,
were of much interest to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
investigators.
Every evening impromptu speeches on conditions were held in the
dining car. M. A. Gale, Henry S. Bridge, and Louis Mooser also vied
with each other telling funny stories, Carl Westerfeld contributing to
the entertainment by organizing a group of the party into "The South
Manchurian Quartet." Dave and Resse Lewellyn started to sing "Annie
Rooney" and "Mother McCree" whenever things were too quiet.
We stopped long enough at Seoul, Korea, to talk to representatives of
trade and commerce and to chat with the "Grand Old Man of Korea,"
before arriving in Peking.

Chapter VII

Our stay in three-thousand year-old Peking was too short, for besides
investigating conditions, attending our Minister Shurman's reception,
visiting the country home of the former Prime Minister Hsuing

Hsi-Ling, we would have enjoyed spending more time seeing The
Summer Palace, The Jade Fountain and the Temple of Heaven to say
nothing of studying conditions.
About one-thirty, when the gay dance had ended at Hotel de Peking,
which