A complete census of the population was taken in 1897, 800 miles of roads were made, and a tramway line laid down from Takow to Sin-tek. This was followed by construction of the main line of railway from Kelung to Takow, about one-half of which has already been opened for goods and passenger traffic. Three cables were also laid down, connecting Formosa with Japan, Foochow, and the Pescadores, and over the existing 1,500 miles of telegraph and telephone wires immediate communication has been made possible with every important inland centre. The post offices recently opened in Formosa number over a hundred, and letters can now be sent to any part of the empire for two cents each. Up till the close of 1899, 122 government educational institutions had been established, only 9 of those being for Japanese, and 113 for natives. There are at present 10 principal Government hospitals in the island, at which about 60,000 patients are treated gratuitously every year, while sanitary precautions and free vaccination have become so general that the danger from visitations like small-pox and plague has been very much reduced.[235] THE AMERICO-JAPANESE ENTENTE “1. It is the wish of the two Governments to encourage the free and peaceful development of their commerce on the Pacific Ocean; “2. The policy of both Governments, uninfluenced by any aggressive tendencies, is directed to the maintenance of the existing _status quo_ in the region above mentioned and to the defence of the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry in China; “3. They are accordingly firmly resolved reciprocally to respect the territorial possessions belonging to each other in said region; “4. They are also determined to preserve the common interests of all Powers in China, by supporting by all pacific means at their disposal, the independence and integrity of China and the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry of all nations in that Empire; “5. Should any event occur threatening the _status quo_ as above described, or the principle of equal opportunity as above defined, it remains for the two Governments to communicate with each other in order to arrive at an understanding as to what measures they may consider it useful to take.” INDEX A Abdication, practice of, 90, 97 Aborigines, 44 Academy of Music, Tōkyō, 217 Acrobats, 66 Actors’ guild, 27 Adams, Will, 91 “Advance Japan,” 15, 28, 59, 117, 132, 158, 208 Agricultural College, 216 Agricultural College in China, 297 Agricultural experiment stations, Siam, 411 Agriculture, 16-22, 216, 350 Ainu, 44, 45 “Ainu Folk-lore,” 45 “Ainu of Japan,” 45 Akashi, 8 Alaska, 15 Alcock, 117 Ale, 56 Aleutian Islands, 15 Almonds, 351 Amaterasu, _see_ Sun-Goddess America, 2, 3, 7, 14, 20, 21, 28, 34, 37, 61, 106, 112, 140, 145, 189, 213, 219, 220, 237, 268, 270, 271, 281, 285, 290, 292, 299-301