Anesthetic May Wake Up

Japanese Pearl Trade

New Setup Makes Painless Operation

On Oyster and Cuts Down on Mortality

By JANE COCHBAN

2/4/1950

SAN FRANCISCO, (INS)— A whiff of anesthetic la going to put alot more gorgeous pearls around milady's neck in  just a few years und It also will go a long way towards putting Japan's economy back on Its feet and off the backs of American taxpayers.

Thin double aim j« the goal of Joseph Goldstone, who sailed from San Francisco recently aboard the SS President Wilson en route to administer the anesthetic to Japan's oysters. .

Rebuilt

Goldstone, president of the Imperial Pearl Syndicate, has been dealing in cultured pearls for years, especially since Japan's surrender. In 1947 he went to Japan at the invitation of the U. S, Army to aid in the reorganization of the wrecked cultured pearl industry.

With the co-operation of Gen. Douglas Macarthur's headquarters,  he helped set up quality standards and got a yen-dollar equivalent so that Jap pearl growers could export profitably to the American market.

National Imperial Guild, representing about 60 per cent of the Japanese pearl growers.

U. S. to share 

The Japanese pearl Industry did about a million and a half dollars business last year. Goldstone estimates that with the new process the business will be a ten million dollar industry annually within five years.

Considering that Japan now only two natural commodities to export, pearls and raw silk, and the cost to America of the occupation is some 300 million a year now, the ten million 1* not « small contribution to rejuvenating the economy. The U. S. will even have a share in this rejuvenation. For some strange reason, the good mother of pearl pellets that are

Introduced into the oyster to produce pearls, all come from fresh water mussel shells found In the Tennessee river. And only oriental oysters, an inedible variety, produce good

pearls. These pearls are almost impossible to tell from those the oyster produces of its own accord.

At this time, the rehabilitation One hundred ions of these was nothing more than getting

the industry back in working operation. No new development had come along in the Industry in 25 years.

To make a cultured pearl, a pellet of mother of pearl is laboriously inserted in the pearl sac of  the oyster 'and It Is then placed back in its watery home to produce In .some five years, a fine  pearl. About 60 per cent of the oysters died in the process.

Experiment's on the part of Goldstone’s syndicate, however, developed a patented anesthetic which makes the opening of an oyster practically painless to the

oyster and has reduced the mortality rate to 10 per cent.

Mother of pearl pellets were shipped to the Japanese pearl Industry in 1948 and 500 tons will be sent this year.

Imperial Pearl Syndicate is also establishing a secondary Jewel Industry In Japan, Importing into Japan raw Jade so that Japan can take over the place In the Jade

business vacated by China through its civil war.