Japanese Immigration AN EXPOSITION OF ITS REAL STATUS PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY TKe Japanese Association oi tke Pacific NortWest Seaiile, Waskington, 1907 Japanese Iminigration AN EXPOSITION OF ITS REAL STATUS 9ft? 9J9 9ij9 PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY Tne Japanese Association or the Pacific Nortnwest Seaftle, Waskington, 1907 GENERAL LITHOGRAPHING AND PRINTING CO. SEATTLE. u. SiA. LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT In presenting this pamphlet to the public, the Japan- ese Association of the Pacific Northwest, which is re- sponsible for its publication, has the honor to call par- ticular attention to the following two letters addressed to this Association by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, respectively, endorsing the statements contained in this publication: LETTER FROM THE SEATTLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Seattle, Washington, Nov. 20th, 1907. Hon. C. T. Takahashi, President Japanese Association, Seattle, Wash. Dear Sir: I have to advise you that the offi- cers of this Chamber have examined the contents of the paper entitled ''Japanese Immigration: An Exposition of Its Real Status,** and take pleasure in informing you that, in our judgment, its contents are a fair and accurate exposition of conditions as they exist on the Pacific Coast. It is noted that the figures, which were used throughout, were taken from the statistics compiled by the Bureau of Com- merce and Labour, which, in itself, is the best evidence of the desire of the author to present the facts in the case, which, when analyzed, speak for them- selves. Yours very truly, (Signed) LETTER FROM THE TACOMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND BOARD OF TRADE. Tacoma, Wash., Nov. 15th, 1907. Hon. C. T. Takahasdi, Chairman Japanese Association, Seattle, Washington. Dear Sir: The copy of the memorial pre- pared by you, which we understand is to be presented to Congress, was consid- ered by a special committee of our board, and they have reported that they have gone carefully over the matter and believe the statements made therein are correct, and assure our board that in view of these statements we were warranted in passing II. the resolutions that were adopted by our board on April 29th, 1907. We would be pleased, when you have this matter in book form, to have a few of them for our organization so we may give our members as a whole the benefit of your findings. Very truly yours, (Signed *See Appendix II, pp. 38-40. ni. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/japaneseimmigratOOjapa CONTENTS Page. Letters of Endorsement I.-III. Introduction 1-3 1. Object of this pamphlet 1 2. Scope of this i)amphlet 1 3. Source of information 2 PART I.^ — Extent of Japanese Immigration 5-8 1. Yearly totals of Japanese immigrants 5 2. Volume of Japanese immigration as com- pared with that of European peoples 7 PAE-T II. — Destinations of Japanese Immigrants.... 9-12 PART III. — Nature of Japanese Immigration 13-20 1. What classes Japanese immigrants come from 13 2. Financial condition of Japanese immi- grants 15 3. Japanese immigrants classified by age 17 4. Educational condition of Japanese immi- grants 19 PART IV. — Economic Questions Attendant Upon Japanese Immigration 21-29 1. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the wages of American workingmen 21 2. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the mercantile business on the Pacific Coast.... 25 3. Shortage of labor on the Pacific Coast 26 PART V. — Are Japanese Immigrants Unassimil- ABLE ? 31-34 Appendix : 1. Resolution of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce relative to Japanese immigra- tion 37 2. Resolution of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade Relative to Japanese immigration 38 3. Resolution of the Portland Chamber of Commerce relative to Japanese immigra- tion 40 4. A letter addressed by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to the Japanese Association of America 41 5.. Resolution of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce relative to the treatment of the Japanese school children in California.— 42 6. A joint appeal addressed by the Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yoko- hama, Osaka and Kobe to the principal Chambers of Commerce of the United States 44 7. Reply of the Seattle Chamber of Com- merce to the same.... 45 8. Reply of the Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe to the above 47 9. A joint appeal addressed by the Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe to the President of the United States 48 Japanese Immigration AN EXPOSITION OF ITS REAL STATUS INTRODUCTION. 1.. Object of This Pamphlet. In view of the fact that the exclusion of Japanese im- migrants seems to be seriously considered in certain quar- ters in this country, the Japanese Association of the Pacific Northwest has deemed it proper to make a special investigation into the real status of Japanese immigra- tion, with a view to submitting its result to those directly concerned with the solution of this question. This course has seemed the more advisable because the question of Japanese immigration has been talked about but indis- criminately. The purpose of this pamphlet, therefore, is to set forth as plainly as possible facts and statistics rela- tive to Japanese immigration. 2. Scope of This Pamphlet. In order to make our statement as clear as possible, this pamphlet is divided into five parts, each part being subdivided into several items. They are as follows : 1 Part I. Extent of Japanese Immigration. 1. Yearly totals of Japanese immigrants. 2. Volume of Japanese immigration compared with that of European peoples. Part II. Destinations of Japanese Immigrants. Part III. Nature of Japanese Immigration. 1. What classes Japanese immigrants come from. 2. Financial condition of Japanese immigrants. 3. Japanese immigrants classified by age. 4. Educational condition of Japanese immigrants. Part IV. Economic Questions Attendant Upon Japanese Immigration. 1. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the wages of American laborers. 2. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the mer- cantile business of the Pacific Coast. 3. Shortage of labor on the Pacific Coast. Part V. Are Japanese Immigrants Unassimilable? 3. Source of Information. In preparing this pamphlet, the following documents formed the principal source of information. 1. Annual report of the Commissioner General of Immigration. 2. Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department. 2 3. Annual Report of the Department of Commerce and Labor. 4. Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of California. 5. Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statis- tics of Oregon. 6. Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor, of Washington. 7. Consular Report of the Foreign Department of Japan. Part L EXTENT OF JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 1. Yearly Totals of Japanese Immigrants. Japanese immigration into America may be said to have begun in 1866, when there were six immigrants from Japan. In the following table the yearly totals of Jap- anese immigrants since 1866 are compared with those of European immigrants: No. Japanese Immi- grants. 7 67 63 48 78 17 9 21 3 4 7 2 4 4 11 5 27 20 49 194 No. European Immi- grants. 1866 278,916 1867 283,751 1868 130,090 1869 315,963 1870 328,626 1871 265,145 1872 352,155 1873 397,541 1874 262,783 1875 182,961 1876 120,920 1877 106,195 1878 101,612 1879 134,259 1880 348,691 1881 528,545 1882 648,186 1883 522,587 1884 453,686 1885 353,083 1886 329,529 The sudden increase of Japanese immigrants in 1900 is due to the fact that in that year Japanese immigrants to Hawaii was for the first time included in the immigra- tion statistics of the United States, the annexation of the 5 No. European Immi- grants. 1887 482,829 1888 538,131 1889 434,790 1890 445,680 1891 546,085 1892 608,472 1893 488,882 1894 303,150 1895 271,223 1896 329,067 1897 216,397 1898 217,786 1899 297,349 1900 424,700 1901 469,237 1902 619,068 1903 814,507 1904 767,933 1905 974,273 1906 1,018,365 No. Japanese Immi- grants. 229 404 640 691 1,136 1,498 1,648 1,739 489 1,110 1,526 2,230 2,844 12,635 5,269 14,270 19,968 14,264 10,331 13,835 Sandwich Islands having taken place in 1898. Since 1900 by far the largest portion of Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii. The following table will show the apportionment of Japanese immigrants between Hawaii and the main- land of the United States for the past five years : Year. Hawaii. Mainland. Total. 1902 9,125 5,330 14,455 1903 13,045 6,996 20,041 1904 6,590 7,792 14,382 1905 6,692 4,329 11,021 1906 9,051 4,192 14,243 It must be considered that a considerable number of Japanese immigrants yearly return to their native coun- try. This number should be deducted from the totals of Japanese immigrants shown in the above table. Unfor- tunately, no accurate figures for these departing Japanese are yet obtainable. The Bureau of Immigration however, classifies immigrants into newcomers and those who have been in this country before, the latter class of which might well be regarded as those going back home. According to this source of information, the yearly departures among Japanese immigrants during the past four years are as follows : Year. Departure. 1903 1,365 1904 1,890 1905 1,515 1906 1,531 It must be conceded that these figures are considerably smaller than the actual number of yearly departures among the Japanese. This is evident from the reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of California. Accord- ing to these reports, the single port of San Francisco reg- istered, in the year ended September 30, 1904, the depar- 6 ture of 2,447 Japanese as against 1,426 arrivals from Ja- pan, making a decrease of 1,021 in the Japanese population of California. In the succeeding year the same port re- corded 2,022 departing Japanese as against 1,224 arriving Japanese, resulting in a decrease of 798 in the number of Japanese in California. It is to be regretted that we are unable to pursue our investigation along this line in re- gard to other states, owing to the fact that California is the only state which takes record of departures of alien immigrants. 2. Volume of Japanese Immigration, Compared with that of European Peoples. We can comprehend the extent of Japanese immigra- tion more clearly by comparing it with that from those European countries which furnish this country with most immigrants. This comparison will be best shown in the following table: 1891—1900. 1901—1905 1906. No. Immi- grants. Per Cent. No. Immi- grants. Per Cent. No. Immi- grants. Per Cent Japan Austria-Hungary Germany Italy Russia Ireland Sweden Norway Greece 24,806 592,707 505,152 651,893 505,290 388,416 226,266 95,014 15,979 .67 16. 14. 18. 14. 10. 6. 2.6 .43 64,102 944,239 176,995 959,768 658,735 184,095 154,607 103,065 49,962 1.7 25. 4.6 25. 17. 4.8 4. 2.7 1.3 13,835 265,138 37,564 273,120 215,665 34,995 23,310 21,730 19,489 1.3 24. 3.4 25. 20. 3.2 2. 2. 1.8 From this table we learn that in the decade from 1891 to 1900 Japanese immigration was so insignificant that it admits of no comparison with that from European countries. In the five years following, Japanese immi- 7 grants numbered, roughly speaking, only one to twenty- five compared with Austria-Hungarian immigrants; one to twenty-five compared with Italians; one to seventeen compared with Eussians. Again, in the year 1906 Japan- ese immigration amounted to one twenty-fourth of Aus- tria-Hungarian immigrants, one twenty-fifth of Italian immigrants, one eighteenth of Russian immigrants, and one third of Irish and German immigrants. The number of Japanese immigrants is not increas- ing, as has been reported in the newspai)ers. Their figures for 1901 were smaller than half their total for the preced- ing year; then there was an increase for two years, then a falling off for two years, then a slight increase last year. The increase of Japanese immigrants for 1906 over those for 1905 was 3,504, but this increase sinks into insig- nificance when compared with other principal increases. This comparison is shown in the following table : Country. Increase, 1905-1906. Japan 3,504 Italy 51,641 Russia 30,768 Greece 8,974 Turkey 4,068 Part IL DESTINATIONS OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS. It is a recognized fact that the Japanese government is, as it always has been, endeavoring to restrict as much as possible the number of passports for those laborers intending to come to the mainland of the United States. Hence, more than one-half of Japanese immigrants have been destined to Hawaii, the United States proper having received a comparatively small number of immigrants from Japan. In order to show their distribution among Hawaii and the different states in the mainland, the fol- lowing table is prepared : YEAR. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 d o '7^ bC :« F a S m 03 o o ^ ^ ^ M 03 cu 03 03 o u O o 9,125 2,518 130 2,419 263 13,045 4,511 329 1,820 336 6,590 4,003 318 2,446 1,025 6,692 2,022 279 1,200 828 9,051 2,068 398 1,619 1,107 14,455 20,041 14,382 11,021 14,243 The significance of Japanese immigration to the Pacific Coast will be understood more clearly, when the proportion of the Japanese to the European immigrants 9 coming to that section is ascertained. We observe that the tendency on the Pacific Coast is, comparatively speak- ing, toward increasing the European population and de- creasing the Japanese. In 1903 the proportion of the Japanese to the European immigrants for the three states on the Pacific. Coast was 3 to 11.3; in 1904, 3 to 12.5; in 1905, 3 to 20.3, and in 1906 3 to 19.1. The following table gives the exact figures showing this proportion : Washington. Oregon. California. u (V to a § W) a> g H CO -l-i ill a a g q;) Co O CO Is CO ^a CO a cS §a ?? a &^ 1-5 o -^ q3 1^ s 0) cS p, » O Cd 1 g CO cS fl ^ § W) aa sa w co' ■l-> a C53 ct o . -^ 6 0) CO p. ft o « t< 1-5 l§ dO 1903 .... 1904 .... 1905 1906 .... 5,035 5,780 7,317 8,849 1,820 2,446 1,200 1,619 2.7 2.3 6. 5.4 1,595 1,754 1,620 2,151 329 318 279 398 4.8 5.5 5.8 5.4 17,348 19,163 17,293 |17,286 4,511 4,003 2,022 2,068 3.8 4.7 8.5 8.3 The destinations of Japanese immigrants given in the immigration statistics of the United States are merely those professed by individual immigrants upon their arri- val to these shores. Hence their actual destinations are frequently different from those recorded by the immigra- tion officials. As a matter of fact, the Japanese immi- grants are more widely scattered over different parts of this country than the report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration shows them to be. Unfortunately, statistical data in respect to the actual destinations of Japanese immigrants are not adequate. 10 Of the official documents of the United States, the census of 1900 is the only source of information on this point, but it is at this moment entirely out of date., Perhaps the latest and best available statistics in this respect are found in the annual census of the Japanese consuls in America for the year 1906. The Foreign Department of Japan divides the United States into four consular districts : 1. The Seattle district, comprising Alaska, Washing- ton, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. 2. The San Francisco district, comprising California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. 3. The Chicago district, comprising Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, the Da- kotas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. 4. The New York district, comprising the rest of the United States. Now, according to the said consular census, there were, at the end of 1905, 49,598 Japanese in the United States proper. Distributing this among the four consular districts, we obtain the figures in the following table : Consular District. No. of Japanese. New York District 2,456 Chicago District 1,860 San Francisco District 31,092 Seattle District 14,190 This shows that the Japanese population in this coun- try is widely scattered, not only along the entire Pacific Coast, but in other parts of the States. The most power- ful argument against Chinese immigration previous to the enactment of the Chinese exclusion law in 1882 was that 11 they, flocking to the single state of California, were likely to jeopardize the growth and occupancy of that state by Americans. The Chinese immigrants from 1854 to 1882, inclusive, totaled 139,455, the overwhelming majority of which came to and remained in California. In view of the fact that in the seventies of the past century, when agitation for Chinese exclusion was begun, the state of California had a population of only 560,000, including Negroes, Indians and Chinese, the apprehension that the Chinese might hinder the wholesome development of the white community in that state was not without ground. But the conditions on the Pacific Coast have since radi- cally changed, while other circumstances attendant upon Japanese immigration are widely different from those ac- companying Chinese immigration. In 1900 the white population of California {excluding Negroes, Indians, Chi- nese and Japenese) increased to 1,402,727. In 1870 the population of Oregon was only 90,923, and that of Wash- ington only 23,955, both including Negroes, Indians and Chinese; but the census of 1900 estimates the population of Oregon at 394,582, and that of Washington at 496,304, both excluding Negroes, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. It is needless to say that during the seven years following the taking of the last census the white population on the Pacific Coast has increased even more rapidly than in the years preceding., And the increase in the white popula- tion is merely one of many factors which solidify the American community on the Pacific Coast. It may, there- fore, well be asked whether the argument advanced against Chinese immigration can reasonably be applied to the Japanese immigration of today. 12 Part IIL NATURE OF JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 1. What Classes Japanese Immigrants Come From. A study of the reports of the Conunissioner-General of Immigration will reveal the fact that the Japanese im- migrants are not necessarily recruited from among the lowest classes of laborers. To call them ' '■ coolies ' ' with- out discrimination is not to render them justice. During the eight years from 1899 to 1906, inclusive, the classifi- cation of Japanese immigrants by occupation is as shown in the following table : YEAR. cS a .2 02 01 O u CU 03 CD a u fa 03 ;-. 0) u o fa o 03 a c3 o a > u 03* * O d am 1899 92 563 167 222 274 373 280 256 121 1,793 603 1,047 922 641 358 329 828 2,521 897 854 3,855 1 153 203 1,977 830 1,558 572 1,474 743 835 601 797 652 1,205 1,442 1.184 777 632 53 223 181 173 132 317 207 195 84 192 181 199 591 253 181 593 559 1900 707 1901 585 1902 5,212| 451 5,010|5,816 12116,775 380 5,883 522 8.435 4 388 1903 5 5^8?^ 1904 3 344 1905 3 319 1906 3,446 *This consists of agents, bankers, hotel keepers, manufacturers and fishermen. §This includes women and children under 14 years. 13 The meaning of the above table will be understood more fully when the figures for each occupation are re- duced to percentage of total Japanese immigrants and compared with the figures representing each occupation of European iimnigrants, likewise rendered into percentage. For this purpose the following table is prepared compar- ing the Japanese immigrants for 1906 with those from several European countries: People or Race. 03 TJ 01 s iii c3 m fo 2.16 3.66 12.63 .37 11.15 3.25 11.56 2.44 33.26 .1 18.86 2.17 6.19 .79 3.79 1.41 19.11 2.42 CQ Japanese Italian (South . Italian (North) Irish Hebrew German Polish Slovak Scandinavian . . 1 79 32 1 13 1 47 71 2 7 19 .07 1 .45 59.22| 5.86 30.58|29.41 11.08|37.94 5.36|24.8 1.11 5.44 14.171 7.58 33.64|23.35 46.17|12.31 6.45125.82 4.43 .89 1.24 .79 2.27 3.34 .09 .04 .52 1.36 4.50 6.82 36.6 6.39 13.58 16.3 14.4 24.02 From the foregoing two tables it will be seen that the majority of Japanese immigrants are farmers and farm laborers who, in this countiy, are generally regarded as more desirable than common laborers. Common labor- ers, who are apt to crowd in the city, form a very small portion of Japanese immigrants, viz., only 5.86 per cent, as against 29 per cent from South Italy, 37 per cent from North Italy, 24 per cent from Ireland, 23 per cent from Poland and 25 per cent from Scandinavia. With the ex- ception of Germany, Japan furnished the largest percent- age of professional men. In examining these statistics it is necessary to remember that the figures given in them include those from Hawaii, which form by far the great- 14 est portion of Japanese immigration. The overwhelming majority of Japanese laborers given in the above table came to the Hawaiian group, and not to the mainland of this country. 2. Financial Condition of Japanese Immigrants. It is worthy of note that the per capita of money shown by Japanese immigrants is smaller only than that produced by English and German immigrants. In the fiscal year 1905, the average amount of money brought by English and German immigrants was $57.65 and $43.72 per capita, respectively, while Japanese immigrants brought $37.78 each. In 1906 English immigrants brought $57.90 per capita, Germans $40.87, and Japanese $31.09. In the following table we present a comparison of the per capita of money shown by Japanese immigrants with that produced by immigrants from various European countries in the two fiscal years 1905 and 1906 : Race or People. 1905. a o O CC m 0) O 01 ^ Pi CL, 11,021 2 .01 186,915 1,290 .69 3,569 158 4.42 54,266 243 .44 129,910 1,534 1.18 12,144 70 .57 82,360 747 .9 102,437 991 .96 62,284 253 .4 a a d s^ 2 1906. > VI a; o o Japanese Italian (South) Italian (North) Irish Hebrew Greek German Polish Scandinavian . 14,243 240,528 46,286 40,959 153,748 23,127 86,813 96,835 58,141 1 1,776 346 214 2,495 189 867 1,000 179 .007 .73 .74 .52 1.62 .81 .99 1.04 .3 We see that out of the entire Japanese immigrants for 1905 and 1906, only 3 became public charges. This rate is almost naught by the side of the enormous number of European immigrants who became public charges in the same two years. ******** 3. Japanese Immigrants Classified hy Age. The fact that so few Japanese have become public charges in this country is due perhaps to the presence among them of a very small number of the aged and in- fant, as well as to their happy financial condition. Al- most 98 per cent of Japanese immigrants are in the prime age of 14 to 44, leaving only 2 per cent for the aged and infant. In the following table we classify the Japanese im- migrants for the past five years, giving percentage for each class: 17 Year. 0:2 o Dh 01 > r Cent Total. a Ph •^ 94.67| 140 96.53] 182 96.17 360 96.07 309 97.03 276 1902 14,455 630 1903 20,041 I 515 1904 14,382j] 190 1905 ]11,021]] 124 1906 14,24311 146 4.36 113,685 2.56||19,344 1.32][13,832 1.12 ]10,588 1.02 13,821 .97 .9 2.5 2.8 1.23 In the five years under consideration Japanese immi- gTants under 14 years amounted to 2.07 per cent on the average, and those of 40 years and over 1.68 per cent. As against such a small number of aged and infant im- migrants from Japan, European countries have furnished a considerable number of this class of immigrants, rang- ing from 33 to 10 per cent. A comparison of Japanese and European immigrants in this respect is shown in the following statement compiled from the Annual Re- port of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1906: Race or People. a i2 as 6 W) Ph t(-( CD s Total. 45 and Over. ■t-j 0> (rf ^^ Ph Japanese 14,243| 240,528] 46,286 40,959| 153,7481 86,813i 95,835] 58,141 38,2211 44,2611 44,272 146 26,546 3,993 1,868 43,620 13,076 8,941 1- 11. 8. 4. 28. 15. 9. 13,821 202,888 40,684 37,232 101,875 68,282 ] 84,860 97 84 87 90 66 78 88 276 11,094 1.609 1,859 8,253 5,455 2,034 2,637 1.010 1 1,541 945 1. Italian (South) Italian (North) Irish 4. 3. 4. Hebrew 5. German Polish 6. 2. Scandinavian Slovak Magyar Croatian and Slovenian ] 5,290 3,415 ] 3,974 1,674 9. 8. 8. 3. ] 50,214 33,796 38,746 41,653 86 88 87 94 4. 2. 3. 2. 18 The foregoing statements are inducive to the con- clusion that the Japanese immigrants are generally of sound physique, capable of engaging themselves in hard work necessary to earn their bread. ******** 4. Educational Condition of Japanese Imfmig rants. Owing to the fact that the Japanese language is radi- cally different from the English and its kindred lan- guages, it requires a considerable time, and labor, for a Japanese to acquire even an elementary knowledge of English. A compulsory educational system is practiced in Japan as far as primary education is concerned, but in the primary school no foreign language is taught. It is only in the high school that the English language finds its place in the studies, while French and German as well as English are taught in the "higher high school." It is, therefore, natural that many Japanese have no knowl- edge of English when they first arrive in this country. And yet the rate of illiteracy among Japanese immi- grants, while much larger than that among English, Irish, German and Scandinavian immigrants, is consid- erably smaller than the rate of illiteracy among the South Italians, Ruthenians, Lithuanians, Polish, Croatians and Slovenians, etc. The Commissioner-General of Immigra- tion's report for 1904 contains a very instructive chart, showing the rate of illiteracy among immigrants from the different countries. From this chart the following table is prepared, comparing the percentage of illiteracy among the Japanese with those among immigrants from European cuntries, which furnish this country with more than 20 per cent of illiterates: 19 Per Cent. Race or People. of Illiterates. Japanese 22 Italian (South) 54 Greek 24 Portuguese 68 ^ _, . ( Polish 36 German Empire., j Hebrew 23 /^Hebrew 23 \ Polish 36 Isiovak 28 Austria-Hungary. . /guthenian 59 \ Roumanian 32 i Bulgarian, Servian, Montenegrian 45 /Dalmatian, Bosnian, He rzegovinian 36 1 Croatian and Slovenian 36 I'Hebrew 23 «-'-E»p'---SL"an ::■::::;;:;::::::::::::;::;;;: 54 (Polish 36 According to this table 22 out of every hundred Japanese were illiterate, which formed the smallest rate of illiteracy in the list. The largest rate of illiteracy was among the Portugnese, viz., 69 per cent; the Ruthenians came next, the South Italians and Lithuanians third, the Bulgarians, Servians and Montenegians fourth, the Polish fifth, and so on. 20 Part IV. ECONOMIC QUESTIONS ATTENDANT UPON JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 1. Effect of Japanese Immigration Upon the Wages of American Laborers. In view of the fact that the Japanese immigrant is charged with lowering the wages of American laborers, we have made a special inquiry into this phase of the question. As the result of the investigation we are able to state that there is no fact that substantiates such a charge. The Japanese immigrants are usually engaged in the kinds of work which the American laborers do not care to take. They do not, as a rule, underbid American labor. The reports of the Bureaus of Labor of the United States and of the Pacific Coast states conclusively show that the wages of labor on the Pacific Coast have been increasing steadily. Within the past ten years the wages of certain classes of laborers have nearly doubled, while the wages of many laborers have increased 50 per cent in the same period. The following table shows how the wages of Ameri- can laborers in the state of Washington have increased 21 in four different occnpations in which most Japanese laborers are engaged: Occupation. Year 1897.* Year 1907.§ Saw mill laborer (per day) $1.25 — $2.00 $2.60— $3.50 Shingle mill laborer (per day) 1.50 — 2.00 2.00 — 3.25 Farm laborer (per day) 1.50 — 2.00 2.00 — 3.00 Farm laborer (per month) 45.00 — 55.00 60.00—75.00 Railroad laborers (per day) 1.33 1.60 — 3.00 *Report of the Bureau of Labor, State of Washington. §Based upon the wages paid at present. In certain kinds of work the Japanese get less wages than are paid American laborers, but this does not mean that they sell their labor at a cheap price. On the con- trary, they are getting the highest wages they can rea- sonably ask. In some work they cannot reasonably ask the same wages as are paid white workmen, beacuse in physical strength they are not equal to their white fellow- workingmen. Besides, they are handicapped in many other ways, being unable to speak English or being un- familiar with the tools they have to handle. And yet, in any kind of work, the Japanese are not getting much smaller wages than are the American laborers. After a careful investigation, we prepared the fol- lowing statements, showing the wages of Japanese la- borers in the four states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana: 1. Washington. In the state of Washington there are at present some 12,894 Japanese, of whom 697 and 288 are independent business men and farmers, respect- ively. Of the remaining Japanese population we obtain the following figures: 22 Saw mill laborers and wood cutters 2,685 Railroad laborers 2,332 Farm laborers 1,234 Fishery and cannery laborers 904 Housework 1,204 Hotel, store and restaurant laborers 3,014 Miscellaneous laborers 536 The wages of these Japanese laborers are roughly as follows : Saw mill and wood cutting $ 1.75 — $ 2.75 (day) Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) Farm labor 1.50 — 1.90 (day)* Fishery and cannery 1.30 — 1.65 ( day) * Housework 15.00— 50.00 (month)* Hotel, store and restaurant labor 30.00 — 70.00 (month) Hotel and restaurant cook 40.00 — 70.00 (month)* *With room and board. 2. Oregon. Oregon has some 3,790 Japanese popu- lation, of which about 155 and 39 are independent busi- ness men and farmers, respectively. The Japanese la- borers in this state are roughly classified as follows: Saw mill laborers and wood cutters 260 Railroad laborers 1,830 Farm laborers 220 Fishery and cannery laborers 320 Domestics, hotel, store and restaurant laborers. . 815 Miners 120 These laborers receive wages at the following rate : Saw mill and wood cutting $ 1.75 — $ 2.50 (day) Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) Farm labor 35.00— 45.00 (month)* Fishery and cannery 120.00 — 180.00 (season)* Housework 15.00— 45.00 (month)* Hotel and store labor 38.00— 80.00 (month) Mining 1.75— 2.75 (day) *With room and board. 3. Idaho. The Japanese population of Idaho is about 1,085, of which some 38 are engaged in independent 23 business and farming. Of the laboring class there are: Railroad laborers 730 Farm laborers 800 Domestics 173 Wages received by the Japanese laborers in this state are as follows: Housework $15.00— $45.00 (month) * Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) Farm labor 35.00— 45.00 (month) * *With room and board. 4. Montana. The Japanese population of Montana consists of some 1,920, comprising 13 independent busi- ness men and farmers, 1,630 railroad laborers, 139 farm laborers, 63 domestics, and hotel, store and restaurant laborers. The wages paid Japanese laborers in this state are as follows : Housework, hotel and store labor $45.00 — $75.00 (month) Railroad labor 1.60— 2.50 (day) Farm labor 45.00— 55.00 (month) That these wages of Japanese laborers are, with a few exceptions, not smaller than the wages of American laborers will be more fully understood, when the above statements are compared with the following table pre- pared from the report of the Bureau of Labor of Wash- ington, showing the average wages of various kinds of labor in which most Japanese laborers are engaged : Occupation. Average Wages. Section foreman (Great Northern Railroad $ 1.80 — $ 2.00 (day) Section hand (Great Northern Railroad) 1.35 — 1.50 (day) Section foremen (Northern Pacific) 2.07 (day) Section hand (Northern Pacific) 1.47 (day) Section foremen (Oregon Railway) 1.91 (day) Section hands (Oregon Railway) 1.75 (day) Section foremen (Columbia & Puget Sound Ry.) 2.16 — 2.33 (day) Section hand (Columbia & Puget Sound Ry.) . . . 1.30 — 1.75 (day) 24 Section foreman (Washington & Columbia R. R.) 1.93 (day) Section hand (Washington & Columbia R. R.) . . . 1.50 (day) Common labor at mercantile establishment (Se- attle) 1.50— 2.00 (day) Common labor at mercantile establishment (Ta- coma) 1.50 (day) Common labor at mercantile establishment (Spo- kane) 3.40 (day) Restaurant cooks 45.00 — 90.00 (month) Restaurant waiters 30.00 — 60.00 (month) In this connection, attention must be called to the fact that the phrase *' American workingman," as is com- monly used nowadays, covers a multitude of aliens — Italians, Russians, Hebrews, Magyars, Slovaks, Scandi- navians and many others, 2. Effect of Japanese Immigration Upon the Mercantile Business on the Pacific Coast. When the state of California began to agitate for the exclusion of the Chinese, even the merchants and dealers of that state countenanced the movement, for the reason that the Chinese immigrant did not consume American goods, importing almost all of his living requirements from his native country. On the other hand, merchants and dealers of the Pacific Coast do not favor the agita- tion against the Japanese, whose daily requirements, with the exception of a few things, are bought in this coun- try. Indeed, it may be safe to say that the mercantile class on the Pacific Coast is willing to welcome Japan- ese immigrants. On this point, the following passage from the ^'Sec- ond Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of Oregon" may be read with interest: ''It is shown that of the food and materials consumed by the Chinaman, 60 per cent is foreign and 40 per cent 25 domestic. On the other hand, the Japanese imports only 11 I3er cent of his living requirements from his native land, the balance, or 89 per cent, being domestic. The Japanese purchases all of his clothing in the United States, amounting to 15 per cent of his articles of sub- sistence, while of his food, which represents 85 per cent of his living expenses, 87 per cent is domestic and 13 per cent foreigTi. Eighty-one per cent of the Chinaman's subsistence is food, of which proportion 75 per cent is foreign and 25 per cent domestic, and the balance, or 19 per cent, is clothing, all domestic. This statement, while not accurate in details, is suffi- cient to show how different the mode of living of the Japanese is from that of the Chinese in this country. The Japanese wears American clothes, uses American furni- ture, subsists on American food, all purchased in this country. 3. Shortage of Labor on the Pacific Coast. It is universally recognized that the development of the Pacific Coast and its adjacent territories is being greatly hindered by insufficient supply of labor. In the summer of 1905 the Portland Chamber of Commerce ad- dressed to President Roosevelt a memorial, stating that the conditions on the Pacific Coast have so radically changed since the enactment of the Chinese exclusion law that it "is now no more in favor of exclusion than the Middle West, the East and the South." This significant document was made public on July 12, 1905. In part it says as follows: "Vast areas of territory on the Pacific Coast are un- developed at the present time, and will remain so under present labor conditions ; whereas, with the influx of only a tithe of the immigartion that is now coming in on the 26 Atlantic Coast, lands would be cleared and improved, pub- lic highways would be built in regions where there is an entire absence of good roads, and railroad construction would take on a new activity. It can not be fairly claimed that the Chinese would interfere with the American la- borer in this work, because the work is not now per- formed b}'' American or anj^ other labor, save in the most limited way. It remains practically undone, and the doing of it would not only fail to affect injuriously the present satisfactory status of the American laborer, but would open wider and higher fields for his activity and improvement, prepared largely by those who, under any circumstances, will always hold second place to him." That the above statement can be applied to the present condition on the Pacific Coast even with greater weight than two years ago, is beyond question. Almost every day the newspapers on the Pacific Coast report the shortage of labor in that country. According to ' ' The Seattle Times," "the mining camps of the North are keenly feeling the shortage of labor, despite the fact that $4.50 a day and board is offered by the employer. ' ' "The Times" goes on to relate: "So acute is the situation that mining corporations operating in the Southeastern Alaska and the Atlin District are importing Japanese labor. Within a few days, J. M. Ruffner, general man- ager and treasurer of the North Columbia Gold Mining Company, one of the big concerns operating in the Atlin District, in British Columbia, will take in thirty-five Jap- anese laborers under contract for the season of 1907. These Japanese will draw from $4.00 to $4.50 a day as pipemen, shovel wielders and common laborers, and will be boarded free. As far as known, this is the highest price paid for common labor on the North Pacific Coast 27 Counting the board the men will earn between $35.00 and $40.00 per week. Mr. Ruffner said : * Last year we were short of men, having about 40 per cent of efificiency in a working crew. Of this 40 p(ir cent not all of the men were steady. We are simply up against it for labor in the mines of the Atlin District, and the work is easy and the wages high. In order to protect ourselves we were forced to hire Japanese.' " Nor is it only in any one particular kind of work that the shortage in labor is so keenly felt; it is felt on all lines of work. To quote from ' ' The Times ' ' : ''Eailroad contractors and emplyoment agencies of lines building into the Pacific Northwest have bid against each other at such a rate for workingmen that common labor is now quoted here at $3.00 per day, with promises of steady employment. The Northwest never before saw such a condition as prevails among the railroad camps in Washington as well as Alaska. H. C. Henry, contractor for the St. Paul Railroad from Idaho to the Coast, has perhaps 5,000 unskilled men at work in the grading camps, who are earning a minimum of $2.50 per day and a maxi- mum of $3.00 a day. Ax men and woodchoppers get as high as $3.50 a day, and the board is supplied by con- tractors who vie with each other in serving the best meals." It is no exaggeration to say that the views of the Portland Chamber of Commerce above quoted are shared by all the Chambers of Commerce in the Pacific North- west. Such facts as these will no doubt be carefully con- sidered by those who are directly concerned with the so- lution of the question of Japanese immigration. When Hon. Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, was in Seattle on the occasion of his tour of the Pacific 28 Coast and Hawaii last summer, he made the following significant remark to a representative of ''The Post- Intelligencer": "In the last three months the number of immigrants coming into the United States through all parts has in- creased ten per cent over the number coming in the cor- responding period during 1906. During the same period the immigration from Japan decreased. The kind of Japanese that are now coming to this country are the most desirable class. * * * j^ means that the tide of immigration is turning toward Canada. They have a wonderful country up there, and the immigrants are beginning to find it out. I believe that Canada is the coming country. That is going to be one of the big prob- lems you men on the Pacific Coast will have to face and will have to solve. The laborers will leave your country and flock to Canada." 29 Part V. ARE JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS UN ASSIMILABLE? This is certainly a very embarrassing question, which we do not feel at liberty to discuss. Argument for and against the Japanese on this point is naturally apt to end in mere generalizations, because there can exist no statis- tical data or tangible facts upon which to base such argu- ment, so long as the Japanese is not admitted into Ameri- can citizenship with the full opportunity of proving themselves to be faithful members of the Republic. Yet there are many instances which go to show that the Jap- anese, denied the rights of citizenship as they are, make desirable citizens, eager to imbibe American ideals and usages, and willing to join hands with their American neighbors in whatsoever that is aimed to promote the welfare of this commonwealth. But were we to set forth such instances and endeavor to defend our cause, we should necessarily be accused of immodesty. We must, therefore, confine ourselves to giving the statements of a few representative Americans, who are in a position to speak with authority on this question. When Senator Perkins, of California, expressed the belief that ''the inherent Japanese traits of patriotic im- pulses will make them a foreign element in any country 31 to which they may migrate," ''The Pacific" (Honolulu), commenting upon the Senator 's opinion, said as follows : "The treatment of the Japanese by our nation has not been such as to encourage expatriation on their part. The few that have sought naturalization have been re- fused. Senator Perkins ought to be willing to give them an opportunity to expatriate themselves and to show, as other nationalities have had opportunity to show, that they can be as loyal to their adopted as to their native country. Certainly, so long as that has not .been done, there is no justification for any dogmatic assertion that expatriation is a thing impossible to a Japanese. There was a time when it was claimed that the Germans, who came here in great numbers after the revolution of 1848, would subvert the principles of American government. And in the earlier years of our national history there were ever those who were fearful that many of those whom we received to citizenship would in a crisis prefer their native to their adopted country. Time has shown all these things to have been bugbears." Dr. Doremus Scudder, who has had many years of experience in Hawaii, writing to ''The Pacific," says as follows : "President Eoosevelt is right. He has proved him- self a seer in suggesting naturalization for Japanese. The next step will be to grant this to all men upon precisely equal terms. This does not mean that we should not safe- guard our citizenship. Japan will have done us an in- calculable benefit, if, as an outcome of this controversy, our Government be led to require that no alien shall be naturalized before passing an English examination in American civics under the auspices of a board consti- tuted somewhat after the manner of our Board of Civil Service Commissioners. ' ' In refutation of the hackneyed assertion that Hawaii is today a Japanese colony. Dr. Scudder says : 32 ''No possible statement could be further from the truth. Numerically, the people of this race predominate, but the one noticeable feature of the life of these islands is the victory of American ideals over those of Asia here. Instead of Hawaii being Japanese in civilization, it is more truly American than San Francisco has been since the era of pure government immediately succeeding the rise of the vigilantes and preceding the days of fierce anti-Chinese agitation. The test of a civilization is not found in the clothes worn or in skin color, but in the spirit which moves forward toward the realization of higher ideals." Governor Carter, of Hawaii, evidently shares the views of "The Pacific" and Dr. Scudder when he says: "Fifty per cent of the population of the Hawaiian group is Japanese, and we have never had the slightest trouble with them. They are treated by the residents the same as other people, and that is practically all there is to it. They make good citizens, are unobstrusive, and never bother anybody who does not bother them." In an editorial entitled "Facts About Japanese Im- migration" appearing in a recent issue of "The New York Post, ' ' we find the following passage : "The argument which has been made against Chi- nese immigration has little bearing when applied to the Japanese. When the latter arrive in this country, they speedily adopt American methods of dress and living. As a rule, the Japanese do not colonize in a city even to the extent that the Italians, Russians, Germans and Irish do ; but instead, endeavor to establish independent homes of their own for the purpose of bringing themselves quickly into touch with the native population. For this reason the Japanese immigrant, after a year in this countr^^, in his acquaintance with the English language and in his knowledge of American usages is ordinarily much more nearly in harmony with our social system than the aver- 33 age immigrant from Hungary or Russia, after a similar experience of American living." In his address before tlie Men's Club of Trinity Parish Church of Seattle, on the evening of October 20th, Mayor Moore, of that city, incidentally paid tribute to the Japanese residents of the municipality. Among other things he said : "We have had as little trouble, if not less, in this administration with the Japanese as with our own people. They have not only obeyed the laws of the community, but have given assistance in enforcing the laws.* * * In fact we have in our community no more intelligent citi- zenship than the Japanese. I must admit that in my ad- ministration we have had more difficulty with the white element than with the foreign." It will be alike impossible and unnecessary to cite all such statements ; suffice it to say that these are only a few of a great number of similar examples. 34 APPENDIX I. Resolution of Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Adopted March 20, 1907. According to tlie report of the Associated Press dis- patches from Washington, the settlement of the question involving the right of Japanese children to attend the public school of San Franicsco is to draw after it the negotiation of a new immigration treaty with Japan. It is the opinion of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce that a majority of the people of the Pacific Coast are not in favor of any immigration law that will treat the people of Japan differently from the way in which we treat the people of any European country. We recognize that the United States and the Empire of Japan are bound to- gether by the ties of trade, commerce and old friendship, which in the past have proved of great advantage to both countries, and if preserved, contain a sure pledge of still greater benefits for the future. We believe that any im- migration treaty which would discriminate against Japan by denying to the people of the country ordinary rights or privileges granted to the people of other civilized na- tions, would be uncalled for and would be detrimental to the trade and commerce of the Pacific Coast, and, by checking the growth, development and prosperity of this section, would tend directly to narrow the field of employ- ment for our own people and decrease the demand for our own labor., It would injure the Pacific Coast farmers by barring the way to a large and profitable market for flour and other food stuffs. It would strike directly at those manufacturing industries throughout the country which are now suppljdng steel rails, machinery, food and other appliances for the development of Japan, Corea and Man- 37 churia. It would practically close Japan, Corea and Man- churia to American capital and to the use of American skilled labor that would otherwise be largely employed in the development of the resources of those countries. Moreover, as the enforcement of the terms of any new immigration treaty putting Japan on a different footing from that of other nations or any law or regulation made pursuant to such a treaty, would necessarily be in the hands of bureau officials, its administration would, in our opinion, be almost certain to sow the seeds of disagree- ments, dissension and strife between the two countries. Therefore, be it resolved that in the opinion of this Chamber it would be against the best interests of the Pacific Coast and of the whole country to conclude any treaty or enact any law, the effect of which would be to treat the people of Japan in a manner different from the treatment accorded to the people of other civilized powers. Eesolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- mitted to the President and the Secretary of State. n. Resolution of Tacoma CJiamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, Adopted April 29, 1907. The commercial interests of the Pacific Coast demand a close friendship with the commercial interests of Japan and the trans-Pacific countries. Anything, which tends to separate these interests or engender the spirit of an- tagonism toward a closer union of our commercial rela- tion with these countries, should be viewed with disfavor and subjected to searching criticism by the commercial bodies of the Western Coast. This is particularly true of Tacoma, whose friendly attitude to Japan and Japanese interests is evidenced by her constantly increasing trade with the ports of that country. The recent agitation against the attendance of Jap- anese children to the public schools of San Francisco seems to threaten a new immigration treaty with Japan, 38 which shall contain some stringent measures tending to place Japanese immigration on a different basis from that of other foreign countries. There seems no good reason why such a treaty should be contemplated. The United States has never suffered from Japanese immigration, and the opportunities for the development of a large and mutually profitable trade be- tween our country and Japan demand that no unreason- able prejudice be permitted to establish an unfriendly attitude on Japan's part toward the United States or her commercial prestige in Japanese waters. Therefore the Board of Trustees of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade hereby re- solves : That there is no occasion for the formulating of any immigration treaty with Japan, which shall discriminate against the Japanese and place them upon any different footing than are the people of any European country. The friendly relations between the two countries should be preserved and increased. Any disruption of those friendly relations would work to the serious detriment of the commercial interests of the Pacific Coast and would greatly check the growth and prosperity of this section of our country, thus narrowing our markets and curtail- ing the field of our laboring people, decreasing the de- mand for labor and lowering the rate of wages. It would curtail the market for our wheat and flour, and have a direct and damaging effect upon the farming interests of the entire West. It would have a far-reaching effect upon the shipments of steel rails, machinery and other manufactured materials by practically closing the ports of Japan, Corea and Manchuria to these ship- ments, and the employment of American capital and skilled labor in the wide field now offered by Japan for American enterprise and ingenuity.. Furthermore, the inauguration and enforcement of any such treaty discriminating against the Japanese must of necessity be left with Bureau officials, unfamiliar with the commercial relation now existing between the two countries, and unable through ignorance of these 39 conditions to treat either Japanese or Pacific Coast in- terests fairly and wisely. Therefore, in the opinion of this board, no interests of the Pacific Coast or of the United States at large will be served by any such treaty, while the commercial in- terests will be greatly and permanently damaged by any treaty action, which breaks the feeling of good will and mutual respect now prevailing between the two countries, and which is resulting in a large and mutually profitable trade between them. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- mitted to the President and the Secretary of State. III. Resolution of Portland Chamber of Cofyimerce, Adopted April 16, 1907. According to the report of the Associated Press dis- patches from Washington, the settlement of the question involving the right of Japanese children to attend the public school of San Francisco is to draw after it the negotiation of a new immigration treaty with Japan. It is the opinion of the Portland Chamber of Com- merce that a majority of the people of the Pacific Coast are not in favor of any immigration law that will treat the people of Japan differently from the way in which we treat the people of any European country. "VYe rec- ognize that the United States and the Empire of Japan are bound together by the ties of trade, commerce and old friendship, which in the past have proved of great advantage to both countries, and if preserved, contain a sure pledge of still greater benefits for the future. We believe that any immigration treaty, which would discrim- inate against Japan by denying to the people of that country ordinary rights or privileges granted to the people of other civilized nations, would be uncalled for and would be detrimental to the trade and commerce of the Pacific Coast, and by checking the growth, develop- ment and prosperity of this section, would tend directly 40 to narrow the field of employment for our own people and decrease the demand for our own labor. It would injure the Pacific Coast farmers by barring the way to a large and profitable market for flour and other food- stuffs. It would strike directly at those manufacturing industries throughout the country, which are now sup- plying steel rails, machinery, food and other appliances for the development of Japan, Corea and Manchuria. It would practically close Japan, Corea and Manchuria to American capital and to the use of American skilled la- bor that would otherwise be largely employed in the de- velopment of the resources of these countries. Moreover, as the enforcement of the terms of any new immigration treaty putting Japan on a different footing from that of other nations or any law or regula- tion made pursuant to such a treaty, would necessarily be in the hands of bureau officials, its administration would, in our opinion, be almost certain to sow the seeds of disagreements, dissension and strife between the two countries. Therefore, be it resolved, that in the opinion of this Chamber it would be against the best interests of the Pa- cific Coast and of the whole country to conclude any treaty or enact any law, the effect of which would be to treat the people of Japan in a manner different from the treatment accorded to the people of other civilized powers. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- mitted to the President and Secretary of State. IV. A Letter Addressed by San Francisco Chamber of Com- merce to Japanese Association of America. San Francisco, Cal., July 11th, 1907. Japanese Association of America, San Francisco, California. Gentlemen : The Trustees of the Chamber of Commerce beg to 41 acknowledge your very courteous letter of the 8th inst. and to reciprocate its kind expressions. We wish further to express our appreciation of the resolution you have passed, correcting the statement made by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce, in which it appeared that the Japanese children are denied equal privilege in the public schools of San Francisco. Such frank expressions at this time, when there may be causes for irritation, are magnanimous and increase the re- spect and confidence of all fair-minded people. It is our conviction that there shauld be no unreas- onable restrictions placed upon the immigration of Jap- anese to this country, not merely because of the cormner- cial benefits mutually derived, but because of the tradi- tional friendship, which has existed between our country and the Empire of Japan, and which should be an imj- portant factor in the development of all countries bor- dering on the Pacific Ocean. The Trustees are therefore sending a copy of this letter to the President and Secretary of State, hoping thereby to assure the authorities of the friendly disposi- tion of our merchants to the Japanese people, and at the same time, bring about a better understanding and a more friendly feeling with the Japanese residents of our city. With assurances of esteem, we remain, Yours very truly, (Signed) C. H. BENTLEY, President. V. Resolution of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Adopted February 4, 1907. Resolved, That the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce believes that the public sentiment of the State of California, and especially of 42 Southern California, upon the question of the exclusion of the Japanese from the general public school system of the State, has been to some extent misrepresented and is largely misunderstood ; and as representing the commer- cial and business interests of the second city of the State, and in view of the national importance which the question has assumed, the Board feels impelled to correct such misapprehension, so far as it is in its power to do. In the first place it would seem that the question is one of principle, or of sentiment, or of practical politics, rather than of immediate vital importance so far as it affects the welfare of the children of our public schools. The Board is reliably informed that when the ques- tion was first agitated, the total number of Japanese in the public schools of San Francisco was 93, of which 28 were girls and 68 boys. Thirty-four of the boys were under sixteen years of age; of the thirty-one who were sixteen years and older only six were in the primary schools, the eldest being nineteen years old. There are about the same number of Japanese in the public schools of Los Angeles, and it is reported on good authority, both from San Francisco and Los Angeles, that no com- plaint of bad conduct on the part of Japanese scholars has ever come to the knowledge of the School Superin- tendent of either of these cities. This Board is convinced that the sentiment of the whole State is unanimously against the mingling in the primary grades of our schools of adults and adolescents of whatever race or nationality, with the younger chil- dren. Upon the main question, whatever may be the diver- sity of opinion upon the constitutional and legal phases, this Board is assured that the general trend of public opinion in Southern California is decidedly adverse to any discrimination against the Japanese as a people in matters of public school privileges, and they believe that this opinion is based upon considerations of equity and justice, and is held altogether independently of any at- titude which the Japanese government has assumed or may assume in regard to the question. 43 VI. A Joint Appeal Addressed by Chamhers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe, to the Principal Chambers of Commerce in the United States Dated June 29, 1907. It has always been a matter of profound satisfac- tion to the people of Japan to witness the constant growth of cordial relations between onr two countries and of our community interests in the fields of trade and commerce, but since last year the people in a section of your country have unfortunately acted in a manner calculated to preju- dice the legitimate rights of the Japanese, who have been frequently subjected to unjust treatment at the hands of a lawless element prevailing there. The right of education has been denied them; their houses have repeatedly been attacked and their property destroyed without the least cause or provocation, with the result that not onl}^ have the treaty rights of the Japanese been wantonly disregarded, but their persons and property also have been exposed to serious danger. It is to be extremely regretted that such unfortu- nate incidents should be allowed to occur so frequently, as it is feared that unless they are speedily stopped, the ill-feeling our countrymen are now prone to harbor will be heightened, and that the attitude of the people of a single section of America may eventually have an un- happy effect upon the development of the commercial relations between the two nations, for while the United States is a good customer for our natural products, Japan is also increasing her demand for American goods, and pormises to become one of the most important markets for your ever-expanding and prosperous industries. Should the progress of trade and commerce be- tween the two countries become obstructed as a result of the unwarrantable action of a small section of your pop- ulation, the loss sustained by the two countries would be incalculable. We, therefore, venture to address you and express our views on the situation, confident in the hope 44 that they will be shared by you, and that you will, consid- ering the matter on the right principles of national in- tercourse and the mutual advantages of trade relations, do your best to speedily eliminate the present causes of discord and to insure our common prosperity for the future. Yours respectfully, B. NAKANO, President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. M. DOI, President of Osaka Chamber of Commerce. J. NISHIMURA, President of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. K. ONO, President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. T. laSHIMOTO, President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. VII. Reply of Seattle Chamber of Commerce to the Same. To The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce, Osaka Chamber of Commerce, Kyoto Chamber of Commerce, Yokohama Chamber of Commerce, and Kobe Chamber of Commerce : Sirs: We have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of June 29th in relation to certain disturbances in San Francisco atfecting some of your countrymen dwelling there. The disturbances mentioned in your letter are purely local. They have been greatly magnified and we should infer from your letter that the reports of the occurrences which reached Japan are out of all proportion to the actual facts. This is usual in such cases. Reports from a long distance are generally apt to magnify the event 45 many times. Nevertheless all good citizens here deplore all such disturbances, however small. We believe that you will find, upon inquiry amongst your fellow coun- trymen here, that in Seattle the Japanese are treated with as much consideration as the people of any other country. On the other hand, it gives us pleasure to be able to say that we have always found them to be industrious, law- abiding and loyal residents of the Republic, and in Seattle we have uniformly treated them accordingly. We beg to enclose herewith a resolution of this Chamber of Com- merce which was adopted before your letter was written and which clearly shows our attitude toward your coun- trymen. In the future, as in the past, Seattle will always be found standing for justice and fair play for the Japanese as well as for all other nationalities within her borders. For more than ten years Seattle has been the American home port of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the great Jap- anese Steamship Company. This company has been a pioneer in opening up a profitable and friendly trade be- tween the two countries. Commerce in our day is the most powerful and persuasive ambassador of peace and good will among nations. It brings the people of the world closer together, removes prejudices and promotes national friendships. Not the least important mission of Chambers of Commerce — the spokesmen, so to speak, of the commerce of their respective countries— is to co- operate with one another in smoothing away and compos- ing the differences that inevitably arise from time to time between the peoples of different countries, as be- tween communities in the same country. In this spirit, and with this end in view, the Seattle Chamber of Com- merce extends to the Chambers of Commerce of the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama and Kobe its most friendly consideration and trusts that the good re- lations which have existed so long between our cities as between our two countries, and with such manifest ad- vantage to both, may continue unbroken into the far future. Yours very respectfully, C. B. YANDELL, JOHN H. McGRAW, July 30 1907. Secretary. President. 46 VIII. Reply of Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yoko- hama, Osaka and Kobe to the Above. Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 15, 1907. Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Wasliiugton, U. S. A. Gentlemen : We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 30th Jnly, in reply to ours of June 29th last. It is a source of profound satisfaction to note that our appeal has been received with so high sense of justice and equity, and that you are prepared to direct your efforts for the maintenance of the relations of per- fect understanding between the United States and Japan and for the promotion of the common interests by which the two nations are closely united. We are convinced that the friendly assurances contained in your letter under acknowledgement have produced the best impres- sion in the public mind in this country. In thanking you sincerely for such a frank and candid exposition of your views, we venture to express the hope that hereafter a similar exchange of views and mutual co-operation may be had between our respective Chambers of Commerce with reference to matters affecting the common interests of both countries, as occasion presents itself, with a view to safeguard those interests and thereby to assure the relations of good correspondence between the two nations. Yours respectfully, (Signed) B. NAKANO, President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. M. DOI, President of Osaka Cliamber of Commerce. J. NISHIMURA, President of Kvoto Chamber of Commerce. K. ONO, President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. T. KISHIMOTO, President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. 47 IX. A Joint Appeal Addressed hy the Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe, to President Roosevelt, June 29, 1907. We have watched with profound satisfaction the growing strength of the bonds of traditional friendship between America and Japan, coupled with the steady progress of the commerce between the two nations. It is, therefore, a source of deep regret and concern to learn of the actions frequently reported since last year of a section of the community in San Francisco against Jap- anese residents there, whose persons and property have thus been exposed to serious danger. Wliile highly ap- preciating your unremitting efforts in the cause of jus- tice, we humbly think that if such abuses are allowed to continue, the development of commerce, based upon the friendly relations of the two nations, may be eventually retarded. We, the undersigned, representatives of Chambers of Commerce, taking special interest in the promotion of our mutual economic relations, are unable to remain silent spectators of this state of affairs. We accordingly have addressed the principal Chambers of Commerce in America, inviting them to exert their best efforts for the amelioration of the situation, relying at the same time upon your personality and wisdom for a speedy and sat- isfactory solution of existing difficulties, and we respect- fully appeal to you for your friendly spirit. Yours respectfully, (Signed) B. NAKANO, President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. M., DOI, President of Osaka Chamber of Commerce. J. NISHIMURA, President of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. K. ONO, President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. T. KISHIMOTO, President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. 48 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 640 004 2