Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-23
JAPS WILL JOIN UNIONS
MINGLE WITH AMERICANS MORE
THAN THE CHINESE.
Nevertheless Inspector Thompson Says
That the Latter Are Preferred
in San Francisco.

Warde E. Thompson, Chinese inspector
in the immigration service at San Francis
co, was in Washington today and called on
Mr.. Sargent. Mr.. Thompson continued to
Washington from ST. Louis, where he
turned over to the exposition authorities
1S4 Chinese whom he had in charge from
the Pacific coast to that point.
These Chinese were band who had been
gathered in China by the ST. Louis Ex-
position Chinese Village Company, men,
women and children constituting the inter
estins organization. In order to enforce
the Chinese exclusion law the most rigid
measures were taken by the immigrat ton
service to prevent any of the members of
the company from straying from the fold.
Guarded With Vigilance.
From the moment the ship landed at the
dock in San Francisco until the party
alighted from the train at the grounds of
the exposition they were under the con-
slant vigilance of special inspectors of the
immigration service, Mr.. Thompson being
in supreme authority. They were taken
from the ship directly to the Oakland ferry
and thence to a train which carried them
through to ST. Louis, and not until that
point was reached did the foot of a single
individual touch American soil.
Extraordinary precautions were taken
whenever the train stopped at stations to
guard the doors of the coaches and never
Chinese left the train on the way to their
destination.
Before leaving the vessel at San Francis
co every man, woman and child sub
jected to the Bertillon system of meas
urement and every one was bonded in the
sum of $500 in guarantee company which
undertakes to return them to China at the
close of the exposition. AT st. Louis, when
the train arrived at the exposition grounds,
the members of the party were lined up in
columns of tours and marched to their
quarters in the Chinese village, their bright,
oriental costumes making a pageant as
they passed along the way.
Mr.. Thompson, in speaking of the effect
of the Chinese exclusion act, said that at
San Francisco no Chinese could get past
the elaborate system of scrutiny observed
by the immigration service and that he
was of opinion that this obtained at all
other American points where the service
was established.
Chinese and the japanese.
eft is the general feeling, said he, lin
Co, Francisco that the Chinese are far
more desirable element than the japanese.
We have 10000 japanese there, and our
statistics show that there are about 81, 900
Chinese The feeling against the latter
class in San Francisco is strong with the
labor unions, and we have everything or
ganized there, you know. Ihe Chlnese Will
not join union, but Japanese will. The
II,
by a member of local union to join them,
replies: Me no sabe; man take my dollar
| and blong union; get work; can get work
anyhow; no sabe union.
THE Japanese does hot look at it that
way If he wants work as an elevator boy
| in hotel he knows that he has to join the
| Elevator Conductors Union, and he loses
| little time in joining. His system of rea-
| sonng is different from that of his almond
| eyed cousin. Since the outbreak of the war
| between Japan and Russia several thou
sand Japanese have left San Francisco for
| the front. Most of them were members of
| the army reserve corps, and those who do
| not get killed in the war will probably re-
| turn to the United States. They are not,
usually, as industrious as the Chinese, and
| they are inclined to mingle more with
Americans. The Chinese are exclusive and
| seldom mingle with any but their own class.
| but they are Industrious and never trouble
| any one who let's them alone. The feeling
| in San Francisco is surely more favorable
| to the Chinese than to the Japanese not
withstanding the fact that the former will
not mingle with Americans, even to the ex-
| tent of joining labor unions
Mr. Thompson goes from here to Chicago.
his station having been changed from San
Francisco to that port Before entering the
immigration service he was In the law de-
partment of the general land Office.