The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1905-04-21
JAPS ON THE COAST.
FEAR IN CALIFORNIA THAT
THEY ARE A MENACE.
Although They Are Recognized a.
Progressive and Industrious
There May Be Too Many
of Them.

Pick up the ordinary magazine or
newspaper published almost anywhere
in the world and there will be either
piece of news or an essay extolling the
virtues of the Japanese. He is a prodigy
Of valor, as everybody knows, but he Is
more, says the Philadelphia Ledger. He
is first rate organizer and administra-
tor; he is cute, industrious, ambitious;
the assimilator of ideas, the adapter OF
improvements. the breathless racer ON
the forefront of progress; he is learned
and educated, has artistic tastes. hne
sensibility; is polished man OF the
world, poet, thinker, q doer, and
what not
A discordant note arises, however,
from the Pacific coast, and the
volume of sound is largest from
California. The people who have
the Japanese have too many OF
them; they want to stop others from
coming and are determined to get rid OF
those they possess The California legls-
lature has just passed joint resolution
urging the national government to ex-
clude the Japanese from the United
States; to prevent the heroes from land
ing to keep them off our soil and to tell
them to go and be gone forever. The San
Francisco newspapers recognize the
fact that the Japanese have been ideal
lied to "horrid and foolish extent" in
recent months, and they know that their
plea will fall on deaf ears for the time
being; but they are confident that as the
American people 'become better ac-
quainted with the slant-eyed little dev-
lis" they will be eager to keep them out.
The opponents of Japanese immigra-
ton have support in the Investigations
of the government marine hospital serv-
ice, whose officers have been inspecting
and studying Japanese immigrants since
the Japanese have been coming over
here in steadily increasing numbers dur
ing the past two or three years. The Jap
anese, according to the officials OF the
marine hospital service, are menace to
any country and to any people.
The Japanese come to the Pacific
coast in gangs under the charge OF a
promoter or "padrone," who owns them
for the time. He is dealer in contract
labor. but he Is too shrewd tp be caught
by the contract labor laws or the United
States. His laborers are of the lowest
class of assisted immigrants; they
work on the Pacific coast at lower
wage than the white labor, and they live
at lower standard than is possible for
the American man with family to sup
port.
BY way of good measure, the Califor-
mans have a word to say of the Japan
ese character which seems to agree tol-
erably we'll with the estimate Of it made
by the American war correspondents
who started for Manchuria and Port Ar
thur and were never permitted to see the
armies. The San Francisco Argonaut,
for instance, says:
"As a. matter Of fact. the Jap, while
personally far more pleasing than the
Chinese, is tricky, dishonest, liar and
unreliable, whereas the Chinese is usu-,
ally honest, truthful and dependable.
But that has little to do with the case.
What we must base all arguments on is
the great and eternal truth, that two
races, unassimilable, cannot occupy the
same land together in peace"
The Argonaut declares that even If it
were decided by court of sublimated
equity from which no sane man could
appeal that the Japanese had better
manners, better morals, a more whole
some philosophy of life and civilizs-
ton superior to the American, yet the
Japwould have to go in order to preserve
occidental civilization, If it were shown
that the Japanese could live more cheap
ly and would not racially assimilate.
How the Japanese are to be kept out
no man knows, now that congress has
neglected to pass Japanese exclusion
law, though the San Francisco papers
are urging the mikado to keep his men
at home on the pain Of sacrificing the
friendship of America.
Weight Of Hats.
What do you suppose this hat
weighs?" said the halter, taking up q
fine eight-dollar top hat Of silk.