Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-24

line Of business too. they have Gu, prices
and forced their white competitors TO do
nxewise. should they see that their GUS
charge him the top rate. but should he re-
monstrate they are willing to cut their
price In half rather than lose him.
Another occupation which seems to be
a favorite with the native OF Nippon Is
that OF curio vender. Not only does he
sell the ware which he says he has i'm
handiwork. Chinese 1nery as well as she'll
souvenirs and burnt wood pictures Of local
significance. And In this again he Is ac-.
cused OF deceiving his customers all too
OFTEN. He Is charged with making much
tnat Is credited to the Indian or tho
Chinese. and also with fashioning with his
own hands not a little that he calls Inn
ported.
Eager for Education.
As servants the Japanese do not give
anywhere near az good satisfac ton az their
more methodic cousins from China. The
majority Of them who do Homework re-
gard this labor as merely a makeshift. to
enable them to earn a livelihood until they
learn enough English to earn more money
AT something else. Indeed. the Japanese
who have been excluded from the white
schoois or San Francisco are largely Of
the servant class. Many Of these pupils
said Alfred Ronconveri. superintendent OF
city schools, are men from twenty to
twenty-five years old They work out OF
scnooi hours In families for their board and
aousins. Ihey have no right to attend
schooi with our boys and girls, and we
would not allow white men of the same age
to attend with young children Our action
In requiring them now to attend the orr
entail school at Clay and Powell streets.
along with the Chinese and Coreans. Is
pased on a state law, and was made inn
perative because our best and largest school
houses were destroyed. AS matter of
Iact, at the present time we haven't enough
room for our own children"
Because of their willingness to do me-
ni au work for the sake OF obtaining an
education Japanese servants are often
more learned than the people for whom
tney work. One OF the supervisors of San
francesca recently gave an elaborate din
her 10 what he regarded as a most select
circle Of political friends. He employed a
french caterer. who In turn secured a stan
OF walters from a japanese employment
agency There was much to eat and much
more 10 drink. Speeches followed tho
most acting as toastmaster. As the evening
wore on. the supervisor. rose to higher
levels or thought and finally called on a
paving contractor to say a few words about
George Washington. The guest rose as
he was bid. but all that he could saw was:
George was all right He was the father
OF this country, all right"
Go on" shouted the assemblaRe and
the contractor. to make his escape by turns
ing the occasion into joke. laid hold of a
Japanese waiter standing behind him.
pushed him up to the table. and ordered
him to make the speech for him. And the
servant did. He gave the exact date when
washington was born. told of his service
In the French and Indian war related his
would have continued on much longer had
not the POSTMASTER told him that he had
better cut 1t off,"
No Distinct Quarter.
Unlike the Chinese. the natives OF Nippon
do not segragate In q distinct quarter OF
their own. After the fire they leased a
hundred or more houses here and there I'm
the residential district of the city west OF
Van Ness avenue. and within a short dis
lance of the burned district. They min
gied in with the white inhabitants, so that
at the present time one may walk up Pine.
Post or Suffer streets and Japanese
signs hanging side by side with those in
the English language. Most times half
dozen Japanese Will take ordinary two
story and basement residence and open up
two stores on a floor. Thus the passerby
may see a Japanese shoemaker and tailor
at work in what was formerly the kitchen;
Japanese florist and employment agency
on the next floor. and above. where fam
lily once had its bed rooms, Japanese mani
cure parlors and barber shop.
Some Of the private houses which the
Japanese have got hold of In this district
of San Francisco they have renovated for
business in another way. For instance. one
house on a Pine street corner formerly
stood amid lawns and trees. The japanese,
who bought 1t cut down the trees and
built q one-story shed all around the old
time residence and extending to the side
walk. This shed he faced with broad show
windows and divided up into number OF
small stores. ..- .--.-
Most of the Japanese who are coming to
California have been living for time. at
least. in the Sandwich Islands. where out
of total population of l5o.00O there arc
about 65, 900 natives of Nippon. California
fears. therefore. that she will experience
the same industrial invasion from Asatic
shores as have the American islands of tho
midPacifc. There. as United States gov
eminent reports testify. the yellow man
has crowded the white man so hard that
times are bad for the latter in many lines
Of business.
Between the depression and Asiatic COM
petition" said bulletin of the bureau Of
labor, issued October IL. 1.-The whites are
being driven out Of Hawaii and the Aslatics
are succeeding. 1t Is a struggle for sur
vival. with the white element slowly and
steadily losing ground. In mercantile lines,
In the field of labor. and In small farming
alike, the experience Is the same"
Next to California the Japanese prefer
Washington to the other states Of the
Union. According to the immigration bu-
reau the Japanese immigrants who came
in the year ending June 80. 1905. distrib-
uted themselves as follows: Hawaii, 1863;
California. 2O22; Washington. 100; Ore
gon, 279; New York. $50: Missouri 165;
Texas. SO: Arizona. 20: Illinois. So. etc. Fig
ures for this year indicate, however, that
more Japanese are coming to San Fran
cisco than to Hawaii. In the first quarter
of 1906 2.160 entered the Golden Gate; In
the second. 3.G06. and in the third. 1850.
OF these half settled on the shores OF
San Francisco bay.