The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-10-25
Japanese Resentment.

says that public sentiment there
which has always been friendly
towards America, is undergoing
a change in consequence of the
anti-Japanese feeling in Califor-
mia and other Pacific coast states
1t would be more exact to say
that the Japanese of Kobe resent
the unfriendly demonstrations o.
our Pacific coast people. That is
no doubt, true of all Japanese as
we'll as of those of Kobe. They
have always been friendly to us
because we have manifested a
friendly and helpful spirit toward
them.
| When we called them to ac-
count in 1853 because they. had
sheltered pirates in their iaarbors
we did not deal harshly with
them. We did not demand an
acre of their territory or admin
lister any severe punishment. We
concluded treaty with them un-
der which commercial inter
course was opened. That was
practically all the punishment we
inflicted upon them.
Commodore Perry's unwel-
come visit convinced them that
they had something to learn from
| the outside world that would be
to their advantage. They decid-
| ed to send out an embassy to find
out about it. We encouraged
them to do so. We entertained
them and lionized them and as
sisted them to acquire as much
as they would Of western civili-
cation. We supplied them with
teachers at their request. Per-
sistently for years we did what
we could, even to the extent OF
being patronizing and officious in
some respects.
But the Japanese liked us bet
ter than they liked Europeans
and they made us understand
that they were friendly and
grateful. They liked us especial
lly because they did not find us
inclined to take things that did
not belong 10 us. That harmon
lied with their ideas of justice.
Though we joined with Euro
pean countries in insisting upon
the trial of offending Americans
and Europeans before consular
courts in Japan, refusing TO trust
Japanese courts, still they gave
us the preference. Even when we
began to bar out the Chinese a
quarter OF a century ago upon
the demand of the Pacifi coast,
which was dominated by the ruff
fans of the sand lots, they were
still friendly because we did not
bar them out or otherwise heap
indignity upon them.
Now when the Pacific coast
people propose to apply to them
also the old exclusive policy OF
China and Japan-when they
propose to heap indignities upon
the Japanese as they have long
heaped them upon the Chinese
the sons of Nippon, who have
humbled arrogant Russia, resent
such treatment. And with good
reason.
The Japanes have always been
free to come and they have never
overrun us or harmed us in any
way. They do not threaten to
ruin us by cheap labor. They are
not maliciously eager to do our
;work for us cheaper than the peo-
lie who come here from Europe
are willing to do it. They are as
glad of high wages as any other
people.
Furthermore the Japanese are
pretty good customers of ours
and they will be better customers
when we give them half chance
to pay for our products with their
products.
We have heard a great deal
during the last eight years or
more about building up a great
trade with the orient and our Pa
ciic coasters have talked about il
and clamored for 1t ten times as
much as all the rest of us, al
though in numbers Trey are as
only one to thirty.
And now they deliberately
pursue the one course which is
surer than any other they could
possibly think of to break down
and tear up by the roots the
promising sapling of our oriental
trade just as it is beginning to
flourish. Could anything be more
insensate than TO heap insults
upon a people whose friendship
as we'll as custom we need If we
want to build up a great trade
with the far east?-Chicagc
Chronicle.