Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-07


opportunities for the emil
grants, and the ship companies encour-
aged that view. The stream of jap
anese flowing to the Pacific coast In
both the United States and Canada was
multiplied many fold just after the war
with Russia. 1t was predicted that the
Japanese would eventually become the
dominant factor In the industrial life
of the Pacific coast states just as they
have already become uppermost in
Hawaii. The raising of the school ques-
tion In San Francisco and the subse-
quent anti-Japanese demonstrations in
the United States and Canada have
forced the Japanese government to cur
tail the emigration In that direction.
So much has been said in the United
States on the American side of the
question that 1t it Is interesting to
compare the Japanese point of view.
The people here are divided, the radi-
Gals believing that the action OF the
people of the western coast of America
grew out of racial prejudice and that
It is a snub to the Japanese people,
while the conservatives maintain that
1t is entirely an economic question and
that the objection was not to the jap
anese as Japanese. but to the emigrants
as individuals on account OF their
economic inferiority to the Americans.
At first the radical wing was in the as
cendant, and when the San Francisco
school question came up the people here
were indignant. Gradually the conserv-
ative thought triumphed and now pre-
dominates. But the balance is nice
one and the other side may come into
control at any moment.
The radicals are resentful toward
America and Canada and think that
.4s. Ias,e hnn fnr hnd
The conservatives think the difficulty
is the result of mutual misunderstand-
ing. Both radicals and conservatives
solace themselves by falling back on
their belief in their own inherent SUI
periority} over the Occidental nations.
However Japan may have profited from
its adoption of western Ideas, 1t still be-
lieves that its old civilization is with
out a peer and argues that 1t is ahead
of the western countries because Eu-
rope and America have but one civiliza-
tion, while Japan has two. The jap
anese do not despise the Occidental peo-
Piles as the exclusive Chinese have done,
but their attitude is that of conde-
scension. This was illustrated in Baron
Takahira's speech when he congratu-
lated the United States upon the Won
derful advancement of "our younger
brother in civilization across the wa
ter" In other words, If Uncle Sam
looks down upon Little Almond Eyes
the punishment will be that the sons of
the rising sun will look down upon Lit
tie Yankee Boy.
Spontaneous public opinion probably
does not exist in Japan. II is almost al
| together manufactured by the newspa-
pers, and these do not reach the masses
of the people except In the cities. Those
political factors which opposed the gov
| ernment party when the San Francisco
school question arose made great
| cry about the insult to Japanese honor.
The cabinet was hanging onto office by
| it's eyebrows, and 1t bowed to the force
of the storm and made the pert repre-
sentations to Washington which started
all the trouble. While American objec-
| ton to Japanese immigration was
! bound to make itself manifest in time,
| the Japanese themselves precipitated
| the conflict by raising the cry of equal
rights in American schools. Then inter-
nal matters came up that served the
| purposes of the opposition, the anti
American issue was laid aside so far as
practical politics is concerned But
the newspapers daily publish long ar
ticles from the Pacific ports telling Of
| the progress of the anti-Japanese fee
| ing In America and Canada, and these
serve to keep the spark of life in the
question, so that any prominent jap
anese politician or yellow journal could
again bring the matter to white heat
in few days time.
The varying points of view of the
two schools of thought are very inter-
esting The conservative Japanese
says: I'VE do not think that this is a
matter about which we ought to
quarrel with the United States, the
nation which we venerate as our first
and greatest friend. We know that
the Japanese coolie. accustomed to
small wages and small living, can go
into your country and work on such
terms that the American cannot COM
pete with him. The same thing is true
of Chinese coolie who would come to
Japan. Therefore you will not have
our coolies, and we will not have the
Chinese. 1t is merely an economic
question, and the Americans have a
right to protect their own domestic
system from a dangerous economic ele-
ment. We deplore the fact that the
race issue has been brought into the
question, for while the causes leading
to the agitation were purely economic,
the difficulty may extend and cause
Ill feeling between classes of the two
countries which would otherwise be
the best of friends. We are hurt that
some Americans have judged our whole
nation by the conduct of few of it's
blackest sheep, but we harbor no re-
sentiment and feel that 1t will all come
out right"
This opinion is that which the Ameri-
can will find among those of the gov
erning class with whom he comes in
contact here, and it is the opinion of
the more sober Japanese journals.
However, 1t does not at all consist with
the action OF this same class of men
in the San Francisco school question,
where there was no economic issue,
and the whole affair resulted from a
segregation of races in which the Jap
anese were placed with the Chinese
instead of with the whites. 81
The radical opinion is entirely differ
ent. 1t is the thought of the more
numerous but less influential portion
of the thinking people-the military
faction, which is still drunk with sight
of power and blinded by the blood OF
the Russian bear. 1t is the opinion OF
the majority of the vast body of stu
dents in the universities, most of them
more or less infected with Socialistic
ideas, and all of them swelled up with
that peculiar conceit which runs in the
blood east of Suez. These classes,
guided by the newspapers and leaders
of their side, believe that loyalty TO
the honor of Japan compels them to
protest against the action of the in
ferior Americans in snubbing their
superiors from the realm OF the mi