Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-23
PORTLAND PEOPLE HAVE
TRIED THE NiPPoNESE
AND FOUND HIM WANTING

In Portland, as In Seattle and other
coast cities. the Japanese are employed
as servants, although the majority OF
householders say they are unreliable
and unsatisfactory. One complaint is
that a Japanese servant has no COM
junction whatever about leaving his
employer in the lurch. A gentleman
who lived many years in Japan had
favored a certain Japanese family by
giving the children exceptional educa-
tional advantages. After a time this
gentleman came to Portland to live
and brought with him one of the boys
of the Japanese household. The boys
mother made him promise that he al
ways would be loyal to his American
benefactor and stay with him. After
living in Portland for while the en-
ployer was called away and could not
take his servant with him. He turned
him over to a neighbor with a history
of the circumstances and a promise
that the boy would stick. 1t was but
short time, however, until the boy
demanded his wages. He even declined
to stay until another servant could be
obtained, and threatened his employer
with the law unless he was paid In
full on the instant
Another housekeeper hired a Jap
anese cook only to find that he spent
quite as much of his time locked In
his own room as he did in the kitchen.
He was quite ready with excuses that
he fell asleep, or that he was tired.
or something else. One day he left
the door open by accident and the
man of the house walked In upon him.
He jumped from the table where he
had been porting over number of
maps and drew a knife to defend his
secret. He was discharged. of course.
but in that household the belief In
the japanese spy system 10 still firm
one.
Japanese are employed as bellboys
in the hotels, but there Is much COM
plant from guests that they are IN
attentive and inclined to become i'm
pudent upon the least excuse. They
will not subordinate their feeling OF
equality, or even superiority. to the
demands of the position they occupy.
At Seattle the red cap porters in the
railway station are Japanese. At Port
land and San Francisco they are ne
groes, and the travelling public is al
most unanimous in declaring that the
negroes are much preferable. being
more polite and attentive as we'll as
more efficient. The same verdict is
heard from travellers on trains where
the buffet porters job has been taken
away from the negroes to be given
to Japanese.
The admirable negro servant of the
southern cities sometimes gets obJec-
tionably set UP when he goes to a city
where there are few OF his race. but
| IL is certain that the Pacific coast
| towns would welcome an immigration
OF negro servants from Dixie. II Mr.
Booker washington could turn out TO-
900 we'll trained cooks and walters from
his Tuskegee school they would all
| find jobs In these thriving cities of
the west, and the Japanese would dis
appear from domestic service. TIC, be
III H. 81 rKIaf -
certain type of jolly. polite and So
| liciteus southern negro. and he will
| find that heritage awaiting him out
here. Portland has tried the little man
| from Nippon and has found him want
| ing.
copyright. 1908. by Frederic ]. Haskin)
Tomorrow-Down Hill to Portland.