The Washington herald., 1908-04-07

Special Correspondence The Washington Herald.
Tokyo. Feb. 22-Tn emigration and col
onlzation lies the hope Of the future pros
perity of Japan. There were those Jap
anese who believed that America offered
the brightest opportunities for the emil
grants, and the ship companies encour-
aged this view The stream OF japanese
flowing to the Pacific coast liz both the
United States and Canada was multi
piled many fold just after the war with
Russia II was predicted that the Jap
anese would eventually become the DOM
inant factor in the industrial life Of the
Pacific Coast States. Just as they have
already become uppermost in Hawaii. The
raising of the school question in San
Francisco. and the subsequent anti-Jap-
anese demonstrations in the United
States and Canada. have forced the Jap
anese government TO curtail the emigra-
ton in that direction. So much has been
said in the United States on the Ameri-
can side of the question that it Is inter
estng TO compare the japanese point Of
view.
The people here are divided, the radi-
Gals believing that the action Of the peo-
pie 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 il is entirely
an economic question ana that the obiec-
ton was not to the japanese as japanese.
but to the emigrants as individuals on
account Of their economic inferiority 20
the Americans. At first the radical wing
was in the ascendant and when the San
Francisco school question came up, the
people here were indignant. Gradually
the conservative thought triumphed, and
now predominates. But the balance Is a
nice one. and the other side may o0me
into control at any moment.
The radicals are resentful toward Amer
lea and Canada, and think tha their ma
tl0nal honor has been touched. The con-
servatives think the difficulty IS the re-
suit Of mutual misunderstand.ag Both
radicals and conservatives solace them
selves by falling back on their belief in
their own inherent superiority over the
Occidental nations. However Japan may
have pvofited from its adoption Of West
ern ideas, it stlll believes that its old
civilization is without a peer. and argues
that it is ahead Of the Western countries
because Europe and America have but
one civilization, while Japan has two.
The japanese do not despise the Occi-
dental peoples. as the exclusive Chinese
have done but their attitude Is that of
condtscension. This was Illustrated in
Baron Takahira's speech when he con-
graduated the United States upon the
wonderful advancement of "our younger
brother III civilization across the water"
In other words, If Uncle Sam looks down
upon Little Almond Eyes. the punishment
viii be that the Sons OF the Rising Sun
will look down upon Little Yankee Boy.
Spontaneous public opinion probably
does not exist in Japan. It 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 factions which opposed the gov
ernment party when the San Francisco
school question arose made a great cry
about the insult to japanese honor The
Cabinet was hanging onto office by its
eyebrows, and it bowed to the force Of
the storm and made the pert representa-
tions to Washington which started all the
ttDuBlt. " Hllc. American uBJtctiUn 10
Japanese immigration was bound to make
itself mariftst in time, the Japanese
themselves preeipitated the conflict by
raising the cry of equal rights in Amer
lean schools When internal 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 articles from the Pacific
ports telling of the progress of the anti
japanese feeling in America and Can
ada, and these serve to keep the spark OF
life in the question, 50 that any prominent
japanese politician or yellow journal
could again bring the matter to white
heat in a few days time.
The varying points Of view of the two
schools Of thought are very interesting
The conservative japanese says: we
do not think that this is matter about
which we ought to quarrel with the Unit
ed States, the nation which we venerate
as our first and greatest friend. We
know that the Japanese eoolie, aeeus-
toned to small wages and small living,