The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-06-08
Sane Social Aspects Of the
Situation Interpreted by
Former Government Inves-
tigator.
by II. A. MILLS.

1 EMtors Note-Fomerly member Of the fac-,ltys
o. Leland stanford 1r-. University and In charge
of the Asstic immigration inyestir.tion ,,,S. =
inc United states Commission Immiarstion: now
Professor at the University Of Kansas
The measure just adopted by an almost
unanimous vote Of the California Lem
lature indirectly forbids to aliens inel-
sibie to citizenship under the Federal
naturalization law the acquiring OF land
except for residential and mercantile or
other business purposes. provides for the
sale by the Probate Court of lands now
held by such aliens Upon their death, and
limits the leases on such lands as thew
may not own to three years.
! The measure is essentially anti-Jap-
anese.
The average intelligent reader will at
once challenge the wisdom of this Iegis-
iation on the ground that it is unjust,
unnecessary. and impolitic 1t will be
challenged as unjust because 1t takes ad-
vantage OF discrimination under the Fed
eral law to further discriminate between
aliens Of different races lawfully in this
country. II limits the property rights
OF those who must remain aliens and
safeguards those of others who might but
DO not become citizens. II will be chal-
ienged as unnecessary because there is
no menace calling for drastic legislation.
For six years we have had an agreement
with Japan denying passports TO intend
Ing immigrants Of the laboring class ex-
cept such as ID have been residents of
the United States and are returning here,
90 are parents, wives. or children of res
idents OF this country. or (9 have and
already possess rights to agricultural
land
Under this agreement the number of
Japanese in continental United States. as
well as in the Hawaiian Islands, has been
slowly decreasing. At the close of 1879 a
careful estimate showed that the farm
ers of this race in California numbered
only 4,5co. Their 5000 to 800 holdings
embraced a little more than $4,000 acres,
only some 1900 OF which wers owned by !
them. More recently the number OF such |
farmers has increased somewhat. but at !
present the Japanese farm on their own |
account an almost negligible part OF the !
100000 acres Of improved farm land in |
the State.
The new legislation will be challenged |
as impolitic. for It Is likely to raise again |
the question of immigration restriction. |
and this should be avoided. Moreover. 1t |
might lead to the undermining of the
change the administration of the present |
agreement Unless the bars are to be |
let down. and few would advocate IT,
such friction as has been incidental to the |
present Legislation is not unlikely to lead
to the necessity of exclusion by act of
Congress. 1t is needless to say this would /
provoke much trouble. Finally. this leg
islation may well lead to commercial
loss. for our Asistic markets are quickly
affected by resentment against what is
regarded as unfair treatment.
These considerations lead logically to
the conclusion that. as long as the pres
ent situation regards immigration
continued. the Asiatic problem should
have been regarded as solved.
The deep-seated opposition to the jap
anese grew largely out of differences in
standards. More specifically. 1t devel-
oped out of prospective numbers. racial
upon unequal terms, and the
cleverness and ambition of the Japanese
The Japanese immigrants fell heir to
the occupational and social position of
the Chinese who preceded them. As a
general rule the shopkeepers. profession
al men. students leaving high school. and
young men from the urban communities
less than n third OF the
entire number-upon their arrival in this
started in domestic service land
similar employments in cities. The coun-
try folk and the manual laborers consti-
tuted the majority. With unimportant
exceptions factory employment was de-
MED them. The Chinese, as a result of
much friction and boycotting. had left
the tradition for employers to heed that
factory work was white mans work"
But in maintenance of way on the rail-
roads, as lsborers in railroad shops and
about roundhouses. in lumber camps, and
10 some extent. in mines, as well as in
agricultural work. they found
/ ready market for their labor.
This was not so much because of their :
as because they were easily | ,
md conveniently secured through con-
tractors of their race. and because they
we're usually willing to accept lower '
wage than white men could be obtained
or.
Their living conditions were hard and {
heir occupational advance slow. There :
las always been a strong back current
oward agricultural or city employment :
m the part of all but the crudest of those
.ngaged as laborers in industrial pur-
uits. Here again slow occupational adj :
'ance. the relatively low wages. and the
esire for economic independence. cause =
he japanese to struggle to rise from the 4.
rage-earning class. :
The advance of the Japanese in petty +,
BUSINESS in recent years has been quite !,
s rapid and as strongly opposed as their
dvance in agricultural pursuits and in
general way the history has been =
much the same in the two cases. The
tory OF this agricultural advance may be Z
rief1y stated. for IL brings to view the
causing anti-Japanese leg
Station to take the form of an anti
lien lapd law.
California and certain other parts OF A.,
he West, because Of climatic conditions.
oil. and reliance upon irrigation, are
suited to the production Of
ertain crops (such as fruit of, varioVs
inds grapes. Vegetables. sugar beets.
nd hops. which involve a great deal OF
and labor. require an unusually large
lumber of hands during the harvest sea-
on, or at certain stages in cultivation.
nd present In extreme form the problem
{ lodging and boarding of the extra
clip, but which, when the problem OF Ia
or can be conveniently solved, are most
The Japanese have served in these high
; specialized industries in the same way
,e Chinese did before them. and as the
hinese still do to a certain extent. Mi
ratory, organized under bosses fairly 4
ffcient i'm hand work. cheaper than
hite laborers, and easily lodged and
.lf-subsisting. they have fitted well into Z
le requirements OF such agricultural in
istries as have been mentioned.
While the Japanese laborers have been
,gerly sought by the farmers. they
hao0p,a unnapular III