The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-07
LYRIC

of such agricultural industries as have been mentioned.
 While the Japanese 1aborers have been eagerly sought by the9 farmers, they have very generally become un- popular. They are less experienced and have proved to be less careful workmen- than the Chinese. They are good Yankees intelligent and ambi- tious and clever in driving 8 bargain. Unlike the Chinese who think in terms of contract, the Japanese for htstori- cal reasons. have only slowly and i'm perfectly developed the contractua1 sense so important in modern busi- ness relations. They frequently do not hesitate to charge all the traffic will bear at the time, and frequently it will bear a. great deal for the farmers crops will not wait,
 Unlike the Chinese, the Japanese laborers move quickly from place to place in search of the greatest gain than those of the boss and the far mer. Frequently this migration has led to the breaking of contracts when the boss could not secure laborerS on the expected terms. Then, there hawe been other cases where the boss and the laborers have stood together to secure an advance in the rate to be paid. And, finally, they do not re- main satisfied with wage labor, but are eager to secure control of land g.
 Independent farming by the Japan ese, now attacked through legislation. is the product of the last ten, or twelve years and most of # a product of the last six A good share of this onleased land has resulted from their. dominant position as laborers.
 The Japanese find the wage relation dfstasteful; position as tenant or as landowner is distinctly one of honor. Closely connected with these facts is the further one that they, like the Chinese, have been willing to overoid the other races and have paid high rents. Instance after instance might be cited where they and the Chinese have offered 25 or even 50 per cent. more than the customary amount. Hence, the farmers have found 1t both profitable and convenient to lease land to them. Land ownership Is, of course the next step for those who are suc- cessful and who decide to remain per manently in this country.
 The essence of all this is that Jap anese competition has been on g. lower pane than that set by the white mars standard and that they are capable and desirous of more than common wage labor. Of course, there have been other immigrant races. as for example the Greek and Italian, who have also competed on 8 lower scale, but the degree of difference has been less than in the case of the FJapanese.
 AS all who are informed with ref erence to the matter know, no case can be made against the Japanese on purely personal grounds. As a class they are intelligent, have great capRc- ity for assimilation and desire to find a place in Western civilization to the externals of which, at least, they con form. But with the average American they do not stand upon their personal merit. Difference in color, language, point of view, thought, their thorough organization for various purposes and the paternalisttc attitude exhibited by the Japanese government. tend to cause all to be Jumped together and treated as race. And once assigned to an inferior rank, any exhibition of ambition and any progress from the lowest scale of unskilled labor tend to arouse opposition rather than to beget to1eratfon and respect for them
 Not little of the continued oppo- sition to the Japanese when there is no longer any menace, has been due to- the activity of the Asiatic ESxc1u- sion League and related organizations such as the Anti-Jap Laundry League of San Francisco The Exclusion League after immigration was stricted, continued to agitate for ex- c1usion by act of Congress and has employed facts and figures in an unfair way to accomplish that end.
 These are the main facts accounting for the enactment of the anti-alien land bill aimed directly at the Jap anese-a measure which in the opinion of the writer, is unjust, unnecessary and highly .fnpolftfc.