Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-07
JAPAN


TAPAN the land of the wonderful little
- brown people, and of the rising sun, is
so far away both in miles and in its civil-
zation, that most of us have rather vague
sense of the country. Two influences have
served to bring the nation nearer in recent
years. One Is growing appreciation of Jap
anese art-not the patchy paper fans and
cheap domestic china daubed in imitation
Japanese patterns, but the subtle finely dis
tinctive and discriminating art of Japanese
prints and drawings, brocades and embrod-
cries.
Our other point of contact with Japan has
net been charming. 1t has been the stu
alton growing up in California, where the
influx of Japanese laborers by thousands has
threatened to affect the standard of living,
lowering wages for all kinds of work through
their very keen competition. In 1907
Government effected agreement with the
Japanese Governmnt that 1t should stop issu-
ing passports to laborers, and in 1918 Califor-
mia passed a law making it impossible for
the Japanese to buy land in the State Based
on this situation, rumors arose from time to
time of the yellow peril" and war with
Japan. Garet Garrett writing in Everybody's
Q, takes up the economic situation While
it is far from lingo article in it's conclusion
quoting from the most fiery of Congressman
Hobsons emblazoned utterances in regard
to the danger of war. Mr.. Garrett writes:
There was no thought of trouble with
Japan before the Russo Japanese War. Do
you see the significance of that? Until then
the world thought the arms of Western cvili-
zation invincible against those of Asia. Dur
ing the war we were emotonally pro-Jap-
anese. We wished the wonderful little peo-
pie" to win. But from the signing of the
nf a ha-
tween Russia and Japan, change of feeling
began to take place in this country toward
as a formidable power And suddenly. too,
the Japanese began to show that they feared
neither us nor any Western power
In 1887 four Japanese appeared In California
wanting work. They were the first The
next year 80 came. Between 1890 and 1900
more than 25.OOO came. The demand for
only other labor, the Japanese began to dis
place white farmers. The total number of
Japanese farm holdings in California has
never been above 1000. The total acreage by
lease ownership never exceeded l50 900
acres in State containing nearly lOO,O00,0OO
acres.
on the Japanese land situation forgot to
mention a single economic fact. Instead, he
startled his audience In this fashion: Gen
tlemen, the farm next to me is owned by a
Jap. He has white woman. That woman
is carrying something around in her arms.
1t amt white, 1t amt yellow. But it's the
Should you be willing to marry them? Un-
less we do that 1t is idle talk of giving them
citizenship. The thought of creating In this
country a class of legal citizens who should
be permanently allen in the racial sense is
preposterous.
II it is not going to be a question OF race
equality; If 1t is not land in California, and
If 1t is not the Philippine Islands what Is
left to make war possible between Japan and
is a state of feeling. The other is trade
rivalry in Asia. No other people have cut the
Japanese as we have TO the very quick of
their racial pride. We have citizenship to
give and we give II freely to all sorts OF peo-
ple-provided they are white. We have land
TO spare; and we are anxious to have it set
tied by any industrious people, provided only
they are white We have neither citizenship
nor land for the Japanese because they are
yellow.
interviewing the Premier
Japan's present attitude toward this coun-
try is authoritatively expressed in an inter
view with Count okuma, Premier of Japan,
by Samuel Blythe, of the most expert
enced writer's on politics in this country,
which appeared in The Saturday Evening
Post Cd.
1 presented my letters to Count okuma
soon after my arrival in japan and had been
told to come TO the official residence at 2
O'clock that afternoon. We waited ONLY a
The door opened and man taller than the
average Japanese, fully hYe feet ten, came
clumping in. walking with the peculiar swing
OF a man who has lost leg. and who has
replaced 1t with an artificial one. Hanihara,
the interpreter, bowed low and so did l. The
Premier came to me, held out his hand,
smiled and welcomed me in Japanese Then
he escorted me to the small tea table. placed
me ia a chair where the light from the win
dows shone full on my face. sat down oppo-
site me, offered me a cigarette and said
something TO Hanihara. We talked for an
hour and half on the relations between
Japan and the United States We skirted
round the edge OF q possible war several
times Finally I pumped the question az
him. ''Is there any war party IN Japanf Is
there any war senttmentf"
ssFhere never was a war party" he said
y ~