The evening leader., 1916-11-21

are born in the japanese families in
the state of California.
The Japanese immigrants, when they
become sufficiently prosperous to sup
port families, write to their parents
and relations in Japan to find wives for
them. The pictures of the prospective
husband and wife are exchanged
across the Pacific ocean, and when
both parties are found satisfactory
they are legally married in Japan, reg
istering their marriage in the govern
ment records. When the women are
legally established as wives their pass.
ports to the United States are obtained
from the government.
When one knows the nature of the
marriage the fact is not astonishing,
but still the sight at the American
piers is very interesting. Not only
on the boat the wives are eagerly
searching for their husbands who are
still strangers to them, but on the pier
the husbands are looking for faces on
board the boat resembling those of the
photographs they carry in their
pockets.
allow Hot IL Is Today!"
Many Japanese and even Americans
curiously wondered what a couple
would say when they met each other
for the first time in their lives, al
though they were legally married for
many months. A story is circulated
in San Francisco among the Japanese
population that once a Japanese mer-
chant there welcomed his picture
bride, but finding no words to say to
his bride upon his first meeting with
her he said: "How hot 1t is today!'
''It is hot today" the bride answered.
And for the rest of the day the two
did not speak one word. Il
The truth of the story could not be
proved, but it is probable that they
would find it difficult to lead their
conversation, knowing so little of each
other. and still being husband and
wife, would be unable to greet each
other as strangers do at their first
meeting.
Most Of the picture brides coming
to San Francisco do not stay in San
Francisco and within few days they
go to the farms in the country. But
before leaving San Francisco in
variably the husbands supply their
wives with American clothes, and In
San Francisco there are many stores
which cater to nobody but picture
brides.
Occasional MisfIts.
The moral effect of the picture mar.
riage" has been discussed, but, judging
from the practical results, there seems
to be no harm and no immortality in
picture marriage" Although there
occur once in a while disappointed
brides or husbands when they are
placed face to face, such cases are
scarce. Even when such case has oc-
CURED it does not tend to immortality,
as the brides who are disappointed
quickly return to their mothers, and
there were several who returned to
Japan even without landing on the
American continent.
1t is, however, always brides who
are disappointed, and not the husbands,
and the reason for this is the misunder-
stood prosperity of the United States.
The brides who thought that every
body in America has more than suffi-
cient money to spend, and imagined
their husbands to be the leading busi-
ness men, or farm owners of the state,
were disappointed in finding their hus-
bands in overalls or as small farmers.
All such disappointed brides returned
to Japan most angrily, although there
are several who obtained divorce and
have been making a respectable and
good living by their own efforts.
GlIMECC ADEHX AaEMRAE