The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-07-17
ROMANCE QUEERED
BY UNCLE SAMUEL
Literary Test Cheated ShinyO Out
Of Two Passengers and
.. Divorced Them

That the new Iiteracy test imposed
by the American immigration au.
thorities upon would.be settlers may
be fraught with mixture of farce
and tragedy was strikingly shown at
Yokohama recently, according 70
stories arriving on the Shinyo Maru
Thursday, The scene was set in the
passenger Office OF the Toyo Kisen Kai
'ha; the aetOtG i'm the Heading roles
we're Kikujiro Marumofo, 80, farmer
rom Sacramento California, and his
newly welded bride, Taxi, just twenty
iears old. The audience consisted Of Q
arge crowd Of passengers waiting
o sail ON the Nippon Maru that after
loon for San Francisco. Id
Kikujiro is hustler, but his
Utilities have never broken out in any
'orm of the higher learning. d He
nows little about Shakespeare and
he musical glasses, and cares less
Hitherto his main concern in life hai
,ecn to make money, and il neve,
occurred 10 him that he would eve'
ave cause to regret his. youthful
ontempt for the fude and sunni
lie left Japan about twelve years ago
or America where he has been EN-
loyed by an American fruit com
any Unremitting industry brough
esults and at last he felt that h,
;as fully entitled to seek connubiq
Hiss, like many Of his comrades who
ad successfully found helpmates IL
fapan. Kikujiro therefore returne,
ONE last December with nice littl,
est,egg, His expectations were mo-
isappointed. The prospect Of com
ortable home in fair California NOR,
erhaps than Kikujiro's own 'beau,
eux' proved sufficiently potent BAR
o catch a young and pretty wife, ant
he nuptials were celebrated only Q
ew days ago. @
Uncle Sam oueered II
But unknown to either at the time
rouble was beginning to brew fol
9TH. While Kikujiro was immerse,
loves young dream in japan, cold
cheming, prosaic officials on tn,
ther side were celebrating literae,
est in connection with the new modi
led Immigration Law, which also
ppIies to alien immigrants who hav,
zen absent from America for NOR,
han six months. Could Kikujiro havt
Increased the pace of his courtshiI
" ever so little, he might have beei
pared dire humiliation and despair
is 1t was he had to submit to the
iteracy test now being conducted b,
II local shipping firms in the case Q
teerage passengers proceeding to ths
I United States. The news came 70
DOR Kiknjiro like a bolt from the
hue, for, as stated, his early edhca
ion had been grossly neglected
However he booked his passage on thu
renyo Maru, scheduled TO sail from
yokohama for San Francisco June 5
several days prior to her Departure
he failed In the test, as might have
zen expected, whereas his wife passed
With flying eolors. -" ss.af ~
s1uked Again x,
During the next two weeks he
devoted himself daily to the task o;
Mastering the forty-eight letters o
he kama or Japanese alphabet Earl
asst week he again applied to the loca
T. X. X. office for another examiRa
ion, but was shamefully plueked twice
succession, on Monday and Tuesday
ireatly crestfallen he returned to hi
otei, the Daiseiya and once mort
truggled with brush and Indian ink
The outcome on Wednesday, however
sas no better. Urged by his wife be
ried again on Friday with no better
uecess.
As slangy persons express thennelve
u moments of emotion, this put tho
ID on it. Mrs. Kikujiro, who had o
ar heroically endured the public hu
initiation of seeing her mature hub
~" fall down in a schoolboy's test
/ last asserted herself and announce
hat she waived all further claim TO be
Skujiro's ministering angel, either II,
lealth, or when pain and anguisl
hOuld wiring his manly brow, In Other
words all bets were OF and so wal
he-for her maiden home. In vail.
Ter husband with tears in his eyer
beaded with her to revoke this harsh
lecision, while soft,hearted T. X. X
Jerks sought to effect q reeoncilia
ion between this intellectually Ill
assorted couple. She stuck to her point
,xacted Kikujiro 5 consent to a divorce.
and once more as plain Miss Taxi made
racks for her home in Hiroshima, to
ejOin her parents.
The literacy test had done its worst