The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-05-21
Some Senator's Regret
That 4-Power Treaty
Opened Old Crux
MUST MEET THE ISSUE
Unrest and Strikes Expected
to Aggravate immigration
Conditions in West

NfHi'IU ana tOuiNHftffl N NtNttA NN
nkely to soon bring the japanese
Immigration question 10 tho front
again.
Several Of these senators who
voted for the four. power Pacific
treaty are frankly rcRretful that II
left wide open tho ovcr-reourrinR
demand OF the japanese Tor cconom-
ic expansion and racial equality.
MULTIPLYING at the rate Of COZ. 900
or 10000 every yenr. the japanese
have about reached tho point whcru
their soil can no longer bc made 10
furnish them with adequate subsist.
cncc," said Senator Morris Sheppard
OF Texas, who has made u close
study Of tho japanese problem
Consider further that Japan pro-
duccs no cotton, no coal and no iron.
the basic materials of her industrial
life. Consider also that the povcrty
and discoutent of her WORKING
classes may at any time become
menace to the prestige and control
OF tho present autocratlc Japanese
government and II will be secn that
Japan must have an outlet for her
restless and growing millions or face
Internal chaos"
Reads From Report.
Senator Sheppard picked up n re-
cent department OF commerce report
on conditions In Japan. from which
he read:
Unrest and strikes, which II wns
expected would bc aggravated after
the temporary period OF compara-
i've quiet nj the end OF last year, |
have been increasing. fho strike
situation has been especially serious
In the match industry and In tho Yo |
kohama dookyards. Unemployment |
continues TO be In evidence, Dnd |
whge decreases are occurring In
Few Industries. notably tho match |
ana silk-wcaVnR Industries Tho
cost of living decreased about 1.0S
per cent during February"
Senator sheppard dolved into
mass OF statistics from which he
produced a statement that in 1917 4
the average wage In 80 japanese In {
dustrial occupations was 30 cents n /
day. a
These orc thn people who are q
hammering at our doors and who 90
are demanding the right 10 settle in r
tho west and, the southwest, who
have already accomplished the eco
nomic conquest OF Hawaii and who
cannot. understand why they should
not be allowed 10 ovorrun the United l.
States ON ono hand and China on
the other" Sheppard continued.
Japanese Soil Restricted.
FOR 5000 years the Japanese
have been forced to cultivate small
areas OF their own restricted soil un-
I'll now. with the most exacting. tedi.
Gus and monotonous toll, they make
a square mile support 1000 persons.
Their farms average less than
three acres to family, and the In
come Of the averags fanm family
ranges from s7b to $50 per annum.
Farm hands get about $27 "a year.
with rice and shelter.
Industrial conditions are just as
unromunerative. For example,
skilled artisans receive Al cents
day: male textile workers 2Sh cents
a day and female textile workers 10
cents a day. and the hours of labor
OF more than n million of these
workers range from IL to IA a day.
''Underpaid, underfed and over
crowded. the japanese are pressing
for an outlet. They are demanding
that they be allowed to migrate to
other countries, where they will find
the room for expansion which they
need. That is why the Japanese gov
ernment carnot II IL would, resist
the pressure of It's hungry. discon- .
tented myriads for transfer to the
large and prosperous Japanese com
munities which have already sprung
up on the Pacific coast.
THE Japanese cannot see why !
they should be forced to remain Mt q
home. why they should be denied I
Admission to other lands. why they {
should he refused racial, social and
economic equality, why they should {
he considered as undesirable aliens |
as virtual outcasts, I
Japs Fee, Rcscntfui. ,
'They expect their government to ,
secure them the right 90 migrate ,
freely and mingle with other peoples
at Will They resent being barred
from citizenship and land owning IN
the United States, from being al
lowed to escape from their over
crowded and overcultivated and
overworked country to the more spa
cious and unoccupied areas of the
west.
"And yet how much tindcr and
wiser and fairer II would be for all
concerned II we were 10 let the Jap-
anese know once and for all that the
yellow farmer and the ysilow wage
Garner cannot and shall not find
lodgment on American soil. We
must meet the issue squarely sooner
or later. and II Is to be regretted that
the issue was not met when our
representatives fOregatheted with
those of Japan at the armament
conference.
There can be no doubt that be-
nehtn a passive exterior japan CneI-
ishes grievance against us of the
pitterest and gravest sort. Under
our laws no foreigners except whites
and blacks are eligible to citizenship
Dy naturalization. and no Japanese
laborers may enter our country ia
ran regards this as an insult, as a
brand OF inferiority, as unfair dis
elimination imposed by the white
race upon the yellow.
Have Encouraged Japan"
"Our laws exclude Chinese labor
ers /" name, but Japan, With abnor-
NAL sensitiveness and pride. would
not tolerate such an indignity being
imposed uron her people, and so
through the so-called 'gentleman's
agreement we permit her 10 enforce
our immigration laws as 20 her sub
iects.
I'VE have thus attempted to evade
the issue, but we have only encour-
aged Japan TO press il at every op-
portunity. She does not enforce the
gentlemans agreement honestly,
because she holds that her farmers
and gardeners are not laborers, The
result In that the number of'Japan-
Csc in continental United States has
grown from a few score In 1880 TO
more than 100 OQ0 Most OF them