Evening star., 1924-02-04
in TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

The Johnson bill on immigration
will be reported favorably out of the
House committee on immigration to-
morrow. 1t provides for 'non-quota"
and quota" immigrants.
The "non-quota" immigrants are
the unmarried children under eight
cen years of admitted quota I'M
migrants. the parents over ffty-hve
years of such admitted immigrants.
students, professors and ministers of
religion: also skilled laborers. pro-
vided there is a shortage here of
their kinds of skill. All persons who
have resided ten years in any other
North or Central American nation
will also come in as non-Quota i'm
migrants.
BY these provisions for mon quota
immigrants separations OF families,
such as have proved tragic under the
present law, will be avoided.
As quota" immigrants the new
law will admit only 2 per cent OF
each nationality based upon the
census cf 1890, plus 200 in addition
to the 2 per cent.
The law will apply uniformly to
continental United States. Alaska,
lands. but not to the Philippines.
Aside from the broad question of
restriction for all nationalities. the
most important single feature is the
effect which the new law will have
upon the "gentlemans agreement"
which has applied to Japanese immi-
iny fnr lac
By this agreement the japanese gov
crnment has been put upon Sts honor
to restrict its laboring class from mi
grating to the United States.
No Japanese can leave his own
country. except upon a passport is
sued by his government. Such pass
ports. under the rgentlemans agree
ment" with the United States have
been limited to professionals. stu
dents and agriculturists. and the
United States has been obligated to
recognize them without question.
opponents, appears equivalent to
Americas granting "capitulations'' of
extra territorial rights to Japan to
tontrol migration to this country in
surrender T. any other country has
ever been made by the United States.
The State Department declares that
Japan has been ultra punctilious in
following the terms of the gentle
mans agreement" Apparently there
is no reason for its abrogation, ex-
cept that 1t appears to bring an ex-
cess of farmers or truck gardeners.
and the increase of Japanese in the
Pacific coast states has been far be-
yond expectation.
Japanese exclusion. as a political
issue In the west, is filled with more
political dynamite" than any other
question. There are westerners who
concede that politicians use it to
catch votes, because of its popularity.
According to the census. Japanese
population in the United States has
grown as follows: 1880. 2.039; 1900,
24.326; 1919. 72.157; 1920, 111,010. Of
these. California had in. 1920. 1852.
and Washington, 1887, Taking the
1890 census as the basis. the John
son bill would admit per cent Of
2.039, plus 200-a total of 240.7 per
annum. whereas the average increase
during the last decade has been $500
year.
Under the rgentleman's agreement"
Hawaii was not included in the re-
StrictiOn of labor (coolie) immigra-
ton. There is question as to which
party to the agreement asked that
Hawaii be exempted. but the general
understanding is that the sugar in
terests of Hawaii wanted cheap labor
and that the exemption was agree
able to both parties. The population
is of foreign birth, and of the aliens,
60,690 are Japanese.
~ X
truck acreage in the Pacific coast
states has Increased three or four