Revieiv of Revieus, 1/9/13. 



LEADING ARTICLES. 



709 



if it omitted a sympathetk" appreciation of 

 this state of mind, and of iLs possible ulti- 

 mate justification. 



It is equally necessary to recognise that 

 fhe question has a psychological aspect on 

 the Japanese side also. It is the whole re- 

 vulsion of the brown nian's race pride 

 against the -«-hite man's race exclusiveness, 

 concentrated for the moment on an otherwise 

 inconsequential act of the white man's out- 

 post province. It is a mutual state of emo- 

 tional hypera?sthesia. 



PICTURE BRIDES. 

 As to the number of Japanese in Cali- 

 fornia, this writer quotes the census 

 figures of 191 o, which tell us that there 

 were, at that time, 71,722 Japanese in 

 this country, of whom 55,000 were in 

 California. The Asiatic Exclusion 

 League estimates would nearly double 

 these figures, for reasons which Mr. 

 Rowell specifies in this way: — 



Tho nnmber_did not reach lOOO until 1891, 

 and, since 1907 it has officially included no 

 labourers, but has included numerous " pic- 

 ture brides," many of whom have engaged 

 in labour for hire after arrival. The.be 

 womeii also naturally presage a new popula- 

 tion of native-born Japanese, who will be 

 American citizens. They are the wea.k point 

 in tho " gentlemen's agreement. " If there 

 are 5.5,000 Japanese men in the State (or 

 100,000, as the Exclusion League guesses), 

 the privilege of each to send his photograph 

 to Japan and marry it to a wife means a 

 pcssible immediate increase of the population 

 to IIO.OOO (or 200,(XMJ) with the potential 

 permanent increase of the progeny of these 

 marriages. These wives, of course, also in- 

 crease the tendency of the Japanese to seek 

 more fixed occupations. The picture bxide 

 is not pernntted to leave Japan until her 

 photograph hu.sbaad has provided a place 

 for her. "Catch 'em wife" is one of the 

 motives commonly assigned by Japanese for 

 baking up land "leases. To these must be 

 added" whatever Japanese slip in from 

 Mexico. The Exclusion League in.sisbs that 

 there is a constant stream of Japanese im- 

 migration to insignificant Mexican ports 

 near tho border, with no increase in the 

 Japant^?e population of tiiose ports, arid no 

 sign of its ab.sorption elsewhere in Mexico. 



Statistically, says Mr. Rowell, the 

 quality of the Jai)anese immigrants is 

 very good. 



They bring in more money per cai)ita than 

 any but the Engli.sh and German immigrants; 

 they have less illiteracy than the immigrants 

 froin Southern Europe; they are nearly all 

 of vigorous age and in good health ; tlioy do 

 not iiccome dependents, nor proviile many 

 serious criminals; they are int(>lligent, ener- 

 getic, and sclf-reliatit, well able to take caro 

 of themselves. If white immigrants of ecpial 

 quality were available, they woiikl be uel- 

 comcd"€Mithu.siastically in unlimited numbers. 



At this point he makes the significant 

 admission that " the opposition to the 

 Japanese in California is wholly racial." 

 After citing figures of the amount of 

 Japanese participation in all business 

 in California, Mr. Rowell makes this 

 important statement : — 



While the Japanese do an inconsiderable 

 part of the business of California, and verj' 

 little of those sorts of farming -n-hich Cali- 

 fornia has in common with other States, 

 they practically dominate the labour of the 

 characteristic agricultui-al and horticuitural 

 productions of California. 



The explanation of this, the writer 

 goes on to point out, is to be found in 

 the migratory conditions of California, 

 also particularly in the fruit crops, which 

 are seasonable, "requiring a great deal 

 of labour for a short time every year, 

 and very little labour the rest of the 

 year." Oriental labour adapts itself to 

 this movement and to the conditions it 

 imposes, one of the principles of which 

 is that the work must largely be done 

 " squatting." Underbidding is the least 

 part of the Japanese problem in Cali- 

 fornia. 



In the squatting occupations, in wliich the 

 Japanese surpass wbite men in eflBciency, 

 they also earn more money. In their oc- 

 cupations the difference in wages is probably 

 not much greater than the difference in effi- 

 ciency. . . White men shun an occu- 

 pation in which Orientals are generally en- 

 gaged, just as they shiiu a neighbourhood 

 in which Orientals largely reside, therefore 

 tho darker race can monopolise any occupa- 

 tion it enters, even without underbidding, 

 simply by the retiri'uient of the white men 

 from it. 



From the superficial American stand- 

 point, says Mr. Rowell, the Japanese are 

 probably less popular than the Chinese, 

 whom they displace. 



They are less docile and less fittetl to that 

 status of human mules which the American 

 wishes the Oriental to occupy. Their moral 

 and business standards also are more difficult 

 for the white man to comprehend. It is 

 a common observation that the Chinaman's 

 only virtues are business virtues, whereas 

 the chief faults of the .Japanese are business 

 faults. 'I'herefore, the Ani<>rican business 

 man, iinderstauding no standar<ls but biisi- 

 ne.s.s standards, jn<lges tlie Chinese liy his 

 virtues and tho .Japanese by his faults. 



American and Ciiine.so civilisations are 

 builfc on contract. .Iapamv>e civilisjition is 

 built on per."vonal hoiioni' and hiyalty. So 

 when the American business m.rn S(»es the 

 Chineso ke(>[iing bis tnintract, he <li.soovei^s 

 in him tho <uie virtm^ he kno«s how to ai>- 

 prcciatc. Hut wbf>^n a .lapam^ie finds liim- 

 .sclf in a oon tract which changed conditions 



