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REVIEW OE REVIEWS. 



becauiie commercial interests remained iiiiaf- 

 fected. The advent of the Japanese in lart^e 

 numbers, liowever, gradually altered the 

 economic situation. They speedily accus- 

 tomed themselves to our conditions; they 

 iiasten(>d to acquire a hearing knowledge of 

 our language; and in every direction pre- 

 pared themselves to measure their abilities 

 in the future with the best of our own people 

 in e\ery branch of trade. In a word, the ugly 

 goad which is pricking our raw to-day is the 

 conscious fact that the Japanese have long 

 ago abandoned the labour stage, and are en- 

 tering into competition with the commercial 

 dassis, whom they threaten to outstrip. Tiiey 

 own mines, sawmills, fishing-craft, ranches, 

 and business establisiiments, and render every 

 enterprise which they undertake a profitable 

 venture. ■ 



CALIP^ORNIA — AND JAPAN. 



The Oriental Review contains an out- 

 spoken leader on the question which is 

 causing" so much concern on the Pacific 

 coast : — 



The Asafii (the " Morning Sun ''), the lead- 

 ing independent newspaper of Japan, in a 



recent editorial in which it discusses the new- 

 est attempt of certain people in California 

 to make that State ridiculous, .said, and 

 should not have said : — " This anti-Japanese 

 agitation will impress us with a keen sense 

 of humiliation which will require many years 

 to efface. Amencans must be prepared for 

 a cool reception Avhen they come to Japan as 

 tourists or settlers." What nonsense! The 

 Japanese are neither children nor fools, as 

 the Asahl very well knows. Because some 

 people in California attempt to do a stupid 

 thing the really sensible Japanese will cer- 

 tainly not emulate them either directly or 

 indirectly. Sane Americans regard this Cali- 

 fornian agitation with disgust. There can 

 be no doubt that sane Japanese do also, and 

 Jiave an equal comprehension of the underly- 

 ing motive. The California Lregislature may 

 pass the Bill objected to, and Governor John- 

 .son may sign it, but the Supreme Court will 

 have the last say. By this time Japan should 

 understand that outbreaks of demagogy in 

 Sacramento against her subjects are not to 

 be taken tragically. That is the sum and 

 substance of the matter, and the Asahi surely 

 should recognise that there is no tragedy in 

 it at all — onlv farce. 



WHAT THE JAPANESE DO IN CALIFORNIA? 



A straightforward statement of the 

 number and occupation of the Japanese 

 in California — particularly u.seful at the 

 present moment — apj^ears in the Japan 

 Magazine. The writer, who does not 

 sign his name, is frankly a Japanese, but 

 he writes fairly and temperately. 



A STEADY DECLINE. 

 Speaking of the immigration of 

 Japanese to the Golden State, he says : 



The first Japanese immigrants to Ameiica, 

 some 40 in all, .set out for California in 1869, 

 not long after Japan herself was opened to 

 the foreigner. From that time onward there 

 has been a steady stream of immigration 

 from year to year, culminating at last in 

 numbers that tended to cause alarm among 

 the labouring population of the west. At 

 first the stream was naturally thin. In 1878 

 there were only 120 Japanese m California. 

 During the next ten years the number had 

 increased to 1000; and the ensuing decade 

 saw it swell to 13,000; and by 1907 there were 

 no less than 57,000 Japanese in the Golden 

 State. Thus in a populatiaon of 2,377,569 

 the Japanese numbered 56,760, or ahout one- 

 fortieth of the total inhabitants, comprising 

 44,308 males; 7202 women; 2703 boys and 

 2487 girls. In 1908 the Japanese population 

 of California had risen to 60,780, the largest 

 figure in the history of the country. Tlie 

 new immigration regulations, restricting the 

 movement of Japanese to the United States, 

 came into force shortly afterwards, and from 

 that time the stream has grown smaller and 

 smaller, and is still on the decline. 



WHAT THE JAPS. DO. 



Most of the Japanese who come to 

 California are engaged in agriculture. 

 As to their number and influence, this 

 writer says : — 



In 1911 the acreage under cultivation by 

 Japanese in California was 239,720, mostly 

 given up to potatoes, vineyards, orchards, 

 berries and various vegetables; the total 

 value of products amounting to no less than 

 £2,500,000 annually. As the total agricul- 

 tural products of the state amounted to 

 about £11,600,000, it will be seen that the 

 Japanese farmere produced nearly 20 per 

 cent, of the whole. This takes no account of 

 the amount of labour pei formed by Japanese 

 on land over which they have no control. If 

 this be reckoned, it might be said that the 

 Japanese produce at lea.st 90 per cent, of 

 the total results of agriculture in California. 

 More tiian 50 per cent, of the vineyard 

 labour is in the hands of Japanese, and the 

 .same may be said of vegetable cultivation. 

 Indeed it is not too much to say that the 

 Japanese are the life of agricultural Cali- 

 fornia. 



A POOR LOOKOUT WITHOUT THEM. 



What the land would do without them 

 is a question no one, not even their 

 severest critics, has ever dared to answer. 



In the districts surrounding the Bay of 

 San Francisco the Japanese are an invalu- 

 able portion of the community. In the Ala- 

 meda agricultural district tht> American 



