August 8, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



121 



is shown by the fact that the exclusion pro- 

 posals are never aimed at Asiatics indiscrim- 

 inately. "Without exception, I think, the meas- 

 ures apply only to Asiatics upon whom the 

 economic conditions of their native lands rest 

 most heavily; those, namely, who live by the 

 toil of their hands. The classes — public 

 officials, persons of large affairs, professional 

 men, and students — who enjoy considerable 

 economic independence, are welcome in Amer- 

 ica, travel widely over the continent, and 

 mingle freely and pleasantly with the citi- 

 zens everywhere. Because of their approxi- 

 mate economic and cultural equality with 

 those among whom they are, and because of 

 the smallness of their number, these classes 

 of Asiatics give rise to no perplexities, eco- 

 nomic, racial or of any other kind. 



The race element undoubtedly comes into 

 the labor immigration problem with great 

 force finally, but only as a consequence of eco- 

 nomic conditions, and at the locus of great- 

 est pressure of these conditions. Except for 

 the economic element almost certainly there 

 would be no problem of Asiatic immigration 

 for the simple reason that there would be no 

 such immigration. 



The sole, or at least the chief motive of Asiatic 

 laborers in coming to America is to improve 

 their hard economic lot. And because of the 

 restraint upon their travel which this hard 

 lot imposes, they are bound to take advan- 

 tage of the first chance which presents itself 

 for accomplishing their aim. 



"No Chinaman who has barely money enough 

 to pay the cheapest steamer passage across the 

 Pacific, is going to the additional expense of 

 a railroad journey to Kansas City or St. Louis 

 for work if he can get as good wages in 

 Seattle or San Francisco. And no Japanese 

 farmer who crosses the Pacific under like con- 

 ditions is going to the Mississippi valley to 

 raise com and wheat, if he can do better 

 raising potatoes or berries or celery on the 

 bottom lands of the Sacramento and Colorado 

 rivers. Nor is any Chinaman or Japanese 

 going to Lake Michigan or Cape Cod to fish 

 if he can do as well fishing at Monterey or 

 San Pedro. But these basal considerations 



are not the sole, nor even the most important 

 ones bearing on the case. 



Not only is Pacific North America the nat- 

 ural depository for the semi-destitute peoples 

 of eastern Asia who migrate to America, but 

 as long as there exists an immense Asiatic 

 population in such economic condition, and as 

 long as there exist such alluring chances in 

 Pacific America for relieving that condition, 

 it is hardly possible that any device of jwlitics 

 or law or any gentlemanly arrangements will 

 be able to permanently stay the movement 

 for such betterment. The problems concern 

 some of the most elemental and mighty forces 

 of human nature — the forces which antedate 

 and condition politics and law and gentle- 

 manly conduct, as the tree with its roots ante- 

 dates and conditions the tree with its blossoms 

 and fruit. 



During these very last weeks comes the re- 

 port that 5,000 Asiatics came into the Pacific 

 States of Mexico during March, 1919, and 

 that the total immigration to that country 

 last year was 100,000. And entrance into 

 Pacific Mexico means an entrance into Pacific 

 United States sooner or later. So subtle and 

 pervasive and powerful are the forces which 

 are imptelling Asiatic immigration into Amer- 

 ica that exclusion treaties and laws and other 

 mere contractual arrangements will be in- 

 capable of controlling them. 



Am I not right in supposing it is the com- 

 plexity and subtlety of these forces — economic 

 in the sense of physical poverty affecting the 

 great masses of Asiatics; racial as affecting 

 these same portions of both Asiatics and 

 Americans; and instinctive of self-preserva- 

 tion and self-realization of all the people of 

 both continents — that makes the growing 

 breach in the traditional friendships between 

 the United States and Japan incomprehen- 

 sible to the acutest observers of both coun- 

 tries ? " I do not know how to account for 

 it," frankly and almost despairingly declares 

 Baron Shibusawa, one of the oldest and most 

 intelligent of Japan's business students of 

 America. And the replies which he records 

 having received from distinguished Americans 

 to whom he api)ealed for light, shows that 



