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Show 1ST SETTLE i 'investigator Finds Widespread' I Sentiment in Favor of Rapid Action on Case ' !M 0 HYSTERIA OVER SITUATION DISCOVERED California Found to Be Center of Agitation Over Nippon Immigration Ry WIIiUAM PHILLIP SIMMS Written for the Newspaper Enter- I prlsi Association SAN DIEGO. Feb. 12. For the I good of America and for the good of I Japan, maybe even for the peace of the world, the Japanese Immigration problem must be made "Case No- 1" on the docket and settled without dc-I dc-I lay. Twice I have traveled up and down the Pacific coast, from Tia Juona to Vancouver, talking with all classes, and conditions of people, with Ameri-J (jar.s and Japanese. I have interviewed I governors of states and other p"bllc , officials. Immigration commissioners In this country and Canada have told I me their views. Chambers of com-, I merce and business men's clubs have j unhesitatingly expressed their position on the subject. Farmers, bankers. 1 labor leaders, storekeepers, publishers, publish-ers, preachers, deep-sea fishermen, fruit-growers, salmon-packers, police! authorities, statisticians and ex-sol-dlers have talkeel to me freelj. NO EXCITEMENT And Hie vast majority of them agree that. the. real merits of the case to one side, rightly or wrongl whichever way you look at It further fur-ther arrivals of new Japanese labor WOUld be decidedly unadvlsable. There Is no excitement" out here. i Nol a singTo Japanese has been molested mo-lested nor a Japanese place of business busi-ness interfered with. There is no discrimination against Japanese in hotels, restaurants, theatres or elso- 1 where. But by common consent. I among the leading Japanese thinkers think-ers In the west as well as among Americans, the future, with unrestricted unre-stricted Immigration, holds a menace, real anel certain. Governor Ben. W. Olcott, of Oregon, Ore-gon, told me: There Is no direct Japanese menace men-ace In the state of Oregon today. What I am afraid of i the future-And future-And it is to prevent future tre.uble that 1 now place myself on record. I do this In the hope that our government gov-ernment in Washington will take notice." no-tice." PAYS TRIBUTE The governor, in his message to the state legislature, declared: ' The Japanese are a race high In culture. They ar- a courteous people peo-ple a high-minded people, u people of education and progress. But they are not our people. We cannot assimilate i them and they cannot assimilate us So long as Japanese and I Americans attempt to till their acreage acre-age side by side, so long will there be enmity and distrust There should be peace between the) two nations, but conditions as they now exist cm serve to no other pur-1 pose than to finally lead the two nations na-tions to the brink of serious eventualities." event-ualities." I'AIOKS CI RB Gov. Olcott favors "a curb to the growth (A Japanesce- colonies." K. K. KuwaUaml. author of "Japan In World Politics." "Japan In World; Peace," and othor widely read volumes, vol-umes, one of the most llstened-to leaders among the Japanese In Amer-, lea, told me frankly that In his opinion circumstances demand a tlghtenlng-up of the present agreement between Washington and Toko. fie declared In favor of an understanding which would effectively bar the admission of now Japanese labor into the United States at the same time guaranteeing justice to the Japanese already law-' fully in this country BRATTLE STATEMENT And here is the opinion of the hoard of trustees of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Commercial club, j as handed to me personally by Secre- ; tary Hadley of that organization "To afford adequate protection to. Japanese, now domiciled In the L'nited States, In all their rights Is a positive obligation of I ho government and the people of this country; but unrestricted unre-stricted immigration is a different matter Existing conditiejns in this country involve problems thatl must be solved in order to conseervel the Stability of our popular form of government." The business men of Seattle then, suggested "that the adoption and promulgation pro-mulgation at this tlm- by Japan of a settled policy of strict restraint of i emigration of Japanese laborers ln- l. ndlng permanent residence In thi i country would remove apprehension ' from tho minds of our people and help allay agitation demanding legls-III legls-III that might prove to bC Offensive Offen-sive tO Japan " CM. II oRMA PROBLEM But California Is the center of tho Agitation The states of Washington ami Oregon, 1 found, were but mlldl interested. California, by a vote f 068, -183 to 222,986. or about 3 to 1. adopted th- anti-Japanese land initiative initia-tive law prohibiting not only tho ownership own-ership of land but tho leasing of it as well and In addition to that calls for a federal exclusion act ns drastic ;iS that against tho COOlles from Bayi Gov. William D Stephons: "As a people and as a nation we Continued on Paj;c Two) V MUST SETTLE PIOBLEM WITHOUT DELAY (Continued from Puo ne ) 1 have the normal and the International law right to declare who shall and who shall not enter Into and abide in ' our country. "We look to th" federal government I for legislation and treaties which will keep from our borders Oriental Immigrants Im-migrants impossible of being asslml- I lated Into our nnllonal life and whose Increased presence here would prove ! disastrous to the American mode and manner of living ' The ex clusion act should In my opinion, provide pro-vide for the full exclusion of all Japanese Jap-anese save certain selected classes." I 'I I I I I III , i v Convinced thut 'California stands as an outpost on the western edge of Occidental civilization," as Gov, Stephens' put It, V. S. Mcf.iatehy, ol Sacramento, one of the leaders In the antl-Japanose movement, declared de-clared "California's work In the matter has only commenced. As u frontlet state she Is making the fight of the nation against the Incoming rush ol an alien, unassimlablc race. She !imt now educate ihe nation, congress and the administration to a full realization re-alization of the situation and tho necessity nec-essity for Immediate action or tho absolute exclusion of the Japanese a well as of othK-r Asiatic races." Amonc the pro-Japanese McClatch Is ranked as an extremist Judge Thomas Burke, of S attic, a tower ol dependability In the Pacific northwest, north-west, told me he deplore California's stand, but admitted at the same time the poiMlhli. net d of strengthening h. "Gentlemen's Agreement." Intended to prevent the immigration of Japan-esc-laborers. IiGRi:i:mi;nt oijsi:r i i, That Japan has scrupulously observed ob-served this agreement." he told me, "no unprejudiced person can deny though this Is disputed bv propagandists propagan-dists against the Japanose in California Califor-nia There is no real difference between be-tween Japan and the United Statei on the question of immigration and it can be settled without Injury or Injustice In-justice to either. "If the gentlemen's agreement require re-quire strengthening, or If U should be found thut a treaty or a new convention con-vention would serve the purpose better, bet-ter, this could be done In f way, safeguarding our own Inter CSU but without wounding the prld. ol our neighbors " HerP then, in small space, is the situation summed up after visits tc ilifi.rnla Oregon and Washington au r'l-anelseu. Sacramento, Fortlmd and.cWrla!"1 VOUVe, Four solutions were suggested te me These will be dlscusf.fd t, next article. |
