Japan and the California Problem Part 10

The foregoing study, which we have undertaken from the outset with an open mind and fair att.i.tude, has, it is to be hoped, disclosed that the underlying cause of the entire difficulty is a conflict or maladjustment of interest. There are four parties whose peculiar interests and rights are seriously involved in the situation. First and foremost, we have to consider the rights and interests of California. Then we have the United States, which is no less directly concerned with the problem. For the j.a.panese living in California, the issue is a matter of life and death; their entire interests and welfare are at stake. j.a.pan also is as much concerned with the fate of her subjects in America as the United States would be with the welfare of her people living abroad--say in Mexico. The j.a.panese problem in California is the concrete expression of the maladjustment of the interests and rights of these four parties concerned.

Various measures, wise and unwise, have been proposed for the solution of the problem, but none of them has so far been put into effect, since each has failed to adjust the interests and rights of all parties concerned in an harmonious way, and hence has met with violent protest at the outset.

Take, for instance, the proposal that the j.a.panese should be granted the right of naturalization. The promoters of the project insist that the denial to the j.a.panese of the right to become citizens of the United States is the cause of the anti-j.a.panese exclusion movement, and, accordingly, that the granting of the privilege will annul all discriminatory efforts. Undoubtedly the proposal was well meant, but it has perhaps done more harm than good. In the first place, it confuses the cause and method of discrimination against the j.a.panese. The j.a.panese ineligibility to citizenship has certainly been seized on as a weapon for discrimination, but it is by no means the cause. The cause is elsewhere.

In the second place, the advocates of the proposal argue that, if adopted, it will defeat the entire discriminatory efforts of the Californians. It is, however, decidedly unwise to attempt to defeat the effort without removing the cause of the difficulty. No wonder the proposal has provoked the wild criticism of California leaders. The granting of citizenship to refined and Americanized j.a.panese is in itself a proper and desirable step, but to use it as a weapon to defeat the exclusion movement is clearly unwise.

The solution of the j.a.panese problem in California, if it be equitable at all and satisfactory to the four parties involved, must rest on the following basic principles:

_1. That it should be in consonance with justice and international courtesy; it must redress j.a.pan's grievances and meet America's wishes._

_2. That it should be fair to Californians; that is to say, operate to allay the fear they entertain of the alarming increase of j.a.panese in numbers and economic importance._

_3. That it should be fair to the j.a.panese residents, both aliens and American-born, so that they may enjoy in peace, without molestation or persecution, the blessings of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and partic.i.p.ate, as all American-born are ent.i.tled and in duty bound to do, in the promotion of the State's well-being._

The new treaty, which is reported to have been laid for final decision before the Washington and Tokyo Governments by the two negotiators, Amba.s.sador Morris and Amba.s.sador Shidehara, has not been made public at this writing. We have, therefore, no means of knowing the contents or nature of its provisions. It may, however, be presumed that it will go a long way toward redressing j.a.pan's grievances and meeting America's wishes. The latter will probably be met by j.a.pan's adoption of drastic measures to check completely the influx of her immigrants. Knowing that j.a.pan has always been sincere and ready to yield to the wishes of the United States, we hold it only just that she be saved the embarra.s.sment arising from discrimination against her subjects in America. Proud and sensitive, j.a.pan takes to heart the abuses or indignities which she deems seriously detrimental to her national honor.

The conclusion of the Treaty and its ratification by the Senate, however, may not prove the panacea for all evils, for governmental action is naturally circ.u.mscribed in its sphere. To solve the perplexing question once for all, the Treaty must be supplemented by the patriotic efforts of public-spirited citizens of both countries to heal and adjust the irritated parts in the scheme of American-j.a.panese relations which are beyond the reach of governmental action. Viscount Shibusawa and some of his compatriots have, during the last year, held many conferences with some prominent Americans--those representing the Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco and the party headed by Mr. Frank Vanderlip. A better understanding of the situation must have resulted as a consequence of the conferences. The earnestness of the Viscount and his friends to do what they could for the good of both countries is beyond praise. But we fear they have been measuring America by j.a.pan's standard and trying to cure the trouble without remedying the cause. In j.a.pan the counsel of a few influential men often proves effective even in local affairs, but in America, where local autonomy is strongly entrenched, a man, however prominent a figure he may have cut in national affairs, will think twice before he p.r.o.nounces judgment on matters of local concern, lest it be construed as an intrusion, and thus defeat the good intention. The California question can only be settled by or in cooperation with the Californians, and right on the spot, not elsewhere.

We believe that the time has come, therefore, when those public-spirited citizens of both countries should replace academic discussion by action.

As a means of alleviating the situation we venture to offer the following modest suggestion:

1. That a Committee of a dozen or so members, consisting of public-spirited men of broad vision of both countries, and particularly of California, be formed with the object of formulating and putting into effect the project of relieving the congestion of j.a.panese in California.

Such a Committee would doubtless be able to secure the hearty cooperation of The j.a.pan Society of New York and other cities, as well as of the j.a.panese a.s.sociation of America and similar organizations, all of which exist with a view to promoting friendly relations between America and j.a.pan.

2. That the said Committee appoint an administrator of proved executive ability and a staff for the prosecution of the project.

3. That to finance the project an initial fund of half a million dollars be raised by contribution from the 120,000 j.a.panese living in this country.

The j.a.panese domiciled in this country have the keenest interest in the subject; they are directly or indirectly affected by the anti-j.a.panese agitation in California; they would not grudge a contribution of a small sum for the purpose of uprooting the cause of that annoyance. The j.a.panese in California who have interests at stake would surely be more than willing to contribute their quota to the fund. The native Californians, too, we strongly feel, in their calm and considerate mood, would obey the dictates of wisdom to adopt a more liberal and logical method of relieving the local tension than to resort, as at present, to measures of repression and persecution.

We are of the opinion that there would be a fair demand in other States of the Union for such skilled farm hands as we have found in the j.a.panese in California if the facts were well advertised. If proper precaution be taken so as to avoid the repet.i.tion of the same story of congestion as that in California, the plan of dispersal above outlined might prove a boon to all concerned. If the initial stage of the plan be earnestly carried out before the eyes of the Californians, a totally different atmosphere might be created among them so as to win their good will and enlist their cooperation. When such a happy outcome is obtained, a solution of the j.a.panese-California problem is a.s.sured.

There is certainly a great deal which the j.a.panese in California can and must do. In the first place, they must thoroughly grasp the psychology of the Californians. They must indicate, if they are to remain in this country, their willingness to become Americans regardless of barriers or opposition. They must show this willingness not only in intention but also in practice. They must improve their command of English, alter many of their customs and manners. They must endeavor to elevate their standard of living and culture. They must give up beliefs and ideals which are j.a.panese and which run counter to the American. It would be well for them to refrain from building in California Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and from maintaining language schools. They must above all learn to take an interest in the national life of the United States.

There is also much that the j.a.panese Government can do. Its policy of paternalism, extending too much care to j.a.panese domiciled abroad, and even to j.a.panese born abroad, must, in our opinion, be altered. The claim of allegiance to the home country by the children born in another country, whatever may be their status in the land of birth, is an international practice still adhered to by most European nations--France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Greece. From this results what is called a "dual nationality" of a subject. In a country like the United States, where its Const.i.tution endows children born therein with citizenship, the so-called "dual nationality" gives rise to an awkward situation in case its mother country adopts the military conscription system. To avoid this awkward situation, j.a.pan enacted in the year 1916 a law which provides that a j.a.panese boy who has acquired a foreign nationality by reason of his birth in a foreign country may divest himself of j.a.panese nationality if his father, or other parental authority, takes the necessary steps to that end before he is fifteen years of age, or, if he has attained the age of fifteen, he may himself take the same steps, with the consent of his father or guardian, before he reaches the age of seventeen.[57] This law is objectionable because it fixes the age limit of expatriation at seventeen, when the subject is yet a minor and is not competent to exercise his own choice. Fixing the age limit at seventeen is a provision in consonance with the j.a.panese military law, which imposes on all male j.a.panese subjects above that age the duty of military service.

Consequently, all American-born j.a.panese males who have failed to expatriate before they have reached the age of seventeen are claimed as j.a.panese subjects and are subject to conscription, while at the same time they are American citizens. The existence of such a discordance in the laws and Const.i.tution of the two countries has the possibility of giving rise to a serious international complication, and it seems advisable that some sort of settlement be made on this point between the American and j.a.panese Governments. The difficulty could, of course, be overcome if the j.a.panese parents who are determined to stay permanently in this country would take the necessary steps to expatriate their children as soon as they are born, or at the proper time. The hesitation they have heretofore manifested was greatly due to the uncertainty in which their future and that of their children was shrouded.

We cannot omit to emphasize in this connection the part which America can and has to perform. Of the numerous things America can do with profit we believe the task of Americanizing the j.a.panese to be the foremost. We wish to make it clear that, whether j.a.panese aliens are worthy or not, their children born in America are in any case Americans, and it is America's duty to make them worthy members of the nation. They are not foreigners or aliens, and, accordingly, it is clearly wrong, as well as unwise, to deal with them as if they were. Upon what we can do to guide the rising generation depends the future of the j.a.panese problem in America. This in turn must depend upon how America treats their parents.

Disappearing gradually as they are, they are bequeathing their impressions and accomplishments to their children. Any generosity and kindness extended to them are acts not so much of altruism as of vital interest in the welfare of America herself, for they are the guardians of the Republic's sons and daughters of j.a.panese blood.

It is certainly not fair to slander and maltreat those people, who were originally brought in to fill the need of man-power and who have contributed much towards making the Pacific Coast what it is to-day. To prevent the influx of j.a.panese immigrants, to avoid the possible future development of difficult problems with j.a.pan, there certainly ought to be some better means than gradually strangling the innocent people who individually are in no way to be blamed for the present strained relations on the Pacific Coast.

All these considerations lead us to a belief that the time is now ripe for the American people, and especially for the people of California, to reconstruct their att.i.tude and policy towards the j.a.panese domiciled in this country. Every indication seems to suggest that if, in place of the discriminatory policy so far resorted to with no better effect than general irritation, a new policy be initiated, a policy of constructive Americanization based upon generosity, sympathy, and understanding, the result will surely be far-reaching. It is a common fact of human experience that one's att.i.tude is directly responded to by other people with whom we deal. It was Thackeray, we believe, who said that "the world is like a looking-gla.s.s; if we smile, others also smile." What cannot be achieved by a hostile policy is often easily and satisfactorily accomplished by sympathetic att.i.tude and friendly dealing. Give the j.a.panese the opportunity and see what good use they will make of it.

We hardly need to reiterate that the j.a.panese-California question--the main theme of this book--is only a part of the vast problem which confronts America and j.a.pan. The present world tendency is to bind increasingly all parts of the world into one. The process of civilization, like a revolving body, exerts centrifugal and centripetal force and gradually unifies all civilizations into a cohesive system. At present there are two centers of such forces, one in the East and another in the West, each trying to influence the other. By virtue of being the youngest and the most vigorous representatives of the two spheres, j.a.pan and America, respectively, are naturally destined to shoulder together the great task of harmonizing and unifying these two great currents of human achievement. The task involves, from its gigantic nature, a great many difficulties and risks of which the present California issue is certainly one. All these difficulties must be squarely met and surmounted with courage and wisdom, since to shrink from the job is to commit the future relationship of the East and West to the cruel law of natural selection.

It is, however, generally true that the perfect understanding of the common aim settles the incidental difficulties arising in the process.

This is particularly true in the case of the California-j.a.panese question, which is a partial issue of the great undertaking between America and j.a.pan. The core of the California problem, our study has shown, is the question of a.s.similability of the j.a.panese. But what is the a.s.similation but the approach to the common standard of culture and ideals? The approach to the common standard of culture and ideals between the peoples of Asia and Europe and America is precisely the task in which j.a.pan and the United States are engaged in unison. Herein is the explanation of our earlier a.s.sertion that the California problem is a miniature form of the problem of the East and West. Herein also is the support of our contention that to accelerate the cooperative effort of America and j.a.pan for mutual understanding is the only and the best method of bringing about the solution of the j.a.panese problem in California or elsewhere in the United States. We wish, therefore, to emphasize once more that the wisest policy to follow in the future for America and j.a.pan is not foolishly to sharpen the edge of swords for imaginary race wars, which are absurd, but to devote themselves wisely to learning and appreciating each other's accomplishments and greatness, from which alone true friendship can arise.

APPENDIX A

[Ill.u.s.tration: _COMPARATIVE HEIGHT OF AMERICAN, j.a.pANESE-AMERICAN & j.a.pANESE CHILDREN_]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _COMPARATIVE WEIGHT OF AMERICAN, j.a.pANESE-AMERICAN & j.a.pANESE CHILDREN_]

APPENDIX B

EXTRACTS FROM THE TREATY OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION AND PROTOCOL BETWEEN j.a.pAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, OF FEBRUARY 21, 1911.

His Majesty, the Emperor of j.a.pan, and the President of the United States of America, being desirous to strengthen the relations of amity and good understanding which happily exist between the two nations, and believing that the fixation in a manner clear and positive of the rules which are hereafter to govern the commercial intercourse between their respective countries will contribute to this most desirable result, have resolved to conclude a treaty of commerce and navigation.

=Article I.=--The subjects or citizens of each of the high contracting parties shall have liberty to enter, travel, and reside in the territories of the other, to carry on trade, wholesale and retail, to own or lease and occupy houses, manufactories, warehouses, and shops, to employ agents of their choice, to lease land for residential and commercial purposes, and generally to do anything incident to or necessary for trade, upon the same terms as native subjects or citizens, submitting themselves to the laws and regulations there established.

They shall not be compelled, under any pretext whatever, to pay any charges or taxes other or higher than those that are or may be paid by native subjects or citizens.

The subjects or citizens of each of the high contracting parties shall receive, in the territories of the other, the most constant protection and security for their persons and property and shall enjoy in this respect the same rights and privileges as are or may be granted to native subjects or citizens, on their submitting themselves to the conditions imposed upon the native subjects and citizens.

=Article IV.=--There shall be between the territories of the two high contracting parties reciprocal freedom of commerce and navigation. The subjects or citizens of each of the contracting parties, equally with the subjects or citizens of the most favored nation shall have liberty freely to come with their ships and cargoes to all places, ports, and rivers in the territories of the other which are or may be opened to foreign commerce, subject always to the laws of the country to which they thus come.

=Article V.=--Neither contracting party shall impose any other or higher duties or charges on the exportation of any article to the territories of the other than are or may be payable on the exportation of the like article to any other foreign country.

Nor shall any prohibition be imposed by either country on the importation or exportation of any article from or to the territories of the other which shall not equally extend to the like article imported from or exported to any other country.

=Article XIV.=--Except as otherwise expressly provided in this treaty, the high contracting parties agree that in all that concerns commerce and navigation, any privilege, favor, or immunity which either contracting party has actually granted or may hereafter grant, to the subjects or citizens of any other State shall be extended to the subjects or citizens of the other contracting party ... on the same or equivalent conditions....

Declaration

In proceeding this day to the signature of the treaty of commerce and navigation ... the undersigned has the honor to declare that the Imperial j.a.panese Government are fully prepared to maintain with equal effectiveness the limitation and control which they have for the past three years exercised in regulation of the immigration of laborers to the United States.

(Signed) Y. UCHIDA.

February 21, 1911.

APPENDIX C