"After eleven years of experience the Bureau is of the opinion that, while the operation of the agreement has kept the immigration of laborers at a much lower point than otherwise would have been the case, it has not brought the degree of restriction which might have been, and probably was, anticipated by those who took part in the negotiation. This result, in the main, grows out of the terms of the agreement, rather than the manner of its observance by the governmental authorities entrusted with its administration."

The dissatisfaction of the Pacific Coast in the working of the Gentleman's Agreement found vent in legislation. In 1913 we get the first California Land Act. The method was to prohibit the ownership of agricultural land by aliens who had not declared their intention to become citizens of the United States. That is the way they got around it, without singling out the Chinese, the Japanese, or the Hindus, by names. They could not become citizens, and therefore they were automatically debarred. But their children were not. California passed this law in 1914. There was a violent protest by the Japanese Government, but the Federal Government declared that California was within her rights, and that nothing could be done by the Government about it. But the trouble was that the Chinese evaded this law by a number of clever dodges. They formed a corporation and had land granted to their minor children born in this country, who were, of course, American citizens and could hold land. But before I touch on that point I want to give you an idea of how things stand on the other side of the Pacific, in Japan.

The Japanese are forever harping on questions of inherent justice and right, but Japan has never hesitated to debar people who keep up lowering her standard of living or competing in any serious way with her people. Until Commodore Perry opened up Japan, no foreigner was permitted to reside on Japanese soil, and then only in restricted bounds. Outside these settlements, land-owning, even for residential or business purposes, was absolutely prohibited, or restricted by permits which could be revoked at any time. In 1910 the Japanese Government passed a law permitting foreigners to own land, but only those whose native country granted the reciprocal privileges. And then there were excluded districts to which it did not apply, Hokkaido, Formosa, Saghalien, and "districts necessary to the national defense." Further"in case a foreigner or a foreign juridical person owning land ceases to be capable of enjoying the right of ownership in land, the ownership of such land shall revert to the national treasury unless he disposes of it within a period of one year.'

more,

In regard to the Japanese attitude toward immigration, there is one decidedly interesting thing. The Japanese Government has been. very chary of admitting them, and, curiously enough, about the same time that the Japanese were beginning to swarm into the Pacific Coast states, there began to be gangs of Chinese coolies working in the towns, and Chinese and Korean peddlers coming into competition with the

Japanese workingmen and shopkeeping classes. These Chinese and Korean immigrants first became noticeable in 1897 and 1898. In the next year an imperial ordinance, No. 352, was promulgated regarding the residence of foreigners outside the "treaty ports." The ordinance provides that "laborers cannot reside or carry on their business outside the former settlements, and mixed residential districts, unless under the special permission of the administrative authorities." The term "laborers is defined to mean persons engaged in "agricultural, fishing, mining, civil engineering work, architectural, manufacturing, transporting, carting, stevedoring, and other miscellaneous work." Lastly, permission given to laborers to reside in a district "may be canceled by a local governor when he deems it necessary to do so for the public welfare." This ordinance has been systematically enforced. For example, in 1907 several hundred Chinese, partly skilled and partly unskilled laborers, were deported from Nagasaki by the prefectural governor, who was upheld by the imperial government against a Chinese official protest. Furthermore, skilled European artisans, even those for whom there is no adequate substitute in Japan, are usually refused admission. The Japanese labor guilds, which are very much opposed to the admission of alien labor of any kind, watch narrowly to see that the exclusion law be not evaded. That is the way Japanese regard land-holding, and regard immigration; and when you hear a Japanese talking about the inherent and universal rules of justice, just remember Imperial Ordinance No. 352.

Now, of course, the Coast became more and more alarmed on seeing that this Gentleman's Agreement would not work. And it had another shock, because, in the years immediately preceding, a fresh type of Asiatic began to get in. They came first in small groups, and then by thousands. They were stopped practically by an illegal stretching of the law. There was nobody back of them to plead their cause, and the immigration officers kept them out, declaring that this race of Hindus had infectious diseases. But they were desperately anxious to get in. You remember, on the eve of the war, how that Japanese ship came in to British Columbia, and tried to get by and shot the customs inspectors, and they had a hard time with them. This naturally made the Californians more and more nervous.

Then, another thing came up, the Japanese began to bring in their women. In the earlier times they brought very few women, but as time passed the Japanese went to the land as the Chinese had never done. They began to lease land or buy it at unusual prices. A few Japanese would come in and buy land, the white farmers would be undercut and social differences would arise, and they would tend to go away and pretty soon the Japanese would own all that district, and they began to bring in their women to work on the land, and also to have children who would be able, as American citizens, to inherit this land and who were not subject to any of the disabilities present and threatened. The birth rate was from the first very high. . . . In the years before 1909 the sex figures were, Japanese males, 122,000; females, 20,000. In the decade since the agreement went into operation, the figures stand, males, 33,000; females, 80,000. Before 1909 it was

less than 1 to 6, whereas since 1909 it has been almost 2 to 1. The Japanese population has been increasing very rapidly both by immigration and by birth. The census of 1910 stated that there were 41,000 in the state of California. The recently published figures of the 1920 census stated that there were 70,000, whereas the State Survey stated that there were 87,000.

Another point of importance was the rapid increase by birth. To show you how the Japanese population of California has increased by birth, in 1910 the Japanese birth number was only 719, but in 1919 they numbered 4,378. That means that in 1910 the ratio of Japanese births to all births was a trifle over 2 per cent; in 1919 it was nearly 8 per cent. In 1910 one out of 44 was a Japanese, and in 1919, one out of every 13 born in California was a Japanese, and the Japanese have colonized so in certain agricultural districts that in some districts a majority of all births in those rural districts are Japanese.

The alarm which Californians feel regarding the situation is typified by this comment of the Los Angeles Times: "If the present birth-ratio were maintained for the next ten years there would be 150,000 children of Japanese descent born in California in 1929 and but 40,000 white children. And in 1949 the majority of the population of California would be Japanese, ruling the state.'

One of the most important guide-points to our future policy was a clause in the immigration Act of 1917. This is in Section 3, establishing the so-called Asiatic barred zone. It excludes from the United States natives of the territories included within such zone not belonging to the exempted classes specified. The zone covers India, Siam, Indo-China, parts of Siberia, Afghanistan, Arabia, the Dutch East Indies, Ceylon, Borneo, New Guinea, the Celebes, and lesser Pacific Island groups. The total population of the zone is estimated at over 500,000,000. The exempted classes consist of government officials, travelers for curiosity or pleasure, and persons of certain specified professional classes. All laborers, skilled and unskilled, including farmers, are absolutely debarred from entry into this country.

That law debarred practically everybody in the continent of Asia except the Japanese, who are still covered by the Gentleman's Agreement. The principle of positive and negative exclusion was for the first time enacted into our laws. The Chinese exclusion act was frankly an exception to our general rule, but on the contrary in this act we staked out an immense zone from which all persons are debarred except certain specified categories of individuals who may be admitted. This is a complete reversal of attitude. I believe this is a policy along which we should move frankly and fearlessly in excluding the non-white races from this country.

You see that Japan has become an exception to the exclusionist Asiatic rule. This is exactly the way that it is regarded by the experts

of our immigrations. And I desire to read one extract from the 1919 report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration in which he criticizes the Gentleman's Agreement as already quoted further back:

"The Bureau respectfully suggests consideration of the extension of the barred zone to such parts of Asia as are not now included therein nor affected by exclusion laws or agreements, and also to Africa and adjacent islands, so as to exclude inhabitants who are of the unassimilable classes or whose admission in any considerable number would tend to produce an economic menace to our population.

"Already there is considerable immigration of the classes indicated from the continent of Asia proper not now subject to exclusion laws or included in the barred zone, and also in a small degree from parts of Africa. It is a well-known fact that as knowledge of the freedom enjoyed and opportunities offered in our country has penetrated remote corners of the earth, immigration therefrom has resulted, and it is certain that the same effects will follow with the opening up of these undeveloped lands along commercial and other progressive lines.

"In a period of transition, and while the spirit of emigration is still largely dormant among these peoples, lies our opportunity to insure protection for the future. Like the barred zone, these parts of the world have masses who can be spared from their home countries but whose immigration here in large numbers would overwhelm us. Let us fully protect ourselves first, and consider afterwards whether exemptions can be made with safety to our country." [Applause.]

Of course this barred zone cut off absolutely that Hindu influx which had aroused such uneasiness. But of course the present source of immigration, the great source of immigration, continued to come in under the agreement, and we get the agitation which culminated in this recent action last November. The Californians got out a very detailed survey of the status of aliens in California - and I advise any of you gentlemen who want to have an excellent statistical survey of the situa tion, to write to the State Board of Control of California and ask for this report, which contains most valuable data.

To show the rapid increase of land holdings by Orientals, I shall not read the total figures, but will say that during the nine-year period from 1910 to 1919, Japanese land holdings increased 412 per cent, and the increase in the value of raw crops was over tenfold, from $6,000,000 to $67,000,000, or 976 per cent. Furthermore, these land holdings were concentrated in certain sections and certain groups in which they had acquired an absolute monopoly. Most of California's vegetable and berry products are grown on Japanese farms, the average Japanese production varying between 80 and 90 per cent of the total. For example, approximately 80 per cent of the tomato crops is produced by Japanese; from 80 to 100 per cent of the spinach crop, a greater part of the potato and asparagus crops, and so forth.

At the present moment there are diplomatic exchanges going on between our ambassador to Japan and the Japanese ambassador to the United States, and they have proposed an amendment to the existing

law, which would practically nullify that recent California law.

The

whole Pacific Coast is up in arms against this, and it seems to me that, here again, as several times in the past few years, our State Department has clearly been outwitted by Japanese diplomacy, has exchanged the substance for the shadow; because here, again, the Japanese will interpret that Gentleman's Agreement, and will determine who shall come into this country.

Now, I will tie this up under a few heads which are the conclusion of the subject.

First, our right to decide the subject according to our own best interests is unimpeachable. The sole limitation in our case is the limitation we voluntarily assumed under the Gentleman's Agreement, but of course that agreement may be abrogated by either party.

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Second, the Japanese problem in California is not a special or peculiar phenomenon. It is only one phase of a world-problem, — the problem of the physical contact of races widely dissimilar in blood, traditions, and living standards. Californians react towards Asiatic immigrants just as Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, and South Africans react towards Asiatic immigrants; and, be it added, exactly as Japanese react towards Chinese and Korean immigrants, or even towards white skilled artisans. That reaction has invariably been a demand for exclusion. And those demands have been heeded. To-day exclusionist immigration laws are in force in all the countries above-mentioned, including Japan.

Third, with the exception of the Japanese, we now actually practice Asiatic exclusion. The Chinese Exclusion Act, together with the barred zone of the 1917 Immigration Act, has stopped the influx from all active sources of Asiatic immigration except Japan.

Fourth, the reason for such an exclusion policy on our part becomes clear when we visualize the potential size of Asiatic immigration. Comparing the vast, congested, low-standard populations of the non-white world with the sparse, high-standard populations of our Pacific Coast states, we instantly see that even a trickle of these prolific, laborious people would quickly overwhelm the Coast and submerge the white inhabitants. And I have here a table to show that the three chief sources of Asiatic immigration have a population of 771,000,000, and that does not include the 500,000,000 aliens in Japan. We have against those people less than I per cent. You can see from that that a very small immigration would absolutely overthrow our Coast. Furthermore, other sections of the world, such as Australia and Canada and New Zealand, have much more stringent legislation than we have, and that very fact tends to canalize Asiatic immigration toward any attractive white country where exclusion is less severe.

Fourth, the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 was concluded by us in the hope of stopping the influx of Japanese without wounding Japanese susceptibilities. Thirteen years have passed, and it has not proven a success. Japanese immigration is steadily increasing, and shows signs of increasing still further. The agreement debars only laborers. But America has become the promised land in Japanese imaginations, and