CAUSES OF ANTI-JAPANESE AGITATION
Modern Civilization.
The major cause of the agitation against Japanese in California must be
attributed to modern civilization, which, with scientific devices, has
conquered time and space and thereby destroyed the high walls of
international boundaries. Indeed, had it not been for the steamboat,
railroad, telegraph, and other civilized instruments, which bind the
nations of the world into a composite whole, and modern industrialism,
which civilization brought about and which in turn assisted in unifying
the world, Japan for one would have remained a peaceful hermit nation,
undisliked or unsuspected by any other. She, of course, has no reason to
regret the adoption of European culture, which brought her untold values
and happiness; but the fact remains that the present anti-Japanese
agitation in California, as well as elsewhere in the world, would never
have occurred had she not followed the lead of Occidental nations.
Clearly, such a conflict is one of the by-products of the complex
international relations brought about by modern science, which, simply
because of the lack of experience and regulation due to their short
history, remain deplorably defective. This suggests the point already
brought out in our introduction, that the principle of the solution of the
California problem lies not in an attempt at separating Japan and the
United States, which time and destiny brought together, but in a yet
closer, more regulated relationship, and in the promotion of a better
mutual understanding.
Various Attitudes Towards Japanese.
With reference to the attitude toward the Japanese, it is possible to
discern four classes of critics in California. There are the veteran
exclusionists, whose only hope in this world seems to be the realization
of the slogan, "All Japs must go!" There is the majority of people which
is too preoccupied with its own affairs to investigate the facts and is
ready to accept anything said or asserted by the exclusionists. Then there
are those, intellectually more critical, who hold independent opinions as
to why the Japanese must be excluded. There are also others who stoutly
oppose, rationally or irrationally, any attempt at excluding the Japanese.
The reasons offered for justifying the exclusion of the Japanese widely
vary according to the class of people, and they are often mutually
contradictory and conflicting. To those agitators whose motive is purely
self-interest, agitation is a profession, and hence it transcends the
consideration of justice or international courtesy. They have no scruples
about lying or resorting to any means which they think would serve their
purpose. The masses, generally speaking, accept what is given to them by
the agitators, unthinkingly echo their voices, and so play directly into
their hands. Only fair, rational exclusionists study the facts of the
case, consider the significance involved therein, and present arguments
supporting their conviction. It is in this class of people, and not in
professional agitators or whimsical populace, or irrational friends of the
Japanese, that the hope of the solution of the problem may be found.
From the fact that so much agitation is going on in California, some may
think--especially those in Japan--that all Californians are unkind or
hostile to the Japanese. This, however, is far from being the case. It is
precisely in California that the most earnest, devoted friends of the
island people are found--found in great numbers.[9] These sympathizers
are wholly unable to share the opinions of the exclusionists, and are
simply at a loss to comprehend the reason why so much fuss should be made
because of a handful of Japanese who compare favorably with European
immigrants.
Psychological Nature of the Cause.
The fact that right in the midst of the hotbed of the Japanese exclusion
movement there are goodly numbers of unqualified friends of the Japanese
suggests that the motives of exclusion as well as inclusion are primarily
personal; that is, psychological. We are all human and are prone to pass
judgment from personal incidents or experience. A single disagreeable
experience with a Japanese may drive a level-headed politician to a frenzy
of Japanese exclusion, just as the memory of one Japanese friend may make
another individual a consistent advocate of a friendly attitude toward all
Japanese. Inevitably limited in the scope of experience, we can only
generalize from a few particulars. This is why there are such
contradictory attitudes to be found among Californians toward the same
problem. In generalizing from particular experience we are more apt to
arrive at a conclusion which suits our desires and emotions. We reach our
conclusions in ways which we think promote our interests and please our
feeling. Gain or loss, like or dislike, are two pivots determining our
judgment. Those who think they gain from the presence of Japanese and
those who like the Japanese, from whatever reason, naturally tend to
welcome them; those who feel the contrary, incline to advocate their
exclusion. At bottom, therefore, the effort of discrimination arises from
a direct or indirect personal experience with Japanese which resulted in
some sort of an unfavorable impression.
Chinese Agitation Inherited.
With this preliminary we shall see what are the more obvious factors which
give rise to anti-Japanese sentiment on the Pacific Coast. It is perhaps
beyond doubt, as most authorities insist, that the Japanese inherited the
ill-feeling that early prevailed against the Chinese, and this for no
other reason than that the Japanese are similar to the Chinese in many
respects and were placed under the same conditions which caused hostility
to the Chinese. We have already discussed how the Japanese coolies were
used by capital as weapons to pit against the ascendency of organized
labor. Under the general term "Asiatics" the Japanese shared at first, and
later inherited, the painful experience of the Chinese.
Local Politics.
That the Japanese issue was frequently made the football of minor
political games in California is an undeniable truth. Wholly apart from
the consideration of right and wrong, we cite a case of political activity
which illustrates such a situation. Writing in the January (1921) issue of
the _North American Review_, Mr. R. W. Ryder observes:
All during the late war--while the Japanese fleet was protecting our
commerce and other interests by patrolling the Pacific--the most
cordial relationship existed between the two peoples. But the
Armistice had hardly been signed before agitation against the Japanese
again manifested itself; however, not until it had been resuscitated
and energized by one of California's United States Senators who was
soon to be a candidate for reelection. This Senator, Mr. Phelan,
appeared in California early in 1919, and at once made a visit to the
Immigration Station at San Francisco and Los Angeles; whereupon he
issued a statement characterizing the Japanese situation as a menace.
Next, he addressed the State Legislature on the Japanese question.
Prior to his address, although the Legislature had been in session for
almost two months, it had done nothing regarding the Japanese. But a
few days afterward several anti-Japanese measures were introduced....
The particular susceptibility of the Japanese issue to political agitation
in California may be attributed to the safety and advantage with which it
may be manipulated. The Japanese in California having practically no vote
are safe toys for play. The possibility of magnifying the "menace" of the
Asiatic "influx" is immensely tempting in this case, rendering it a most
effective smoke screen for the tactics of private interests.
The San Francisco _Chronicle_ stated, in its editorial on October 22,
1920, under the heading, "It Would Probably Have Been Settled without
Trouble but for Politicians," as follows:
Had no attempt been made to drag California's Japanese question into
politics we would probably have settled the question satisfactorily
and with no fuss....
We think it probable that if the question had not been appropriated by
politicians seeking to make capital for themselves it would have been
possible to have obtained the cooeperation, at least the acquiescence,
of the intellectual Japanese leaders in the State, in measures
designed to prevent the presence of their countrymen from being or
becoming an economic menace to California....
That the question has been brought into politics, where it was not an
issue and could not be, that it has been made a cause of irritation
between Japan and the United States, and has given Japan a lever to
use against us in all matters affecting the Orient, is due to the
senior Senator from California, who sought to use the problem to
advance his own personal interests.
"Yellow Peril."
The imaginary fear of an Asiatic influx, cleverly fermented by agitators,
is certainly a strong cause of Japanophobia. Somehow we have a historical
fear of foreign invasion. This fear is inculcated and whetted among the
Californians by a hideous picture of a Japanese Empire, that, like
medieval Mongolia, would send a storming army of invasion. One might
gather from the reports of the Hearst papers in California that the
Pacific Coast of North America was invaded by a Japanese army on an
average of once a month. Whether misled by jingo journalism or aroused by
the exaggeration of agitators--whatever the cause--it is simply amazing
how large a portion of the California people honestly fear the utterly
impossible eventuality of a Japanese invasion.
Quite recently another form of menace was suggested, which, because of its
more plausible nature, has been widely circulated. It is the fear based
upon conjecture that the Japanese will soon control the entire
agricultural industry of California and that they will ere long overwhelm
the white population in that State. This apprehension was by far the most
effective force in deciding in the affirmative the initiative bill voted
on by the California electorate on November 2, 1920.
Propaganda.
Propaganda is autocratic power in a democratic state; it is a subtle
attempt at controlling social sentiment by influencing the people's mind
through its unconscious entrance. Freud teaches us that each of us is in a
sense a complex of boundless wishes. We wish vastly more than our
environment offers us; hence, most of our wishes have to be suppressed,
thwarted. Now, propaganda appeals to this weakest part of man; it promises
us an opportunity to satisfy our arrested wishes. "You are badly off, my
friends," a propagandist would say to honest laborers, "because the Japs
are here to bid your wages down. We are trying to get rid of them for you,
and for this we want your help." A similar appeal can be made with
immediate good results to almost all classes of people who have some
unsatisfied wish--and all men do have such wishes.
Racial Difference.
It is clearly untenable, however, to argue that the Japanese agitation in
California is wholly due to imaginary fear and aversion created in the
minds of people by politicians and propagandists. The Japanese themselves
are responsible for conditions which often justify some of the
accusations, and which prompt exaggeration and misrepresentation. In the
first place, the Japanese are a wholly different race, with different
customs, manners, sentiment, language, traditions, and--not of least
importance--of different physical appearance. Were these differences
merely in kind, they would not be very repugnant, but when such
differences involve qualitative difference they are particularly
repulsive. It is, of course, impossible to pass judgment upon the relative
superiority in all respects of things Occidental and Oriental; but western
civilization naturally seems incomparably superior to American eyes. Mere
difference of race alone gives no unpleasant feeling. When it is also a
difference of quality, at least in appearance--and in this all must
agree--it arouses our aesthetic repulsion.
Even if a man be of different race and as ugly as a Veddah from Ceylon, if
he remains a solitary example, or one of a very limited number of his
kind, he would not only not arouse our antipathy but would even stimulate
our curiosity, and many of us would spend money to see his quaint customs
and manners. But when his followers increase in number and establish
themselves in our midst, and carry on the struggle for existence until
they are in the way of fairly matching ourselves, we begin to be alarmed
and unconsciously learn to hate them. This is an exaggerated illustration,
but it is precisely the process which has been taking place in California
relative to the Japanese. The fact that the Japanese are looked upon
rather favorably in the East is because there they are comparatively few
in number and are not competitors of the Americans in the struggle for
existence.
Japanese Nationality.
To a certain extent, the anti-Japanese sentiment in California as well as
elsewhere is accentuated by the national principles of the Japanese
Empire. It has a system of government which for various good reasons is
unique. It embraces many points that are considered, from the standpoint
of the Anglo-Saxon, undemocratic. The smooth operation of democracy has
been hindered by some inherent defect in the national system, by lack of
experience in representative government, and by the influence exerted
through an unconstitutional power represented by the elder statesmen. To
make the situation worse, by means of unscrupulous journalism, the
American mind is duly impressed with the assumed bellicose and Prussian
character of the Japanese Empire, the hatred of which becomes
anti-Japanese sentiment in general.
The Japanese Government, again, adheres to a policy of extreme paternalism
with regard to her colonists abroad. It seems true that in case of an
aggressive and military government it is from necessity the devotee of a
pure race and a solidified population, as Mr. Walter Lippman stated.[10]
At any rate, Japan does not wish her subjects to be naturalized nor does
she encourage them to lose their racial or national consciousness. This is
clearly seen in her policy of dual nationality (which we shall have
occasion to discuss later), which aims to retain the descendants of the
Japanese who are born in America, and hence are citizens thereof, as
subjects also of the Mikado. It is likewise observable in the spirit of
Japanese education, which is fundamentally nationalistic, as it was
referred to in the second chapter. Such a policy of nationalism inevitably
incites the suspicion of countries to which Japanese immigrants go, and
discourages the people from making an attempt at assimilating the
Japanese. This, together with their nationalistic training and education,
renders the assimilation of the Japanese exceedingly difficult.
Modern Nationalism.
What accentuates the difficulty in the situation is that the countries
which receive such Japanese immigrants also uphold a policy of
nationalism, which runs full tilt against the "influx" of immigrants who
do not readily become amalgamated or assimilated. The inflow of such a
population, they claim, threatens and endangers the unity of the nation,
and therefore it must be stopped or resisted. This is the capital reason
which is being ascribed for the discriminatory effort against the Japanese
in California by the leaders of the movement.
Congestion in California.
The Japanese, moreover, manifest a strong tendency to congregate in a
locality where they realize a social condition which is a poor hybrid of
Japanese and American ways. The tendency to group together is not a
phenomenon peculiar to Japanese immigrants alone. Such a tendency is
manifested by almost all immigrants in America in different degrees. In
the case of the Japanese, however, several additional factors operate to
necessitate their huddling together--they are ethnologically different;
English is an entirely different language from theirs; their customs are
wholly different from those of Americans; their segregation offers
advantages and facilities to some Americans who deal with them. The
external hostile pressure naturally compresses them into small groups.
Whatever the cause, it is true that this habit of collective living among
themselves retards the process of assimilation, and, moreover, makes the
Japanese problem loom large in the eyes of the white population living in
adjoining places.
Fear and Envy Incited by Japanese Progress.
In addition to this, a point to be noted is the increase in number of
Japanese and their rapid economic development within the State of
California. The question of immigration becomes inextricably mixed up in
the minds of the populace with the problem of the treatment of those who
are already admitted. They act and react as causes and effects of the
agitation. The apprehension of a Japanese "influx" expresses itself in a
hostile attitude toward the Japanese already domiciled there. Conversely,
the conflict arising from the presence of Japanese in California naturally
prompts opposition against Japanese immigration. Now, it so happened that
recently, and especially since the war, the number of Japanese coming to
the United States through the California port has decidedly increased.
This is due to the increased arrival of travelers, business men,
officials, and students, as a consequence of the closer relationship
between America and Japan, as we shall see in the next chapter.
Nevertheless, it incites the fear of the Californians and induces them to
adopt more stringent measures against the Japanese living in that State.
On the other hand, the economic status of the Japanese in California has
been steadily developing. They are entering in some directions into
serious competition with the white race. Thus, in agriculture, their
steady expansion through industry and thrift has caused alarm among small
white farmers. Added to this is the high birth rate among the Japanese,
which, because of their racial and cultural distinction, forms a problem
touching the fundamental questions of the American commonwealth.
Summary.
By the foregoing analysis of the situation, we see that although the
problem of the Japanese in California has been made the subject of
political and private exploitation, and thereby rendered unnecessarily
complicated and acute, it is, nevertheless, a grave problem which contains
germs that are bound to develop many evils unless it is properly solved.
In the following chapters we shall study the status of the Japanese in
California in respect to population and birth rate, their agricultural
condition, their living and culture, and their economic attainments, with
a view to elucidating just wherein lie the precise causes of the
difficulties.