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EXCLUSION
ITS CAUSE AND CURE
With a First Step in Restoring
Friendship with Japan
PUBLISHED BY
THE AMERICAN FRIENDS
SERVICE COMMITTEE
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FAIR TO ALLOR DOWN ON ONE?
In order to set some limits to the apparently limitless flow of immigration that
had been coming to America in the past
hundred years, the United States Government passed a law in 1924 which limited the
number of aliens of each nationality who
should be allowed to come in each year; the
number was to be 2 per cent. of the popula,
tion of each nationality which was here in
1890, with a minimum of 100 immigrants for
each nation. It is recognized as the right of
any government to decide who shall be ad,
mitted to its shores, and the United States
Government was acting within its rights.
When it passed the act excluding Orientals
it was still technically within its right, but
a law which discriminates against a particu,
lar race or people gives rise to endless dis,
satisfaction; and that dissatisfaction is intensified when the excluded people have formerly been protected by a "most favored
nation" clause in international treaties. The
unexpected and unwarrantable passage of the
Oriental Exclusion Law has lowered the esteem in which the United States Government is held in the Far East, and has given
especial offense to our nearest neighbors
across the Pacific, the Japanese.
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DO 100,000,000 AMERICANS DREAD
100 JAPANESE?
According to the general Immigration Law,
exactly 100 Japanese immigrants would be
allowed to enter this country each year. By
the present law, Congress seems to imply
that the presence of 100 more Japanese would
be ruinous to the nation and must be stopped
at all costs. There are two factors which
make this move against the Japanese an unfortunate one. The first is that in terminat,
ing the Gentlemen's Agreement without consulting Japan it -gives rise to suspicion, and
the second is that in treating Asiatic immigrants as inferior to all others, it gives rise
to hostility. We do not need to proclaim
our greatness · by being offensive.
LAW AND PREJUDICE
Both Chinese and Japanese laborers were
originally welcomed to our shores, but when
they began to come in increasingly large
numbers they caused alarm to the Ameri,
cans on the Pacific Coast. Chinese immigra,
tion was ended in 1882 by treaty with China;
the influx of Japanese reached high tide in
1907. Then President Roosevelt entered into
an understanding, known as the "Gentle,
men's Agreement," with the Japanese Gov-
ernment, whereby Japan agreed to grant
passports only to the limited classes of her
people acceptable to the United States. This
avoided the awkwardness of an immigration
treaty, and also served the end of the United
States by excluding Japanese labor. The
Japanese have kept their end of the Agree,
ment faithfully, and its principles were not
impaired by the working of the Immigration
Law of 1924.
most cultured individuals from China, India
and Japan. Our law implies that they are
less desirable citizens than Zulus or Hotten,
tots, and our more ignorant public opinion
considers them inferior to other immigrant
groups. In the interests of justice we need
to repeal the law and to educate public opiw
ion by presenting the facts.
THE YELLOW PERIL AND THE
YELLOW PRESS
In 1925, however, Congress, without mew
tioning the Gentlemen's Agreement, and
without attempting to arrange the matter by
treaty, simply forbade the entrance of all
Asiatic immigrants. As the Japanese were
not conscious of having transgressed the
Agreement, and as they would gladly have
continued their policy of co-operation with
us, their national feeling was naturally out,
raged by this piece of legislation.
The slogan of the press which has done
most to poison the public mind is "Beware
of the Yellow Peril"; and though the law is
directed at all Orientals, "the Yellow Peril"
generally refers to the Japanese. Let us see
how perilous they are as immigrants.
BLACK AND WHITE, BUT NOT
YELLOW
The history of our naturalization law goes
back to a time when there was no Oriental
problem. Our present law is curiously in,
consistent. We admit to citizenship all qua!,
iiied members of the black and white races,
of all degrees of culture and all shades of
belief; but we rigorously exclude even the
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There are now 100,000 Japanese in Amer,
ica, about two-thirds of them in California.
For every Japanese in California there are
nearly fifty whites, and for every Japanese
in the country there are over a thousand
whites; yet we speak of an "Asiatic lnva,
sion." We have 7,000,000 aliens in Amer,
ica, but we do not refer to the "Irish Peril"
or the "Italian Peril" or "the Scandinavian
Peril." We say that the Japanese are too
prolific; but in any immigrant group the per,
centage of women of childbearing age is
high, and in the case of the Japanese, special
provisions had been made to enable settlers
to bring their wives.
What then is this stranglehold which the
Japanese have on the American people, that
Congress should drop them like a hot cake?
In California the majority of them are en,
gaged in agriculture; in fact, they control
most of such crops as strawberries, celery and
cantaloupes. They excel in the kind of in,
tensive farming that requires much stooping
and squatting, and in which few whites care
to indulge. And yet in 1920 their invading
land army controlled less than 2 per cent.
of the farming area of the state.
JAPANESE AND OTHER ALIENS
They are said to drive out American labor
by accepting low wages and bad living con,
ditions. As a matter of fact, they have
largely replaced Chinese labor, and the labor
they compete with is largely Mexican or
South European; while in their special agri,
cultural work no white man wishes to take
their place. The low wages which they ac,
cepted were a menace to American standards
before the Gentlemen's Agreement took ef,
feet, but since 1907 Japanese immigrants
have gone through the same history as most
other immigrant groups; their living condi,
tions have improved and their wages are now
generally equal to those paid to white work,
ers. They now own and operate some of
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the most prosperous small farms in the West.
Many of them have gone into the professions.
Those born in this country are more Ameri,
can than Japanese; they are so completely
assimilated that they have lost all touch with
Japan, and often even with their Japanese
parents who could not learn English.
REPEAL THE EXCLUSION ACT!
The anti, Japanese propaganda rests on race
prejudice, and on economic conditions which
prevailed twenty years ago. Public opinion
should know the facts. It is important to
preserve the friendship of the rising power
across the Pacific Ocean; a war with Japan
would be unmitigated and criminal folly for
both sides. The Oriental Exclusion Act,
which brings resentment to the boiling point,
should be repealed; Japanese immigrants who
qualify for citizenship should be admitted on
the same terms as other aliens; and all means
should be used to bring back the old friend,
ship between the two nations.
THE JAPANESE STUDENT FUND-A
FIRST STEP
The American Friends Service Committee
feels very keenly the injustice of the Exclu,
sion Law; it wishes to have that law repealed,
and to have the spirit which prompted it
abolished. To offset the exclusion of 100
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Japanese immigrants, it wishes to invite 100
Japanese students to America, and to place
them in colleges where they will find a sym,
pathetic environment as well as a good edu,
cation. Friends have a chance to convey
America's good will to all Orientals through
these students, whose coming will express
something of Japan's o'ld cordiality towards
us. The purpose of this invitation, however,
goes beyond the influence of one hundred
individuals; it is the first move in a campaign
to restore the old friendly relation between
the Orient and America by repealing the dis,
criminatory legislation, and by extending a
hand of welcome to the Japanese already on
our shores. Friends who believe in this work
are urged to send a liberal contribution for
the Japanese Student Fund to
The
American Friends Service Committee
20 SOUTH 12TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
RUFUS
M. JONES, Chairman
WILBUR K. THOMAS
Secretary
CHARLES f. JENKINS
Treasurer
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