undesirable if they underbid. The farmer, however, is likely to favor the one because contented, submissive, and almost oxlike as a farm laborer, and to criticize the other because he will not remain in one place, demands higher wages when the traffic will bear it, and wishes to get possession of the land and farm it on his own account. Business classes have never reacted strongly against Chinese who compete little with them, but many say that the Japanese are undesirable because they are ambitious and " go into business."

The Japanese accused of being " Cocky." Another reason for the opposition is the very general feeling that those who begin in an inferior economic position should remain in it and that the Japanese are cocky." The Japanese have pride in their race and are anxious to be regarded as equal to any other race. They are neither cringing nor servile. In dress and related matters they do not stint themselves. On the contrary, as some of their visiting countrymen have observed, they frequently spend over much on dress. When they appear in up-to-date suits and possibly patent leather shoes, they at once are said to be "cocky. Mr. Woehlke has emphasized this and phrased it brilliantly.1

Their Clannishness another Source of Opposition. A factor of considerable importance in arousing opposition to the Japanese is found in the details of their immigration and their clannishness. It is true of course that every race of immigrants 1 In The Outlook, May 10, 1913, pp. 61-65.

is more or less clannish because of language and other bonds. Within limits it is well that it is so, for in their close coöperation many hardships incidental to the adjustment that must be made are reduced. It is true, also, that the Orientals in the West have been made all the more clannish by the refusal of others to accord them a normal place in the population. Yet it is believed to be true that the Japanese are peculiar in the degree of clannishness which obtains among them. As some of the Japanese and more of their friends who have studied them carefully, have stated, they are in contrast to the Chinaman, the American, and the European in the weakness of the individualistic spirit. Without implying that it is an undesirable quality, it is true that the Japanese are clannish. But be this as it may and be the reasons of foreign or of American origin, the average person in a city or other industrial center has observed Japanese arriving in groups, going to the Japanese boarding house, and doing other things, in "mass." Whatever the reason, the Japanese have acted together and have not been individualistic in their life and activities. They have marked themselves as different from others.

The Attitude of the Japanese Government an Important Cause of Opposition to its Subjects. Not the least factor in begetting opposition to the Japanese is to be found in the attitude of the Japanese government towards its immigrants, and the solicitude of their semipublic organizations for the welfare of the members of their race on Ameri

can soil. Without implying that it is objectionable or the contrary, it is true that the Japanese government has evinced an unusual interest in the whereabouts and activities of its subjects. The emigration companies developed out of it; emigrants have been treated, it would appear, almost as colonists. Certain obligations were laid upon the emigration companies to care for those emigrating through them, and, under certain circumstances, to provide for their return to the native land. Appeals to the government at home have been frequent and the response has been quickly made. The closeness of the relation between the government and its subjects and the solicitude of the one for the rights and welfare of the other have been important in explaining the situation which has developed in the West. Solicitude in Japan has begotten some of the hostility in America.

Likewise that of Japanese Organizations. Moreover, organizations in this country have followed the same policy. The Japanese associations, the prefectural societies, and the business men's organizations have looked carefully to the welfare and the behavior of the immigrants. They have accomplished a great deal of good. At the same time the fact that information is collected by these organizations, and that through them things are accomplished in a concerted manner, have emphasized differences, begotten distrust, and instilled a certain amount of fear in Americans. Agitation and Organized Opposition have Fanned the Flames. These and other minor considera

tions have been seized upon by organized labor, the Asiatic Exclusion League, politicians and others, whose agitation has then been a very important factor in developing opposition and causing discriminatory action. Indeed, here we we find the efficient cause of much that has happened and much of that which obtains. Yet, in continued agitation and extensive misrepresentation the cause of causes is not to be found. Without a fertile field, without other factors, agitation and misrepresentation could accomplish little. But with a fertile field and other factors making for opposition, agitation and organized opposition have fanned the flames, spread the fire, and made for active opposition.

Assimilation and Amalgamation. - This analysis would be incomplete were nothing said concerning the matter of assimilation. When those who hold that the Japanese are undesirable are questioned, emphasis will almost invariably be placed on the asserted unassimilability of the members of that race. Probably something will be added concerning the undesirable result of race mixture. In public discussions and private conferences more emphasis is placed upon these than upon all else. It may be said, however, that these are general social considerations which have not been so important in begetting the kind of opposition to the Japanese witnessed, as some of the other more intimate, "every day" facts noted above. Yet from a social point of view these questions are important. A separate chapter must be devoted to them.

CHAPTER X

THE PROBLEM OF ASSIMILATION

The Twofold Question of Assimilation and Amalgamation. Can Japanese immigrants be assimilated? Does the question of assimilation involve race amalgamation?

Seven years ago the Asiatic Exclusion League of North America was organized. At its initial meeting in Seattle a constitution was adopted, the preamble to which read in part as follows: "The Caucasian and the Asiatic races are unassimilable. Contact between these races must result, under the conditions of industrial life obtaining in North America, in injury to the former, proportional to the extent to which such contact prevails. The preservation of the Caucasian race upon American soil, and particularly upon the west shore thereof, necessitates the adoption of all possible measures to prevent or minimize the immigration of Asiatics to America." The editor of the Review of Reviews agrees substantially with the initial statement quoted from the League's preamble. In commenting upon California's alien land law he has written: "The Japanese are intensely distinct and self-conscious as a race and nation. Those who come here, come as Japanese. They have no thought of becoming Americans. .