"JAPANESE AND OTHERS."
Why the "Chronicle" Is Not Asking for Exclusion of Europeans.

The "Chronicle" is receiving some letters from correspondents, who take issue with us in our conviction that we shall best serve public interests by concentrating our effort for the reform of our immigration laws upon a demand for the exclusion of Japanese. Referring to our recent editorial, entitled "Japanese and Others," some of these readers ask for some further explanation as to why we single out the Japanese. Rereading that editorial it seems clear enough, but we have no objection to amplify it. One reason for our course is that we want to win the fight, and it seems to us a very good reason. Doubtless it is the duty of the "Chronicle" and all other journals to oppose everything that is harmful and favor everything that is right, but we long since concluded that this world was too wicked for us to reform all at once and that we should have to abolish one sin at a time. We have observed that those reformers who tackle every sin at once merely acquire for themselves the reputation of common scolds and never accomplish anything. For many years there have been strong efforts to provide tests for admission which would exclude all undesirable immigrants, but there has been very little progress. The Chinese coolies were excluded because of their character and habits. Japanese coolies are no better than Chinese in any respect, and much worse in some respects. We, therefore, think it certain that when the people of the East come to understand the matter they will join us in excluding the Japanese. We doubt whether they will consent to the exclusion of Europeans, and so in the exercise of our sound common sense we are asking for what we think we can get.

Another reason why we confine ourselves to the Japanese question is that the "Chronicle" is published in San Francisco and not in New York. We are doubtless getting some very undesirable people from Southern Europe, but comparatively few of that class reach California. The class that fills the Eastern sweat shops land in New York and nine-tenths of them remain in Eastern cities. That is particularly a problem for the East to take up, while Japanese immigration, for the present, it is a question for the Pacific Coast. It will rapidly become a real national problem if we do not act promptly, but the "Chronicle" is hoping to see exclusion accomplished before the country east of the mountains becomes infested. Still another reason is the fact that our treaty with Japan expressly provides that we may exclude Japanese laborers, while our treaties with Russia, Italy and other European countries would not permit it. We might, like the commonwealth of Australia, refuse admission to all who could not write in some European language from fifty to 100 words from dictation, but that would not cover the case. The direct way is the best way and the sensible thing is to try for what you can probably get.

Finally, although we get many of the violent and criminal class from Southern Europe, the vast majority of those immigrants are as honest and law abiding as we are. They speedily adapt themselves to our ways of life and their children become excellent Americans. The Oriental remains an Oriental, and in those countries where inter-marriages take place the resulting mestizos are smarter, but more depraved than their Oriental ancestors. We single out the Japanese because the Japanese coolie is the worst immigrant we have.