THE JAPS.

NZ Truth, Issue 106, 29 June 1907, Page 8

THE JAPS.

W WHY EXCLUDE US?>^

Say Japanese Workmen,

WHO WRITE TO AMERICAN WORKERS,

The American Labor Reply— The Facts CdHcernia^ . Immigration,

' : As tida cablegrams -"from tlie United^ states show, there is no , immediate prospect of an. end to the trouble between the United States and' Japan. It is true that Secretary of State Taft says that there will be no war, but it is not the .first time that a prominpnt man iri : the public li£e> of a country l?,as made mistakes as to the outcome of trouble between nations. Meanwhile, it becomes interesting to watch the bewilderment of people of 'other countries, who find themselves unable to understand the opposition of the Americans to the Japanese. The American working-clasfe is solidly, m J favojj-of the immediate stoppage, of | Japanese immigration, much to the astonishment' of the French workers arid the Japanese Socialists. : 'Jean Jkures, the French Labor leader, m! his daily paper, "L'Humanlte," > expressed disapproval of the attitude Of the American working class, and the Japanese Socialist* have written to Ihe American Socialists asking j what is meant by the attitude of the American workers. The result of this is that an open letter to Jaures from a prominent Laborite, Robert Hunter, appears m a recent issue of the New York "porker, " -m which the position of the American workers is thus statqd :— ' "My Dear Jaures,— An article m your' journal of Feb. 10 concerning the relations between the Japanese and the 1 Socialist. Party of the United States has »been called to my attenfapri. As this article- interprets the itution of the 1 "American labor movement m an 'unfair maimer , I should like to ask you to print a statement concerning the . actual facts f rota an American Socialist. You will realise that it is important that the ''real thought and feeling of AMERICAN WORKfNGMEN ' lie made clear to their foreign cony rades. ''■■,'' / '' "In ,tli& first place ra^e feeling does not. enter into this question. Certainly ./there are Americans who dis.lilre those of other nations, and of other races, as 'there are Frenchmen, Germans, and Englishmen who have a prejudice -against other races and nations. Tills, however,; is an individual/ question, arid cannot be dealt with by any party.; But m jany case the ra6e question has no- J i'hiin^.J&^do with the present situation- California. . It is purely an economic question and part of the .all-absor;bing. siruggie of the! workingmen against capitalism. TheJ information whic.h is sent abroad from California comfe 'largely. . . . ;| / FROM CAPITALS* SOURCES^;^ and; is, I have no 'doubt, inspired 'byj the railroads and other large cmV ployers of labor, who .desire that the" American labor market shall be flooded with worlcers v 'fromi all other lands m order 1 that .wages and Other 1 conditions of labor may be reduced hi to the lowest level. The steamship companies have again and again been^| convicted of sending i out similar .} false news articles in v order to induce^ Congress and; the President to re--: lax the anti-immigration laws as we have now* The, reason is ttat \ ,'i THEY WANT THE PROFIT of transporting #w immigrant.. From these interested sources the news reaches, you," and they interpret the matter as a question of raos prejudice, because that they feel that the t^uly American . spirit will revolt against what seems to Frenchmen, and likewise to ; - us, fundamentally unfair. . "the second point is this ? £The American workman has suffered more than any other laborer m the world m order; to permit his foreign brother to share <■ with him the opportunities of American life. During the last twenty-five years' about fifteen million of immigrants have landed upon our soil. Thousands upon thousand's of these men have been imported for the sole purpose of BREAKING JJP THE UNIONS and of destroying the standard of life gained by the workers.. The Irish came thirty yqars ago,, and displaced the native American with a lower standard- of life.. The Italian followed 1 upon his heels, and replaced him with a lower standard of life. The Greeks" and those of other , nationalities, including the 'Japanese, 1 are coming m to replace the present standard of life by.a still lower one. I will not; say that there was not feeling among the 'Americans at' the coming of .the Irish, nor on the part of the Irish on ihe coming of the Italians, but I will yay that, although the sufferings of the :Ame?i-cans-andr, ' ... THE AMERICANIZED WORKMAN were intense as a result of these invasions, they have acted m a manner worthy, of the true spirit of international brotherihood'. The foreigner has been taken into 'the organisations, and every effort has been made on the iPart of the Americans to organise them so as to raise their standard of living.- But the American - workman now. says : '''He can live as the German, Italian, or Irish workman lives, but he cannot live at the tandard of life accepted by the Chinese and .'Japanese." The workmen then face this appalling situation-: If they do not prohibit all immigration from these nations ithe steamship companies will import : HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of these workmen to America to displace the men at present employ ecT, with the result that the working men of America will have to suffer during the transition horrible conditions of poverty. This is not speculation ; it is fact based upon previous history.. "There is a third point. The union workmen of America fight all classes, all nationalities, and all peoples, who \ threaten their standard of life, without dis^jpetion of nationality or race.vfrhey/Wld. that

man tfo be & scab" wfio comes m and takes their jobs at a lower rate of wages. The Japaneso trouble is, I assure you, only incidental to the labor problem, and if. the Japanese; object to this treatment,, then may all ■ ■ \ OTHER ORGANISED WORKERS of America who have been fought by, the union movement. Theic policy, their tactics, m- other words, are used against vii other workers with out distinction of color, race^ bti .nationality. "Now \ttiere is a fourth ipoin*. The American /Socialists have been | asked, by the Socialist Party of. Jajpan; to make clear their position on the Question; I can only speak as a member of the party, and not officially, but I can 6 feel certain the American party willimiake such response as follows ■•:> .The American movement .'does nbibuniake, nor will it make, any distinction between man because of color, race or nationality. It believes that the \ workers of all countries should be united' and should be' bound m the strongest ties ofbrotherhood. But QUR BROTHERS QF 'JAPAN nuisi; remember that the AmericanWorkmen are ..fighting the capitalist system, .and if they come . into America to work for capitalists, at lower rate of wages, undermining our conditions of life, then we must say thkt it ds they first who aie violating this law of international brotherhood. By doing this they make of themselves^. '; tools m the hands o.f the capitalist class to destroy and economically ruin the Am-' erican workman.;.: We have no. racial feeling against you, our . brothers, but we ask you not to be our enemies m this fight, and to assist capital m breaking up bur unions and rediicing bur standard of life. If yoir will agree to take upon yourself -the obligation,' and see that cv : efy . v ' WORKMAN' FROM 'JAPAN -, who comes to America will refuse to accept anything lower than the standard rate of wages, and will identify Mmself with the trade union movement we", as the Socialist Part 1 " will extend to you our heartyhand of welcome."