It is useful to remember the above fact when discussing the workings of the so-called “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” It is often alleged that Japan has not been observing the agreement in good faith. Thus Governor Stephens states:
There can be no doubt that it was the intent of our Government by this agreement (the “Gentlemen’s Agreement”) to prevent the further immigration of Japanese laborers. Unfortunately, however, the hoped-for results have not been attained. Without imputing to the Japanese Government any direct knowledge on the subject, the statistics clearly show a decided increase in Japanese population since the execution of the so-called “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” Skillful evasions have been resorted to in various manners.
Such an accusation appears plausible when it is examined solely in the light of the high number of annual Japanese arrivals. The accusation, however, falls to the ground when we consider two other facts already pointed out; namely, the correspondingly high and ascending rate of departures, and the increasingly high percentage of non-immigrants against immigrants.
It is provided in the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” that “the Japanese Government shall issue passports to the continental United States only to such of its subjects as are non-laborers, or are laborers who in coming to the continent seek to resume a formerly-acquired domicile, to join a parent, wife, or children residing here, or to assume active control of an already possessed interest in a farming enterprise in this country.” Accordingly, the classes of laborers entitled to receive passports have come to be designated “former residents,” “parents, wives, or children of residents,” and “settled agriculturists.” Of these, the last item, the “settled agriculturists,” has practically no significance, because under that class only four entered America since the conclusion of the agreement. According to the agreement, then, only two classes of immigrants, former residents and the families of residents, are admitted.
This agreement leaves the question of the admittance of non-laborers entirely untouched, permitting the Japanese Government to decide as to who may be classed laborers and who non-laborers. The lack of concrete understanding between Japan and the United States in this respect is a grave defect in the agreement. True, the executive orders issued in connection with the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” provide a definition of term “laborer,” and state:
For practical administrative purposes, the term “laborer, skilled and unskilled,” within the meaning of the executive order of February 24, 1913, shall be taken to refer primarily to persons whose work is essentially physical, or, at least, manual, as farm laborers, street laborers, factory hands, contractors’ men, stablemen, freight handlers, stevedores, miners, and the like, and to persons whose work is less physical, but still manual, and who may be highly skilled as carpenters, stone masons, tile setters, painters, blacksmiths, mechanics, tailors, printers, and the like; but shall not be taken to refer to persons whose work is neither distinctively manual nor mechanical but rather professional, artistic, mercantile, or clerical—as pharmacists, draftsmen, photographers, designers, salesmen, bookkeepers, stenographers, copyists, and the like.[19]
The weakness of the provision, however, is in the difficulty it gives rise to in practical application and in the liability of wrong construction to be placed by the American public in the administration of the “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” The difficulty lies not at all in the lack of mutual understanding between the American and the Japanese Governments in respect to this question. The modus operandi arrived at between these two Governments has worked satisfactorily. But because of the lack of a specified definition of “non-immigrants” and “immigrants,” the distinction to be made between them, and, consequently, the granting of passports, as already stated, is left in a large measure to the discretion of the authorities of the Foreign Office of the Japanese Government.
The foregoing defect and the confusion on the part of the American people suggest that the adoption of a specific definition of “immigrants” and “non-immigrants”—in other words, laborers and non-laborers—on the basis of whether a person is coming to America for work and settlement or for a temporary visit, seems quite essential.
The Japanese method of distinguishing non-immigrants from immigrants, however, has not been altogether irrational or arbitrary. The established custom is that the Government issues two kinds of passports, one with a lavender color design on the front page with the word “non-immigrant” stamped on it, and the other with a green color design with the word “immigrant” printed on the front page. The former is given to those who desire to go to America for business, educational, or traveling purposes, expecting to return home after a brief stay, and who have strong financial assurance. The latter passports, namely, the immigrant’s, are given to those who are entitled to enter America, according to the already specified provisions of the “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” viz. “former residents,” “parents, wives, or children of residents,” and “settled agriculturists.” The passports, however, are not granted even to these classes unless they file a petition to the Government with a certificate from a Japanese Consulate in America certifying the breadwinner in America to be an honest man, with a clean record, who is capable of comfortably supporting a family. In this way, although without a definite standard of regulation, the Japanese Government faithfully adheres to the provisions of the agreement, even to the point of being charged with an extreme rigidity. The following table given in the Report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration shows in detail how the agreement has been operating:
Japanese Laborers Admitted to Continental United States 1910 to 1919.