Growing Asiatic immigration
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- Growing Asiatic immigration
- Language
- English
- Source
- The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XVIII (Issue No. 6) June 1938
- Year
- 1938
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- June, 1938 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 33 Growing Asiatic Immigration Chinese immigrants during the past two years were 10,655, emi grants 2,000. Nonimfnigrants; were 28,354, departing 20,272. Limited to the period covered, 1936-1937, the Commonwealth’s Chinese population grew by 8,655 by, way of immigra tion. 8,082 by nonimmigrant accre tions, a total of 16,737. Women in the total are 2,581 and men 14,156. Applied to Chinese, the term im migrants embraces children and wives of Chinese legally, resident in the Commonwealth, merchants, students, and scientists—all under the sixth section of the U. S. immigration act of 1917. Japanese immigrants during the past two years were 6,644 emigrants 3,460. Nonimmigrants were 3,448, departing 3,059. In the period co vered, the Commonwealth’s Japanese population grew by 3,184 by way of immigration, 389 by nonimmigration accretions, a total of 3,573. Women in the total are 707. Limited to im Aliens Coming from and going to Foreign Countries Year 1937 ation A R R 1: V E D D E P A RTE I) RftCC ality atl°n’ Immigrants Non-Immigrants Emigrants Non-Emigrants Male Female Tote! Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Chinese 3.367 1.803 5.170 13,401 1,671 15.072 1.636 192 1828 6,985 701 7,686 Dutch & Flemish 50 19 69 71 32 103 1 85 22 146 East Indians 57 16 73 22 131 50 29 107 English 182 279 328 821 37 63 351 1.058 30 22 52 39 27 5 6 11 84 182 Germans 72 51 123 163 239 3 10 208 87 295 13 16 1 18 3 21 35 39 37 42 15 T7 Japanese 1'3.057 1.113 4.17D 1.513. . 506 2.019 1.403 532 1.935 1.021 380 Portuguese '“TF -------2T 39 23 20 43 - -------2T 46 Russians 39 61 100 38 84 122 15 55 Scandinavians 6 7 (Scotch 6 2 8 1 1 1 Spanish 85 163 180 110 290 10 16 .35 184 126 Syrians 2 2 Turkish 17 2 19 8 9 2 Other Peoples 198 89 287 287 165 442 14 R 22 328 187 511 Total 7.232 3,388 10.620 16.371 3.045 19.416 3.166 7R9 3.955 9,839 2.071 11.910 Year 1936 Race or Nationality ARRIVED DEPARTED Immigrants Non-Emigrants Emigrants Non-Emigrants Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Chinese 4.405 1,080 5.485 11.820 1.412 13,232 143 29 172 11,549 1.037 12.586 Dutch & Flemish 22 3 25 107 131 6 5 11 109 27 1.36 East Indians 111 28 139 176 60 238 46 50 155 23 English 47 83 449 343 792 20 13 33 426 307 733 French 7 3 10 50 42 92 1 1 52 30 82 Germans 12 30 126 59 185 2 5 7 129 68 197 Iris 7 7 18 22 2 2 2 Japanese 11 1.7'7 757 2.474 —1.329 13 - 1 IZfl T.017 . 508 1 1.525. 23 1.28* 7 373. 1 659 Portuguese ------ T 2 10 10 20 — ■ 1 ( ------- - 12 Russians ii 8 23 74 97 15 62 2 3 25 8 33 38 8 46 5 6 25 8 33 25 31 Spanish Syrians Turkish 40 28 68 179 132 311 22 14 36 144 93 237 J ,.4 z z z — 1 z 1 Other Peoples 49 23 72 145 99 244 15 9 24 17.' 99 374 Total 6.458 1.987 8.445 14.516 2.688 17,204 1.275 587 1.862 14.152 2.154 16.306 migrants alone, the Commonwealth’s population of Japanese women rose during the period by 581. No other immigrations are im portant numerically. Total immigration during the pe riod sums 19,065, emigration 5,817, the difference being 13,248. Of these 13,248 persons, 8,655 were Chinese and 3,184 were Japanese, a total of 11,839 leaving 1,409 distributed among all other nationalities of im migrants. These data exclude non immigrants sojourners in all cases. Yet by one means or another, prob ably thousands of the nonimmigrants will make shift to remain in the Commonwealth more or less perman ently. Thanks are due the Depart ment of Labor for the statistics ar ranged in our own tables accompany ing this comment. 1 Immigration from neighboring Asiatic countries poses a problem for the Commonwealth. If limitation or an approach to exclusion is desired, the strength of the Commonwealth: alone is not enough to enforce such a policy. It would depend on retention of American sovereignty, some kind of continued political association with the union of the United States. If this were arranged, Chinese exclu sion as now applied—it is seen that it is not entirely affective, though it does operate as a tangible restraint— would continue! under the power of the United States and the increasing self-resourcefulness of the Common wealth to give it better effect. Japanese immigration would be a subject of diplomacy between Wash ington and Tokio effecting a gentle men’s agreement such as the Lan sing-Ishii agreement of twenty years, ago that worked very well. While Japanese are not subject to exclu sion, their immigration can be con trolled within certain limits because it is not impossible to bring Tokio to see that true or not, considerable Ja panese immigration into the Com monwealth is looked upon with an xious aversion both here and in Washington. Moreover, Philippine farming is now practically closed to all foreigners by better enforcement of the public land laws, and com merce and industry alone have places for far fewer immigrants. Nor does Japan, while America is here, wish to jeopardize her commerce here by an arbitrary attitude about immigra tion or any other subject. The Commonwealth could not go so far, and also, when definitely separ/ ated from the United States would probably find that country lukewarm on the subject—one that is notorious ly delicate and fraught with possibi lities of conflict. While new Pacific islands interests of the United Sta tes are destined to extend the Com monwealth vicarious protection in the large, details such as immigra tion will hardly fall within this scope. Nor upon, separation will the Com monwealth be able to count upon a treaty of any kind, involving the United States, unless America’s tra ditional diplomacy has gone haywire entirely and she is now willing to en tangle herself with foreign compacts. When the Commonwealth thinks of complete separation from the mother country, immigration, that might easily develop to an inundation should be the first afterthought.