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It will be remembered that the passport agreement, which was made in 1907, provides, in effect, that Japan will not issue passports good for continental United States to laborers unless such laborers are coming to resume a formerly acquired domicile; to join a parent, husband, or children; or to assume active control of an already possessed interest in a farming enterprise in this country. While the agreement relates only to immigration to continental United States, Japan soon voluntarily extended the same provisions to Hawaii, so that in effect all immigration of Japanese laborers is subject to its terms. Nonlaborers, of course, are not affected and are free to come and go under the same conditions as aliens of other nationalities.

During the 10 years prior to the agreement (1899-1908), a total of 142,656 Japanese immigrants were admitted to the United States and Hawaii, as compared with 80,532 admitted in the 11 years 1909-1919. While there has been a numerical reduction in the influx under the agreement, there is still a very considerable immigration from Japan. It is only possible to conjecture what the extent of such immigration might have been had it not been for the restraining effects of the agreement. Japanese immigration reached the high-water mark in 1907, when 30,824 of that race were admitted.

In 1909, the first full year under the agreement, only 1,596 Japanese were admitted to continental United States, but the number increased regularly year by year, until it reached 7,671 in 1919. Immigration to Hawaii has fluctuated considerably during the period since the agreement, 1,679 being admitted in 1909, 4,062 in 1914, and 2,385 in 1919. The influx as a whole-that is, to Hawaii and the mainland combined-increased from 3,275 in 1909 to 10,056 in 1919, or more than threefold.

It is a noticeable fact that the comparatively large ingress of Japanese since the agreement is due to the increased immigration of women. This is clearly brought out by the statistics, which show that 122,293 males were admitted during the preagreement period, compared with only 33,510 admitted under the agreement, while the total number of females coming in these two periods was 20,363 in 18991908 and 80,532 in 1909-1919.

The increased number of women is not considered surprising in view of the fact that the agreement leaves Japan free to grant passports to women coming to join husbands, although such women may be of the laboring class and may become laborers here. A large part of the women thus admitted secure the right to come under the terms of the agreement based on a peculiar wedding ceremony or contract whereby women in Japan become the wives of men already in the United States, the class being popularly known as "picture brides."

Prior to May 5, 1917, if female applicants were otherwise admissible under the general terms of the immigration law then in force, and pre

sented papers issued under the agreement, admission followed only after the performance of a marriage ceremony in accordance with the laws of this country. This, in effect, allowed a picture bride while in an immigration station at a United States port to qualify as the wife of a resident of the United States in order to become admissible under our immigration law-something not contemplated by either its spirit or letter. In other words, a woman, no matter whence she might come, arriving at one of our ports without possessing the qualifications required by our law for entry might qualify by being permitted to assume a status after arrival which she should have had before arrival. This practice was not satisfactory to the Department. Therefore when the present immigration act containing the illiteracy test was passed it became imperative before it took effect to fix the legal status of these alleged marriages, as a number of the women who applied for admission as such wives had been found to be illiterate. In the absence of treaty provisions the validity of such a marriage is to be determined by the law of the place where it is celebrated, and if valid there it will, generally, be regarded as valid in any State or country in which the parties may subsequently reside, although invalid under the law of the subsequent domicile if contracted or celebrated there. It therefore became necessary to ascertain what was the law of Japan upon the subject, and whether that nation provided for and made legal a marriage contracted while one party to the marriage was living there and the other at the time actually in a foreign jurisdiction. The Department accordingly made extensive investigations, as a result of which it was learned upon high authority that the Japanese law provides for the complete legalization of the marriage ceremony upon official notification by the contracting parties and their witnesses to the Government registrar; that this notification may be either oral or in writing, and if the latter is the case it is not necessary that the parties appear personally before the registrar, but the notification to him may be made by a duly signed and sealed document, the place of actual residence of the parties not being material; that under this law it is possible for a Japanese man residing in the United States to contract a valid marriage with a woman residing in Japan by giving official notification to the registrar in that country in writing over his personal signature and seal; that the woman who becomes a party to a marriage of this kind is always furnished with a certified copy of the family registry, attesting the marriage, upon which document the Japanese Government issues to her a passport as the wife of a Japanese resident of the United States. Accordingly the Department (May 5, 1917) adopted the following rule of administration:

That the validity of these marriages be recognized unless or until it is definitely shown that they are not legal marriages under the laws of Japan, or until it satisfactorily

appears that the residence in the United States of one of the parties brings the consummation of the marriage ceremony within the jurisdiction of our laws; that proof of such marriages be required not only by a certified record of the registrar but also by a certified copy of the notification of marriage made out by the party to the same living in the United States; and that marriages at our ports be prohibited.

In pursuance of this rule passports issued to wives of Japanese as above indicated are accepted, unless fraud or mistake in their issuance or presentation to immigration officers is made to appear, and marriages at our ports have not since been permitted.

The Pacific Coast States continue to be the destination of nearly all Japanese immigrants, and 82.5 per cent of those admitted to the mainland since 1909 expressed the intention to reside there as compared with 88.5 during the preagreement period. California is far in the lead of other States, as shown by the fact that prior to the agreement 44.9 per cent were destined to that State as compared with 62.1 per cent during the past 11 years. On the other hand, the proportion destined to Washington decreased from 37.1 per cent of the whole in 1899-1908 to 16.1 per cent in 1909-1919.

The total number of Japanese aliens, immigrant and nonimmigrant, admitted to Hawaii and the mainland in 1909-1919 was 116,728, and the total number of emigrant and nonemigrant aliens leaving was 97,849, showing an excess of arrivals over departures of 18,879. In this connection it may be noted that 13,579 more males departed than arrived during the period, while among females the excess of arrivals over departures was 32,458.

OTHER ASIATIC IMMIGRATION.

The Pacific Coast States were for a time faced with an inflow of East Indian laborers which, if it had not been checked, would have assuredly created another serious problem. Nine immigrants of this race were admitted in the year 1900, but the number increased until in 1910 it had reached 1,782. This was not a large number as immigration goes, but the Pacific Coast States had had experience with other oriental immigration which began in a small way and developed to large proportions. Demands for exclusion were made, which was in part possible under the then existing law. The number admitted in 1911 was only 517, compared with 1,782 in the previous year, while in the next six years (1912-1917) a total of only 756 came. The attitude of Canada toward East Indian immigration also helped materially to reduce the number coming to the United States.

Various laws were proposed as a barrier against possible future immigration from India, but this was finally accomplished through the so-called barred-zone provision in the immigration act of February 5, 1917. Section 3 of that act provides in part for the exclusion from the

United States of natives of the continent of Asia and adjacent islands lying within certain specified meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The barred zone thus described includes India, Siam, Indo-China, parts of Siberia, Afghanistan, and Arabia, the islands of Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, Borneo, New Guinea, Celebes, and various lesser groups. Exception is made in favor of Government officials, travelers for curiosity or pleasure, and persons of certain specified professional classes, so that in effect laborers only are prohibited. The actual boundaries of the barred zone include a portion of China, but the act provides that where immigration regulation or rather exclusion is "provided for by existing treaties" the geographical exclusion is not applicable; hence China is not within its scope.

OTHER IMMIGRATION SOURCES.

Canada. The records of earlier immigration from Canada are very incomplete, but our census shows that as early as 1850 there were 147,711 natives of that country in our population. In 1910 it had reached 1,204,637, including 385,083 French and 819,554 of other origin. Newfoundland had contributed an additional 5,080, but natives of Canada alone ranked fifth among our foreign-born peoples, being exceeded only by natives of Germany, Russia, Ireland, and Italy. This record indicates Canada's importance as a source of immigration. On the other hand there has been, particularly in recent years, a considerable amount of emigration from the United States to Canada, including both natives of this country and of former immigrants, and the Canadian census shows that there were 303,680 natives of the United States in the Dominion in 1911, as compared with 127,899 in 1901, and 80,915 in 1891.

During the 11 fiscal years 1909-1919, the total immigration from Canada to the United States, including returning American citizens, was approximately 1,288,000, as compared with an emigration to Canada from the United States of 1,072,000, or a balance of about 216,000 in our favor. In the movement of the United States citizens alone to and from Canada the balance is in favor of the latter, for during the past 10 years nearly 562,000 have gone there and about 367,000 have come to the United States. It should be understood that these groups do not include those who cross the border temporarily in either direction, but only those who come or go for permanent residence.

Alien immigrants from Canada to the United States are largely made up of persons of northern and western European descent or birth. The chief elements in the order of their importance are the English, French, Scotch, Irish, German, and Scandinavian. Peoples of southern and eastern European stock form relatively a small part. of the movement.

Mexico.-Immigration from Mexico is not very large, but it plays an important part in the labor supply of the southwest. In fact much of it is occasioned by the demand for labor in the border States. The records show that in the past 20 years about 187,000 immigrants have been admitted from Mexico. The majority of these were native Mexicans, but there is also a small movement of Europeans and Asiatics over the border every year. The immigration legislation of Mexico lacks the restrictive features of our system, with the result that some diseased, criminal, or otherwise inadmissible aliens from Europe and Asia seek illegal entry over the Mexican border, making that border an exceedingly difficult field of work.

West Indies and Central and South America.-The West Indies, including Cuba, Jamaica, and other islands, have become an important source of immigration in recent years, the total admissions during the past 20 years being approximately 215,500. The peoples chiefly represented in this movement are African (black), who came mainly from Jamaica and the Bahamas, Cuban, and Spanish. As in the case of Mexican immigration, many of those coming from the West Indies are seasonal laborers who find employment in Florida, but the development of steamship connections between the islands and northern ports has resulted in a considerable movement of Negroes who stay more or less permanently in New York, Massachusetts, and other eastern States.

There is comparatively little immigration from Central and South America, the total number coming from these two sources in the last 20 years being 20,603 and 52,009, respectively. These are divided between natives of the various countries and Europeans who settle there for a time and then move to the United States.

Australasia.-Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania combined have contributed somewhat less than 22,000 immigrants in 20 years, the majority of these being of British stock. There has been no increase in the movement in recent years and there is little or no indication that these far-away countries will ever become a source of much immigration.

THE PASSPORT VISÉ SYSTEM ABROAD.

As stated in my annual report for 1918, shortly after our entry into the World War it became apparent that the United States must protect itself against the enemy, both at home and abroad; and, on the 26th day of July, 1917, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor issued a joint order requiring passports and certain information from aliens desiring to enter the United States during the war. This joint order, and the regulations issued thereunder by the Department of State, were the result of conferences between the two

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