meals, laundries, barbers, groceries, fish markets, clothes-cleaning and pressing shops, pool rooms, watch-repairing shops, drug stores, and cigar and confectionery stands is done with the members of the various non-Asiatic races of the class mentioned. The competition of the Japanese establishments has not been of any special importance, however, except in the case of the cobbler shops, restaurants, pool rooms, barber shops, and laundries. Only the proprietors of the laundries have as yet offered any organized resistance to the inroads of the Japanese upon their business, the reason being that they alone are organized and in position to offer such resistance. One characteristic of most of the Japanese business establishments is the insignificant amount of capital employed and the small volume of business transacted. In fact, the proportion of small establishments is considerably greater than the number indicated in the investigation. Except for a few of the art stores and provision and grocery stores it may be properly called petty business. In this, however, if a few exceptions are allowed for, the Japanese business does not present any particular contrast to that of the other races-largely foreign-carried on in the same or similar districts of the city. The total capital employed by the 92 establishments investigated was $361,710. The indebtedness reported outstanding against this amounted to $63,460. Of this, $59,560 was on account of stock in trade, $2,000 on account of fixtures, and $1,900 on account of personal loans from friends. The total number of employees reported by the 92 establishments was 177. Of these, 11 were white persons, 166 were Japanese. Of the latter, 116 were provided with board and lodging by the employer, 31 received board only, 5 lodging only, and 14 neither board nor lodging in addition to their wages. Most of the employees are single men or married men whose wives are abroad, so that an arrangement whereby they receive board and lodging is a convenience for most of them. In 65 cases the proprietors lived in the rear or over the rooms in which business was conducted. With very few exceptions the employees receive lodging and food from their employers. The lodgings of the men were inspected by the agent in 37 cases. The conditions found varied greatly. In 26 cases the rooms were well ventilated and comfortably furnished, the bedding clean, and all details. at least fairly satisfactory. In the other 11 cases the lodgings were deficient in one or more respects, the rooms usually being in disorder and the bedding dirty. In 4 of these cases the rooms were, in the opinion of the agent, also inadequate for the needs of the number of persons occupying them. PERSONAL DATA RELATIVE TO JAPANESE BUSINESS MEN. Personal data were obtained from 100 Japanese men engaged in the business enterprises which have alreedy been dealt with in this report. As shown by General Table 33 (which includes 3 male minors who were members of the families of these men), 33 had been in the continental United States ten years or over; 67, or two-thirds of the entire number, less than ten years; 2 had been in this country two years, 5 three years, 12 four years, 48 five to nine years, 27 from ten to fourteen years, 5 from fifteen to nineteen years. and only 1 for twenty years or over, Of 98 from whom data were obtained bearing upon the point, 8 had been laborers on the plantations in the Hawaiian Islands before coming to the continental United States. Thirty-eight of the 98 had been engaged in business on their own accounts just previous to their immigration. One of the others had been a laborer in an industrial establishment, 12 had been working for wages in other capacities, chiefly in cities, 19 had been associated with their fathers in farming or in business, while 18 had no occupation. From this it is evident that the majority of these men had come from the cities and that a large percentage had been engaged in some kind of business on their own account, while a comparatively small percentage had been members of the city wage-earning classes (General Table 24). Most of those who had been engaged in business, however, were engaged in petty trade, came to the United States when comparatively young men, and brought little or no capital with them. Thirty of the 100 were 30 years of age or over, 70 under 30 years of age upon their arrival in this country. Ten were under 18, and 7 were 18 or 19 years of age these comprising the majority of those who had not been occupied unless working with their fathers, and most of whom came to this country immediately upon leaving school. Of the others, 25 were between 20 and 25, 28 between 25 and 30, 13 between 30 and 35, 13 between 35 and 40, 1 between 40 and 45, and 3 45 or over, at the time of their arrival in this country. (General Table 31.) The amount of money in their possession upon arrival was reported by 98. Three partners coming together had $10,000, 4 sums between $500 and $1,000, and 9 others between $200 and $500 each. Sixty-six of the 98, or about two-thirds of the entire number, had less than $100, and of these, 37 had less than $50 upon their arrival in this country. It is evident that comparatively few came with sufficient capital to engage in business at the outset. Twelve came to pursue their studies, but practically all of the others came to this country on the ground that it presented the best opportunities for making money and expected to begin as wage-earners. Of 98, 16 engaged in business in this country, while the remaining 82 were first gainfully occupied as wage-earners. Eleven found their first occupation as railroad laborers, 30 as domestics, 20 as farm hands—a total of 61, who became wage-earners in employments well organized and controlled by Japanese "bosses." Of the remainder, 3 found employment in restaurants, 5 in stores, 10 in various other occupations, while the first occupation of 3 was not ascertained. (General Table 24.) Most of those who did not engage in business immediately upon their arrival were enabled soon to do so, in several instances the formation of partnerships making it possible to establish themselves with less personal capital than is required for the kind of business they conduct. Information as to the number of years they worked for wages in this country before they engaged in business on their own account was secured from 89. Sixteen of these engaged in business at once; 8 worked for wages for less than one year; 30 for one year, but less than two; 17 for two years, but less than three; 7 for three, but less than four; 4 for four years, but less than five; 2 for five years, but less than six; 1 for seven, 1 for eight, 2 for nine, and 1 for eleven years before engaging in business for themselves. It is evident that most of them soon departed from the wage-earning class. They were enabled to do so because of the small amount of capital required in such business as they are engaged in and the opportunities presented for making profit in Los Angeles. Moreover, they found strong inducement in the fact that most of them had not been wage-earners at home, and that a large number were married men who found it impossible to lead a normal family life while working as wage-earners elsewhere than in the city. Indeed, those who have wished to have their families with them in this country have found it possible to make suitable provision for them only by becoming farmers or business men and thus severing their connection with the wage-earning class. A comparison of the business now engaged in with the occupation before leaving their native land reveals the fact that the majority are conducting business in which they had had no experience abroad. Of 8 grocers and supply men, 1 had been a grocer abroad, 2 had been clerks, 1 a farmer, and 1 a sailor, while the other 3 had been otherwise occupied. Of the proprietors of haberdasheries, 1 had been a grain dealer, the other a farmer; the proprietor of the shoe store had been a fisherman; of 9 restaurant proprietors, 1 had engaged in the same kind of business abroad, 4 had been farmers or farmers' sons, 2 had been clerks, 1 a sailor, and 1 a metal worker. These are typical of the majority of the branches of business engaged in. There are exceptional cases, however, these being found among the proprietors of the larger art and curio stores, druggists, tailors, shoemakers, and barbers, most of whom had been engaged in the same or a closely related business in Japan. How well the Japanese business men from whom data were secured have succeeded is indicated by the net value of the property now owned by them as well as by the position they occupy as shown in the preceding section of this report. One of 98 reporting has property the net value of which is estimated to be in excess of $25,000; 4, $10,000 but less than $25,000; 8, $5,000 but less than $10,000; 16, $2,500 but less than $5,000; 25, $1,500 but less than $2,500; 16, $1,000 but less than $1,500; and 22, $500 but less than $1,000. The remaining six have less than $500 worth of property after indebtedness is deducted. Grouping in a different way, the wealth of 13 is estimated at $5,000 or more, of 57 at $1,000 but less than $5,000, of 28 at less than $1,000. As would be expected, all of those who are worth more than $5,000 have been here five years or longer and most of them have been here from ten to twenty years or over. The details relating to length of residence and wealth are shown in General Table 25. The gross value of all property owned by the 98 was $337,070, the indebtedness of 35, $40,810, the net amount owned by all, $296,260, the average for each, $3,023.06. (General Table 28.) The success of these business men is indicated also by the profits they report as realized in business and by their personal gains for the year preceding the investigation. The profits of each establishment are shown in General Table 22, the personal incomes of 97 in so far as derived from the main business in which they are engaged, in General Table 42. These are only estimates and at best only approximately accurate, but it is believed that they indicate in a general way the position that these men occupy. The incomes of the 97 men in so far as derived from the principal business or busi nesses in which they engaged, aggregated $111,995 or $1,154.59 per man. Four had incomes of between $300 and $400, 2 between $400 and $500, 26 between $500 and $750, 27 between $750 and $1,000, 22 between $1,000 and $1,500, 6 between $1,500 and $2,000, 3 between $2,000 and $2,500, while 7 had annual incomes of $2,500 or over. The incomes of the restaurant keepers varied between $400 and $2,600 and averaged $1,267.27. Those of the lodging-house keepers varied between $600 as a minimum and $2,250 as a maximum and averaged $1,151.67. The minimum for the shop and store keepers was $300, the maximum $6,000. Of the 39, only 6 had incomes as great as $1,500. The incomes of the 6 were $2,400, $2,880, $3,000, $4,000, $4,200, and $6,000, respectively. The incomes of 8 proprietors of small barber shops varied between $600 and $1,080 and averaged $832.50 for the year. Of 2 tailors, I made $1,080, the other $1,200. Of 3 shoemakers, 1 made $900, the other 2 $720 each. The 2 employment agents reported incomes of $720 and $840, respectively. The 6 proprietors of laundries reported incomes of $600 each in two cases, $1,920 each in two other cases, and $875 and $1,200 in the other two. The incomes of the proprietors of pool rooms varied between $360 as a minimum and $1,200 as a maximum, and averaged $840 for the 6. The incomes of 11 of the 14, placed in a miscellaneous group, were less than $1,000 each. Fifteen of the 97 had subsidiary sources of income. Two received dividends on stocks aggregating $7,000. The remaining 13 had comparatively small incomes from other business or labor or from the renting of property, the total amount being $5,962. The total incomes of the 97, therefore, aggregated $124,957, an average of $1,288.14 each. Including incomes from all sources, the net incomes of the 97 were as follows: Amount of income: $300 and under $400. Total Number. 42872637 97 For reasons already stated, the proportion of small incomes would be considerably larger were a complete census of all Japanese establishments made. The surplus or deficit of 95 men, after meeting their personal expenses as reported to the agents, are shown in General Table 26. One had a deficit of $250 for the year, while 10 had neither surplus nor deficit. The remaining 84 had a surplus varying from $100 to $4,000 and averaging $621.61. The surplus of 19 was between $100 and $250; of 26, between $250 and $500; of 25, between $500 and $1,000; of 10, between $1,000 and $2,500; of 4, between $2,500 and $4,000 (General Table 27). The amount of money sent abroad ($5,035) was about one-tenth of the aggregate gains ($52,215) of these 84 men. Of the 98 men reporting, 32 sent sums of money abroad during the year. The disposition of the remainder of the profits, save for $1,200, the disposition of which was not ascertained, was as follows: Six thousand five hundred dollars was used by 11 to pay debts earlier incurred, $500 was invested in land, $28,150 was invested in the business or in other ways, while the remainder was placed in the bank. According to the report, the larger part of the profits were invested in this country, and chiefly in extending the business conducted. DATA RELATING TO WAGE-EARNERS. Corresponding personal data were obtained for only 40 Japanese wage-earners with few exceptions men employed in the Japanese establishments investigated. Some of the data gathered may be presented at this point to bring out the similarities and contrasts between the business men and their employees. Like the majority of the business men, the greater number of these wage-earners came from the cities of Japan. Two came to this continent from the Hawaiian Islands, where they had been engaged in agricultural work. Of the other 38, 5 had been in business for themselves, 4 had been employed in stores, 1 in an industrial establishment, while 5 had been wage-earners in other occupations, presumably in the cities. Of the other 24, 11 had worked for their fathers, while 12 had had no occupation before coming to the United States (General Table 24). At the time of arrival in this country all but 7 were under 30 years of age and 25, five-eighths of the entire number, were under 25. On the whole their ages were somewhat less than those of the business men (General Table 31). A much greater contrast, however, is found in the amount of money brought, for only 1 had more than $100 and 21 of the 40 had less than $50 on arrival (General Table 23). Being without capital, only 1 engaged in business when he arrived, 4 of the other 39 became railroad laborers, 21 domestics, 9 farm laborers-all well-organized trades-while the other 5 found employment in stores, restaurants, and other places in the city (General Table 24). Most of them have been in this country for five years and 7 of them for ten years or over, so that they have had sufficient time to find their way into city occupations, which are more agreeable and more remunerative than railroad and farm work. Indeed, from the incomplete data available it would appear that those who were first engaged in railroad and farm work left it after one or two years to seek employment in the city. A few have engaged in business; but, meeting with reverses, have fallen back into the wageearning class. The wages of the employees in the establishments investigated have been noted. The annual earnings of the 40 are shown in General Table 43. The earnings of 24 who received board and lodging in addition to wages varied from $270 for nine months' work to less than $800 for twelve months' work. All but 3 were employed for twelve months during the year; these three were employed for nine, ten, and eleven months, respectively. The median earnings was $420, the average $440. The annual earnings of 16 who did not receive board varied from $330 for eleven months' to $1,500 for twelve months' employment. Only two were not employed continuously, and these were without work only one month. The median was $720, the average earnings $719.38 (General Table 43). Of 38 report |