The Japanese have organized three banks, two in 1905 and one in 1907. Two of them have a total paid-up capital and surplus of $82,354 and deposits in excess of $150,000. The other is a private bank, not yet well started. These banks are used largely for financing the larger business enterprises and for the collection of Japanese savings. Four per cent interest is paid on deposits in the savings departments. The banks are also the agency through which Japanese remittances are forwarded to Japan. One of these reports that it forwards about $50,000 per month, saved by "day laborers" in Seattle and by laborers elsewhere sent out by contractors from that place.

SUMMARY.

From the preceding discussion it is seen that the Japanese have become conspicuous in several branches of employment, but chiefly in the field of domestic and personal service. They have found their way into these departments of work at a time when it was difficult to get and to keep reliable white employees at the wages which had obtained. It is seen, also, that the Japanese have engaged in many branches of business on their own account, two-fifths of the Japanese in Seattle being employed in establishments conducted by their countrymen. Few wants of their race can not be and, with the exception of clothing, are not supplied in this way. The laborers find employment through Japanese employment agencies; they are provided with board and lodging by the employer or are given lodging in Japanese lodging houses; they eat in Japanese restaurants; they purchase at Japanese stores, and they generally patronize Japanese laundries, barber shops, baths, and places of amusement; they have their own banks, photographers, newspapers, expressmen, and professional men. In several branches of business they have a considerable amount of white trade. This is true of the laundries, tailor shops, barber shops, restaurants serving American meals, grocery and other stores, and to a less extent of other branches of business. In some instances the trade has been shared by them; in two branches of business barber and tailor shops-they have caused a reduction of prices. The white laundries, the third-rate tailors, the barbers, the third and fourth class restaurants, and the grocery stores have been affected by the Japanese competition. Japanese prices have generally been, and usually are, somewhat lower than those charged by their competitors for what is accepted as an equivalent service. Their chief advantages lie in the lowness of the wages paid to employees and, to a less extent, in a willingness to accept lower profits. They employ their own countrymen almost exclusively.

But in all this they differ only in extent and degree from some of the recent immigrants from Europe. Though less self-sufficient and less given to starting competing businesses, the Italians, Greeks, and Austrians are more or less clannish, conduct their own shops, lodging houses, and hotels, employ persons largely of their own races, and pay them frequently less than current wages.

The close approach to self-sufficiency found in the case of the Japanese is explained by the rapid influx of the members of that race during a comparatively short time, the shortness of their residence in the United States, the expectation of the majority of them to return

shortly to their native country, their infrequent command of the English language, the race feeling and prejudice against them-all these combining to induce or force them to be clannish and to provide for their own wants. The competition for the trade of others is explained partly by their willingness to take risks, their ambition, and their excellent competitive ability. It is also explained partly by the fact that they desire to work for themselves, and to occupy the economic position they did in their native land. Further light will be thrown on some of these points by an examination of the character of the Japanese business men and their employees.

JAPANESE BUSINESS MEN OF SEATTLE.

Agents of the Commission secured personal information from 108 of the Japanese conducting the 86 business establishments investigated. Of the entire number, only 28, or slightly more than onefourth, had been in the United States ten years or more, and none had been here as long as twenty. Twenty-eight had been in this country even less than five years. (General Table 77.) "

The majority of these business men came from the towns and cities of Japan. Three of the 108 had come to the continental United States from Hawaii, where two had been employed as plantation laborers, the third as a grocer's clerk. Their occupations in their native land are unknown. Of the remaining 105, 37, or more than one-third, had been engaged in business on their own account, 8 had been employed for wages in stores, 13 had been employed for wages in other occupations in cities, while only 5 are reported as having been engaged in farming on their own account. Of the remaining 42, 20 had been assisting their fathers on the farm, while 22 had not been gainfully occupied before emigrating to the United States. Thus it is seen that only 25 of 105 had belonged to the agricultural class in Japan. (General Table 68.)

The majority of the business men investigated had emigrated to the United States when comparatively young men and before they accumulated much, if any, money to serve as capital. Moreover, a large percentage of the older men who had been engaged in business had not been very successful and came to begin anew. A smaller number, however, came in the prime of life, and brought considerable capital with them in order to engage in business at once. Of 109 males reporting data, 8 were under 18 years of age; 15, 18 and under 20; 37, 20 and under 25; 30, 25 and under 30; 12, 30 and under 35; while only 7 were 35 years of age or over when coming to the United States. Approximately one-fifth were under 20, six-elevenths under 25, and nine-elevenths under 30 years of age upon their arrival in this country. (General Table 75.) Of 106 reporting the amount of money brought upon coming, 6 had more than $1,000 each; of these, 1 had $10,000, 2, $2,500 each, an equal number $1,500 each, and the remaining 1, $1,200. Twenty-one more had $100 or over. Of these, 5 had $100 but less than $150; 2, $150 but less than $200; 8, $200 but less than $300; and 6, $300 but less than $400. Seventy-nine, or 74.5 per cent of the entire number, had less than $100, and of these,

• This table includes two foreign-born male members of the families of these business men.

42 had less than $50 upon their arrival in this country. (General Table 67.)

In spite of the fact that only 20 of the entire number had more than $200 upon their arrival in this country, 22, by forming partnerships or otherwise, engaged in business to begin with. The remaining 86 became wage-earners, most of them in city trades and in Seattle, where the majority had landed upon coming. Thirty became domestics, a part of them no doubt as " school boys" working a part of the day for board and lodging and a small sum of money per week; 8 were employed in restaurants, 7 in stores, and 1 in a tailor shop. Twenty were first employed as railroad laborers, 7 as farm laborers, and 1 as a cannery hand. The remaining 12 found employment in other occupations. (General Table 68.) Thus about four-fifths of the entire number became wage-earners. It was not long, however, before the larger number of them took advantage of opportunities to engage in business requiring little capital and thus to rise from the wage-earning class.

The following table shows the occupations abroad of the 86 individual proprietors of, or head partners in, the establishments investigated, by kind of business conducted in the United States:

TABLE 10.-Kind of business conducted by Japanese in Seattle at the present time, by occupation abroad.

One fisherman; 1 draftsman; 1 matting maker.

One lumber dealer; 1 fisherman; 1 cake maker; 1 restaurant proprietor.
Four storekeepers.

h Printer.

One cook; 1 clerk; 1 salesman; 1 policeman; 1 clothes dealer; 1 fish broker.
/Salesman.

*Liquor dealer.

It will be noted that of the 86, 25, including the larger number of those who had been business men at home, are engaged in the same business here as abroad, while 15 had not been gainfully occupied before immigrating to this country. Of the remaining 46, 20 had been on farms, while 26 had been engaged in branches of business different from those in which they are now engaged or employed for wages in various city occupations. The majority of the tailors, generalstore keepers, curio dealers, watchmakers, druggists, printers, and one or two less important groups had established themselves in the same branch of business as engaged in abroad, while the majority of the others engaged in branches of business different from those in which they had been engaged as business men or as wage-earners.

Though a few of the Japanese came to the United States as members of the "student class," the vast majority came because of the better opportunity presented here than at home for making money. How well they have succeeded is shown by the net value of the property now owned by them and their financial gains.

The 108 have property with an aggregate estimated value of $475,900, or an average of $4,406.48 each. Forty-one of the 108 were in debt, however, the total amount of the indebtedness being $77,150. The net value of the property was, therefore, $398,750, an average of $3,692.13 for each man. (General Table 72.) Some of these have much while others have little property. Seven had property, less indebtedness, valued at $100, but less than $250; 4 at $250, but less than $500; 28 at $500, but less than $1,000; 19 at $1,000, but less than $1,500; 21 at $1,500, but less than $2,500; 18 at $2,500, but less than $5,000; 7 at $5,000, but less than $10,000; 3 at $10,000, but less than $25,000; and 1 at $170,000. Though 39, or more than 36 per cent of the 108, had less than $1,000, and 58 others less than $5,000, thus leaving only 11, or about 1 in 10, who have property worth $5,000 or more, when the comparatively short residences in this country are taken into consideration, the property owned is found to be comparatively large. The amount of property owned by years in the United States is shown in General Table 69. As would be expected, there is a rough correspondence between the number of years in the United States and the value of property owned. This is not an accurate test of the degree of success with which the Japanese have engaged in business, however, for it does not include representatives of the unknown number who have failed in business and again become members of the wage-earning class. For this reason the income derived from business conducted and the surplus realized or deficit sustained during the year 1908 is, in some respects, a better index of the degree of success they are meeting with.

The net incomes for the year 1908 from business engaged in were ascertained. The income of one was $240; of 2, $400 but less than $500; of 40, $500 but less than $750; of 28, $750 but less than $1,000; of 10, $1,000 but less than $1,500; of 6, from $1,500 to $2,000. The incomes of the remaining 8 were $3,000 in 2 cases and $2,400, $3,240, $3,600, $4,800, $5,400, and $24,000 for the other 6, respectively. The incomes of the restaurant proprietors varied between $480 as the minimum and $5,400 as a maximum, and averaged $1,388 for 20 investigated. They were less than $750 in one-half of the cases, however, and less than $1,000 in 14 of 20. The incomes of the lodginghouse keepers varied between $840 as a minimum and $1,200 as a

maximum and averaged $1,020. The stores conducted by Japanese differ greatly in size and so does the amount of the net income from the business conducted. The incomes of 4 were $600 each, of one at the other extreme, $24,000. Inasmuch as 18 of the 23 had net incomes from their business less than $1,000 and 2 others less than $1,500, the average of $2,011.30 for the group of 23 has no significance. The incomes of 11 barbers varied between $500 as a minimum and $960 as a maximum and averaged $727.64. The corresponding figures for the incomes of the 8 tailors were $600, $1,800, and $1,038.75. The incomes of 5 real-estate and labor agents investigated varied between $480 as a minimum and $3,000 as a maximum, the average being $1,776. Finally, the net incomes of the proprietors of 6 laundries from their business varied between $600 and $3,000 for the year. (General Table 86.)

The incomes discussed above are the net amount realized from the principal business or businesses conducted. Seventeen of the 95 had incomes from subsidiary business enterprises, the rental of property, or from investments. Including these, the incomes of the 95 from all sources for the year 1908 are shown in the following statement. The average was $1,372.63, the median income $840.

Seventy-five of the 108 business men reported the amount of surplus left, or deficit incurred, after their living and other current expenses were paid. Two of these had small deficits for the year, aggregating $920, 8 reported that they had neither surplus nor deficit, while the other 65 reported gains varying from $50 to $25,000. Between these extremes the surpluses reported by 12 were $100, but less than $250; of 28, $250 but less than $500; of 17, $500 but less than $1,000; of 3, $1,000 but less than $2,500; of 4, $2,500 or over. The average surplus reported by the 65 was $966.77, but as this was greatly affected by the large gains of a few, the median sum was only $400. (General Tables 70 and 71.) The greater part of the gains were left in this country, but about two-fifths of those investigated sent money abroad for the use of wives, children, parents, and other relations, or for investment. Only about 45 per cent of the money sent abroad was for the use of relations. Of 107 reporting data, 42 sent money abroad during the year, the total amount sent by the 42 being $18,835. The disposition of $47,240-the larger part of the amount retained in this country-was as follows: Invested in extending the business conducted, $32,610; used for the payment of debts, $4,900; placed in bank, $5,680; loaned or otherwise disposed of, $4,050.

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