第59章

Thearrangementwemadeworkedadmirably，andentirelyachieveditspurpose。NosmallpartofoursuccesswasduetothefactthatwesucceededinimpressingontheJapanesethatwesincerelyadmiredandrespectedthem，anddesiredtotreatthemwiththeutmostconsideration。Icannottoostronglyexpressmyindignationwith，andabhorrenceof，recklesspublicwritersandspeakerswho，withcoarseandvulgarinsolence，insulttheJapanesepeopleandtherebydothegreatestwrongnotonlytoJapanbuttotheirowncountry。

Suchconductrepresentsthatnadirofunderbreedingandfolly。TheJapaneseareoneofthegreatnationsoftheworld，entitledtostand，andstanding，onafootingoffullequalitywithanynationofEuropeorAmerica。Ihavetheheartiestadmirationforthem。Theycanteachusmuch。Theircivilizationisinsomerespectshigherthanourown。

ItiseminentlyundesirablethatJapaneseandAmericansshouldattempttolivetogetherinmasses；anysuchattemptwouldbesuretoresultdisastrously，andthefar-seeingstatesmenofbothcountriesshouldjointopreventit。

Butthisisnotbecauseeithernationisinferiortotheother；itisbecausetheyaredifferent。Thetwopeoplesrepresenttwocivilizationswhich，althoughinmanyrespectsequallyhigh，aresototallydistinctintheirpasthistorythatitisidletoexpectinoneortwogenerationstoovercomethisdifference。Onecivilizationisasoldastheother；andinneithercaseisthelineofculturaldescentcoincidentwiththatofethnicdescent。UnquestionablytheancestorsofthegreatmajoritybothofthemodernAmericansandthemodernJapanesewerebarbariansinthatremotepastwhichsawtheoriginsoftheculturedpeoplestowhichtheAmericansandtheJapaneseofto-dayseverallytracetheircivilizations。Butthelinesofdevelopmentofthesetwocivilizations，oftheOrientandtheOccident，havebeenseparateanddivergentsincethousandsofyearsbeforetheChristianera；certainlysincethathoaryeldinwhichtheAkkadianpredecessorsoftheChaldeanSemitesheldswayinMesopotamia。Anefforttomixtogether，outofhand，thepeoplesrepresentingtheculminatingpointsoftwosuchlinesofdivergentculturaldevelopmentwouldbefraughtwithperil；andthis，Irepeat，becausethetwoaredifferent，notbecauseeitherisinferiortotheother。Wisestatesmen，lookingtothefuture，willforthepresentendeavortokeepthetwonationsfrommasscontactandintermingling，preciselybecausetheywishtokeepeachinrelationsofpermanentgoodwillandfriendshipwiththeother。

ExactlywhatwasdoneintheparticularcrisistowhichIreferisshowninthefollowingletterwhich，afterourpolicyhadbeensuccessfullyputintoexecution，IsenttothethenSpeakeroftheCalifornialowerhouseoftheLegislature：

THEWHITEHOUSE，WASHINGTON，February8，1909。

HONP。A。STANTON，SpeakeroftheAssembly，Sacramento，California：

ItrusttherewillbenomisunderstandingoftheFederalGovernment’sattitude。WearejealouslyendeavoringtoguardtheinterestsofCaliforniaandoftheentireWestinaccordancewiththedesiresofourWesternpeople。ByfriendlyagreementwithJapan，wearenowcarryingoutapolicywhich，whilemeetingtheinterestsanddesiresofthePacificslope，isyetcompatible，notmerelywithmutualself-respect，butwithmutualesteemandadmirationbetweentheAmericansandJapanese。TheJapaneseGovernmentisloyallyandingoodfaithdoingitsparttocarryoutthispolicy，preciselyastheAmericanGovernmentisdoing。

Thepolicyaimsatmutualityofobligationandbehavior。InaccordancewithitthepurposeisthattheJapaneseshallcomehereexactlyasAmericansgotoJapan，whichisineffectthattravelers，students，personsengagedininternationalbusiness，menwhosojournforpleasureorstudy，andthelike，shallhavethefreestaccessfromonecountrytotheother，andshallbesureofthebesttreatment，butthatthereshallbenosettlementinmassbythepeopleofeithercountryintheother。DuringthelastsixmonthsunderthispolicymoreJapanesehaveleftthecountrythanhavecomein，andthetotalnumberintheUnitedStateshasdiminishedbyovertwothousand。Thesefiguresareabsolutelyaccurateandcannotbeimpeached。Inotherwords，ifthepresentpolicyisconsistentlyfollowedandworksaswellinthefutureasitisnowworking，alldifficultiesandcausesoffrictionwilldisappear，whileatthesametimeeachnationwillretainitsself-respectandthegoodwillof