In the archive article found at this link: http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP19191213.2.10&e=——-en–20–1–txt-txIN——–1 you will read some interesting viewpoints concerning the “Japanese Immigration” problem in California in 1919. As I read more California “history*” from this site, I am continually reminded of our current crop of candidates in the 2016 Presidential race, their proposed platforms on immigration and how, truly, history repeats itself. While I don’t condone the phobias evidenced in this 1919 article from the Pacific Rural Press, it is in some ways prescient of the growth of Japanese power in the Pacific and how this was perceived in California’s farming community shows them to be an informed, if prejudiced, group.
*I use scare quotes for history due to the nature of the press. Seems not much has changed, then or now, the press takes itself very seriously but also seems to suffer from fear mongering and the forces of internal interests. Cheer-leading for the chambers of commerce, advertisers, and siding on political issues is as big an issue then as it is today.