APPENDIX XI

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE YU-AIKAI OF JAPAN TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR AND TO PRESIDENT GOMPERS OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR

The following documents are of historic value. They constitute the first official communications from organized labor in Japan to organized labor in America:

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 9, 1916.

To the California Federation of Labor.

DEAR COMRADES:

In renewing the pleasant and profitable experience I had at the conference of the California Federation of Labor held at Santa Rosa last year, I convey to you, in the name of the Yu-Ai-kai, the Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan, my heartiest greetings.

I am especially happy to tell you that I am authorized by the Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan, of which I am president, to convey to you a felicitous message which I trust will be received in the spirit of comradeship in which it is addressed. I am authorized to ask you to send a delegate of your organization to the celebration of the fifth aniversary of the establishment of the Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan, which will be held at Tokyo next spring.

To us the anniversary is of great significance. Our society has experienced many vicissitudes and hardships. Although we are still in a period of severe trial, we have reached a happy stage wherein we may confidently say that our society has been placed upon a firm base. It will, therefore, be with great pride and satisfaction that we shall commemorate the fifth anniversary. We wish not only to make the occasion impressive, but to utilize it as a means to further our cause and to convince all classes of our countrymen that trade unionism is in Japan to stay.

With this in view, we are anxious to have at the celebration representatives of the California Federation of Labor and of the American Federation of Labor. I am going to address President Gompers, requesting him to cross the ocean with your delegate.

There is another equally important reason why we wish to have your delegates visit Japan next year. We are anxious to

have you inspect our mines and factories and study for yourselves the real labor condition in our country. It will do great good if your labor leaders address our workers at various mining and industrial centers. I have no doubt that your words of encouragement will awaken them and open to them a new vista through which they may see a brighter future for the labor movement in Japan.

Nor can your visit fail to make good impressions upon the conservative classes of the Japanese people. If they listen to your sane, constructive views, they will come to understand that the labor movement is nothing to be feared, but something to be encouraged and fostered.

All these considerations have persuaded me to present this invitation to you. Nothing can make us happier than your acceptance of the invitation, for it comes from the hearts of 25,000 members of our society.

We hesitate to address this invitation to any specific person, for we presume that a delegate, if this invitation be accepted, must be elected by vote. May we, however, venture the opinion that Comrade Paul Scharrenberg would be a man eminently well qualified for the mission? But that is a matter which we would leave to your own judgment. If this invitation be referred to a committee, I shall be happy to explain to the committee further details as to our plans, with special reference to the expenditure which the trip of your delegate will require.

Yours most fraternally,

BUNJI SUZUKI,

President, Yu-Ai-Koi.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, October 9, 1916.

MR. SAMUEL GOMPERS, President,

American Federation of Labor,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR PRESIDENT GOMPERS:

I have recently arrived in San Francisco, to attend the convention of the California Federation of Labor at Eureka as the representative of the Yu-Ai-kai, the Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan. It gives me great pleasure to tell you that I was most courteously received at the convention. It will afford me still greater pleasure to renew the pleasant and profitable experience I had at the convention of the American Federation of Labor, held in San Francisco last year.

The experience and knowledge I gained during my sojourn in this country last year has proved to be a great assistance in furthering the cause of labor in my country. During the past year I have been constantly traveling in Japan; as the result, the membership of the Yu-Ai-kai increased from 10,000 to 30,000. A year ago we had only twenty-one branches of the Yu-Ai-kai; to-day, there are seventy branches. The real extent of our success, however, cannot be amply represented in the number of members and branches of the Yu-Ai-kai. Its true significance lies in the psychological effect which the movement has created upon the masses of my country.

Next year the Yu-Ai-kai enters upon the fifth year of its establishment. In April or May, next year, the Yu-Ai-kai is to have a great conference commemorating the fifth anniversary of its inauguration. It is our earnest desire to make the occasion most impressive, and to utilize it as a means of advancing our cause. I have with me a formal invitation addressed to you from the Yu-Ai-kai, requesting your presence at the anniversary. I shall personally present this invitation to you upon my arrival at Baltimore. In the meantime, I wish to assure you that the acceptance by you of this invitation will prove a great encouragement to our members.

I am sure that your visit to Japan will not only assist in the promotion of the labor movement in my country, but will make most favorable impressions upon the conservative classes of the Japanese. Your statesmanship and constructive views will go a long way towards convincing the conservative elements of our officialdom and plutocracy that the labor movement is nothing to be feared but something which must necessarily accompany industrial development and has to be fostered and guided in the right direction. At the same time, your encouraging utterances before the workers of Japan will be a great stimulus to the advancement of the Yu-Ai-kai.

I have another consideration in my mind in extending our invitation to you. There are in my country a large number of people who really believe that the United States is determined to wage war-an aggressive war-against Japan, no matter how conciliatory Japan may be in adjusting the immigration question. They think that America's expanding industry and her increasing wealth are bound to seek outlet in China where Japanese enterprise may be driven to the wall, because Japan has but limited resources and capital. They believe that America is becoming

more and more imperialistic and will not be satisfied simply by enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, but will stretch her hands across the seas. I hope that you will understand the situation. With the question of "preparedness" uppermost in American minds and with so many of your newspapers holding up my country as a possible enemy before the public, it is but natural that many of my countrymen should entertain the fear that America will, sooner or later, declare war upon Japan. To you, who know the real situation, this fear on the part of the Japanese may seem absurd, but the fear is real. You will agree with me that all wars come from just such misunderstandings. At this critical moment you will do a great service to the cause of humanity if you will cross the Pacific and bring the message of peace and friendship from the masses of your country to the masses of my country. I want you to assure my countrymen that the masses of your country will never be beguiled or duped by the "big interests" to provoke hostility against my country. I feel sure that such a message, conveyed by such an influential man as you, will go a long way toward alleviating the fear of the Japanese.

I am happy to tell you that a similar invitation which I extended to the California Federation of Labor, has unanimously been accepted at the Eureka conference. Mr. Paul Scharrenberg will be the official delegate to visit Japan next year, while a number of others will probably accompany him. Nothing will disappoint my comrades in Japan more keenly than your declination of this invitation. Upon my arrival in Baltimore I shall present to you the formal invitation, and will submit to you the details concerning our anniversary celebration and the trip of the delegates.

In the meantime, I wish to convey to you my best regards and highest esteem,

Yours very sincerely,

BUNJI SUZUKI,

President, Yu-Ai-Kai.