When the picture bride was selected by the prospective groom the marriage of tie girl to the laborer in California was solemnized in Japan. a proxy groomsman officiating for the purpose. Immediately after the ceremony the bride would take passage for California. and would. for the first time in her life. meet her husband. who invariably was at the dock in San Francisco on the arrival of the steamer bearing his spouse. Through this means the number of women immigrants increased by leaps and bounds. When tile gentlemens agreement was negotiated there was no thought in the mind of President Roosevelt. or any American. that this system would be invoked to bring thousands of Japanese female laborers to the United States. Again. there seemed to be an apparent effort by means of the picture brides to. evade the true spirit of the agreement. All of -this has resulted in constant misunderstanding and has been the cause of considerable trouble in the matter of the immigration of the Japanese laboring- classes to the United States. The Japanese Government recently. by reason of the attitude of the Californians on the subject of picture brides. decided to prevent a continuation of the custom. I am sure that Japan in making this change realized the injury that was being done her cause by allowing the practice to continue. and. with all due respect for the sentiment of Japan.
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immigration immigrants