Mill Owners Dismiss Japanese Workers for 'Language Barrier'
A local mill owner says he will stick to white labor exclusively after deciding that hiring non-English speaking workers was bad for business.
Forty white men replaced 40 Japanese workers at the Nelson-Johansen mill across the bay yesterday, and the Japanese men returned to Oregon, from where they had come under contract. The mill owners found that Japanese help, while cheaper regarding wages, was less satisfactory and profitable in the end, as the laborers could not speak or understand English, and the mill was operated through an interpreter at all times. President J. A. Nelson stated that they will stick with white men hereafter.
“The mill owners found Jap help, while cheaper from the point of wages, was less satisfactory and profitable in the end.”
This reflects the volatile labor environment of the Pacific Northwest during the early 20th century, where racial tensions were frequently codified into labor policies under the guise of workplace efficiency and communication. These exclusionary hiring practices eventually contributed to the broader systemic discrimination against Asian immigrants in the region.
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