DISCRIMINATION AGAINST JAPANESE IN CALIFORNIA A REVIEW OF THE REAL SITUATION F 870 J3 J6 1907 ERT B. JOHNSON, D. D. MEMBE.R OF THE AL IMMIGRATION CONGRESS NEW YORK, 1905 TENDENT JAPANESE MISSIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST ...1•11•11.011111.111•10111.11111.111•111111111•1111111.1=11.11111MMINM.m. III 111 111 111 lii Ill = 7_ „.........---___„,_ = -,...-- ---,..... 7. . i 4 - / . ,, (0 /Ai Ll.,Vs' — — 0 E •-.' Y-1.4 \ Vs' ‘‘*.. - ; ! -,.....,,, ... .,_ _........_,....----- T S 1 t \S'A .. )! ' A. ,, 7 V Jill '.''. 'FINN \ .:4,..: \ , I'l - ,. _ - 1 • V i( v --- ,.. 1 ..,. , .- - / 11. 11.33RA -,R'L' III III Ill II! Ill Ill DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE JAPANESE IN CALIFORNIA A REVIEW OF THE REAL SITUATION BY HERBERT B. JOHNSON, D. D. MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL IMMIGRATION CONGRESS, NEW YORK, 1905. SUPERINTENDENT JAPANESE MISSIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST 31: THE COURIF.R PUBLISHIN'iCOMPINY 13'2,RK.:.:LIY, CALIFORNIA 1 9 0 7 INTRODUCTION The author of this little book, Rev. Herbert B. Johnson, is a wise, patriotic, and devoted American citizen. He has lived many years in Japan. He is thoroughly familiar with all phases of fact and opinion connected with the residence of Japanese people in California and of American people in Japan. He has endeavored in these pages to give a just account of certain recent occurrences in San Francisco which affect our relations with Japan. I 'commend this book to those who are interested in having our country maintain a just, dignified, and peaceful attitude in its relations with other nations and with other peoples. "Our country right or wrong," is a popular motto, attributed to Stephen Decatur. But the essence of true patriotism is to keep our country right, and to see that her word is as good as the bond of any other nation. DAVID STARR JORDAN. CONTENTS k-4 INTRODUCTION: By President David Starr Jordan. A FORE-WORD: A National and an International Issue. Page 9 The Object of This Pamphlet. Embalming Current Literature. CHAPTER I. A Campaign of Extravagance and Misrepresentation. T. The Chronicle Fears the East may Learn the Real Situation: —10 Eastern Opinion Reflected—The Review of Reviews. 2. Bitterness Toward Defenders of Federal Policy: - Attack on President Jordan—Criticism of President Wheeler— The President and Secretary Metcalf. 3. Lack of Consideration and Tact: —13 The Exclusion League—Pressure in the Settlement—Loss of Memory or Lack of Sensitiveness. 4. Extravagance of The Chronicle: —14 The President Insincere and Detested—The Chronicle and Just-ice—The Leader in the Anti-Japanese Campaign—The Contention of The Chronicle. 5. Other San Francisco Papers: —16 The Argonaut—Passive Resistance—The Bulletin—Adults in the Schools—The Call and the President. 6. The Pacific Coast Not Solid: —17 Seattle News—No Sympathy in the Northwest—Tacoma Daily News—Not Convinced—Los Angeles Times Refuses to Join —Los Angeles Express Fixes the Responsibility—The Christian Press—The Pacific—The California Christian Advocate. 7. Foreigners Against Foreigners: -20 CHAPTER II. Charges Refuted. t. State Law Mandatory: -21 1 is Age—Former Interpretation—Japanese, Mongolians—Grace-ful Surrender of The Chronicle—Proposed New State Law. 2. Segregated Because Adults and Influence Bad: Page 22 A Letter from the Pacific Coast—Important Facts and Figures —A Strong Challenge—A Remedy Suggested Previously—Resolution of Board Indicates Race Prejudice. 3. The Claim of Equal Privileges: -24 Remarkable Letter of a Japanese Boy—Discrimination and Practical Exclusion. 4. The Bugaboo of Non-Assimilation: —26 Intermarriage and Assimilation—Japanese Versus Chinese—The Japanese Scattered—Adopt Our Customs—Conversion from Thorough Inspection—Japanese at Home Assimilate Our Civilization—Christian Civilization and the Japanese—Vari-ous Classes Among Us—Japanese Women—The Japanese and Patriotism. 5. Japanese Treatment of Foreigners: —30 Revenge of War Correspondents—Absurdity of Charges—Japa-nese Schools and Foreigners—Freedom of Residence and Travel—Overcharging in Japan. CHAPTER III. Defense by Influential Classes in California. Educators: —33 Letter of an Experienced San Francisco Principal—Testimony of Leading Oakland Educators—The Superintendent of the Los Angeles Schools—Convention of School Superintendents —President Jordan of Stanford University—Governor Carter of Hawaii. 2. Action of Christian Bodies: —36 San Francisco Methodist Preachers' Meeting—Oakland Interdenominational Missionary Conference — Congregational Preachers' Meeting—The General Missionary Committee. 3. The Christian Press: —40 The Pacific on Assimilation—The California Christian Advocate on Rights and Ethics. 4. Farmers and Fruit Growers: —41 Letter from a Fresno Fruit Grower—Fruit Growers' State Convention—Orchardists in Santa Clara Valley. CHAPTER IV. The Real Issues. 1. Questions for Interpretation: —43 State Law and Action of School Board—The Federal Consti- tution—The Treaty Between the United States and Japan. 2. Explanations and Protests: —44 Prompt Action by State Department—Cablegram—Protests in San Francisco—Statement of Secretary Root. 3. Basis of Action in the Courts: Page 45 The Government's Position—Summary of Suits—The Treaty the Basis—History of the School Law—Japanese and Mon-golians—Hardship and Discrimination—The Subject of the Test Case. 4. The Powers of the State: —48 Mr. Devlin's Statement—Two Views of State Rights—Governor Pardee—The State Sovereign—Secretary Root—States Must Rise to Duty—Criticisms of the California State Legislature —The Legislature and the Japanese Question. 5. Japanese Views of the Case: —51 Interpretation by a Veteran Missionary—The Jiji Shimpo—Leading Japanese Daily—The Japan Mail—Leading English Daily—Tact of Japanese Representatives—Speech of Minister Aoki at Banquet—The Japanese Quiet—The Attitude and Viewpoint of Chronicle Changed—Successful Termination of Conference Anticipated. CHAPTER V. The Broader Question of Immigration. 1. Views of President Jordan. —5$ 2. The National Immigration Congress: —57 3. Address of the Author at the Congress: —57 Which the Greater Menace—Pacific Coast Divided—Former Methods Revived—Investigation in San Francisco—What Corrupts San Francisco—Agitation and Peace—Self-Protec-tion in California—The East and the West—Progress in China and Japan—Differences Here on the Coast—No Danger from Numbers—Immigration from Europe and Japan Compared—The Japanese Comparatively Young—Intelligence of Japanese—Restriction by the Japanese Gov-ernment—Embarrassment Through Hawaii—Ideas of Gov-ernment—Poverty and Crime. 4. Late Statistics. —63 5. The New Immigration: —63 Illustrations which Illustrate—Silence of Pacific Coast Signifi-cant—Corresponding Decrease of Japanese—Japanese Versus Jews. 6. Beneficial Effects of Japanese Immigration: —66 Movements Toward Distribution—Resourcefulness of the Japanese—Japanese and Others in California. 7. A Race Question. —68 CHAPTER VI. The Activity of the Japanese-Corean League and of Organized Labor. The First Anti-Japanese Convention. —69 2. Principal Agents in the Agitation: Page 69 A Former Meeting. 3. The American Federation of Labor. —70 4. Organization of the Exclusion League: —71 Tactics of the League—The League and Congressmen—Citizens' Mass Meeting—State Organizer of Labor Takes a Hand—Punishment of Opposers. 5. The Agitation and Violence: —73 Reorganization after the Earthquake—Attack on Noted Sci-entists—Vicious Report in The Call—Second Attack Due to Strike—Other Assaults. CHAPTER VII. Solution of the Problem. Demands of the Exclusion League: —76 Endorsed by The Chronicle—Opposed by The Call. 2. Recommendations in my Former Pamphlet. —77 3. Views of Others: —78 President Jordan—Mr. George Kennen—Hon. John Barrett. 4. Japanese Views: Professor Mitsukuri. —So 5. Solution in Naturalization: —8o Reasons for Naturalization—Japanese Expatriation—Should Open the Way for Further Legislation. 6. Danger of Compromise: —83 Temporary Settlement—Proposed Settlement of School Ques-tion—Gains and Losses—The Broader Adjustment—Diffi-culties of Further Negotiations—The Agitation Will Con-tinue—The Exclusion League on Further Agitation—Mr. MacArthur Again. 7. Later Developments: —38 Measures Before the Legislature—Vigorous Action of the President—Revised Action of the Board of Education—Executive Order Concerning the Exclusion of Japanese—Concluding Words. APPENDIX. A. President Roosevelt's Message to Congress Concerning the Japanese Question. -92 3. The President's Second Message and Secretary Metcalf's Report. -94 GEORGE WASHINGTON ON DISCRIMINATION Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind a magnanimous and, too, novel example of as People always guarded by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that rooted antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all should he cultivated. —George Washington in his Farewell Address. Discrimination Against Japanese in California A National and an International Issue. The message of President Roosevelt and the Report of Secretary. Metcalf* which followed have given the Japanese Question in California special prominence, though it was the action of the Board of Education of San Francisco and the agitation underlying it which have made it a national and an international issue. So many misleading statements haVe appeared in the daily press and so harmful are they in their effects that they should not be allowed to pass without refutation. This is impossible through the daily press of San Francisco. The Object of This Pamphlet. The object of this pamphlet is to give the gist of the question in all its bearings in as little space as possible; to embalm current literature upon the subject; to furnish proof of the real nature of the campaign, laying stress upon the fact that large and influential classes in California have no sympathy with the movement against the Japanese; and to point out the only satisfactory solution to the problem. Twenty years of close contact with the Japanese in their own country and on the Pacific Coast, and a careful study of the California Problem, on the ground and at first hand, should enable the writer to shed valuable light upon the questions that have aroused the peoples of he two nations, if not of the world. Embalming Current Literature. A great deal of literature is available on the subject, some of which it seems well to "embalm" for future reference, as well as for present use. As will be seen by the following quotation, others also are engaged in embalming: "We reproduce this to give our readers an idea of the intolerant attitude of some of our Eastern critics," says the San Francisco, Chronicle of December 3o, 1906, in commenting upon an editorial in, the Journal of Commerce of New York, "and to embalm it so that it may be resurrected in the near future, when the whole country comes. to the same conclusion we have reached." Unless all signs fail, this will not be soon. *For text see Appendix. 10 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. CHAPTER I. A Campaign of Extravagance and Misrepresentation The Chronicle Fears that the East May Learn the Real Situation. Just before Christmas, 1906, a so-called citizens' meeting in San. Francisco, arranged and managed by the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League and the Labor Organizations affiliated with it, and addressed by Mayor Schmitz and others, was the occasion of fears which are well expressed in the Chronicle. The Mayor took occasion to refer to his unfortunate situation as an indicted man before a Judge whom he detests, and from whose jurisdiction he has, by various means, sought to escape. The object of the meeting was to condemn President Roosevelt for his attitude on the Japanese question in his Message to Congress. Most of the speeches were extravagant, but were confined to the question at issue. The Mayor's break and its result can best be described in the language of the Chronicle: "In a speech the other evening to a meeting which he should never have been permitted to address, Mayor Schmitz lugged in an attempted defense of himself which was utterly out of place, and in the course of his remarks he said: 'I find myself against a bottled-up Judge.' A conditions of affairs under which an indicted criminal presumes to thus attack the Judge before whom he is to be tried, is outrageous. That he should assume that the audience whom he was addressing would patiently listen to such an attack on a Judge of the Superior Court, will tend to make the people of the East, whom we are trying to convince of the wisdom of the exclusion of all Asiatic coolies, more consistent than ever in their assertion that the opposition to Japanese immigration is promoted by the scum of the earth.' Some of the Eastern journals do not hesitate to say that, and worse, and that the same meeting which listened approvingly to resolutions favoring the exclusion of Asiatic coolies was made the occasion for an open attack on the judiciary will make it very hard to change their opinions. And however vigorously we here may protest and resolve, we cannot exclude Asiatic coolies until we convince the people of the East that it is desirable to do so." Eastern Opinion Reflected. The opinions of the Eastern Press, which are so much feared in the above editorial in the Chronicle, are well reflected in the editorial department of the Review of Reviews for January, 1907. The editor, in referring to the Japanese question, says: "Secretary Metcalf's last piece of work before his transfer to the Navy Department was his investigation of the condition of the Japanese in California. President Roosevelt sent in Mr. Metcalf's report ,on December 18, accompanying it with a brief message of his own to Congress. As the facts have now come to be clearly known, it is not easy to find language strong enough to characterize fitly the .absurd behavior of the school authorities of San Francisco. They have allowed the merest trifle to assume such dimensions that it is now under serious discussion in every newspaper of every Discrimination Against Japanese in California. ii civilized country of the entire world. The facts seem to be that about ninety Japanese were at one time attending San Francisco schools. Of these perhaps half* were young men above the age of sixteen who were trying to learn English and had to be taught with little children in the primary grades. The other half were bright, clean, well-behaved children against whom no possible complaint could be made. The San Francisco School Board could easily have adopted a simple age rule for primary classes which would have admitted the handful of small Japanese children and kept out the young men. Nobody would have objected to such an arrangement, and the famous international controversy would have been avoided. The result would have been about forty Japanese children scattered through the schools of a great city, with an average of not more than one to, each large school building. "But it is evident that the San Francisco school authorities intentionally voided the adoption of a common-sense rule regarding the age of children in primary classes, in order to seem to have a complaint against the Japanese and an excuse for shutting them out of the ordinary schools and assigning them to the so-called Oriental school, so placed in the burnt district that small children could not get to it. Now that the facts are known, there is only one state of mind that the country can as a whole properly adopt with respect to the San Francisco school authorities, and that is one of derision. Foolish and fanatical labor leaders had worked up a strong feeling in favor of the exclusion of the Japanese. And the School Board of San Francisco was too cowardly to act with ordinary common sense, and was guilty of conduct that seems scarcely short of imbecility. The solution of the question was perfectly simple. As a matter of course, the grown-up Japanese should not have been allowed for a moment to enter the grades with white children. Equally as a matter of course, the few scattered Japanese children should have been taken care of—as the teachers would have been glad to manage them—without the interference of a political school board governed by demagogues. The young men who wished to learn English could have gone to the Oriental school or could have been taught English in night classes. Happily, the great Japanese nation is now well aware of the friendly sentiments of the American people." BITTERNESS TOWARD DEFENDERS OF FEDERAL POLICY. Without exception, every man who has stood up publicly and defended the position of the Federal Authorities and of the Japanese has been the object of attack on the part of the city press. The situation is well revealed in an editorial in The Pacific* of January 24, 1907_ This paper says: "Some of the newspaper attacks on President Jordan of Stanford,. because of his position and utterances on the Japanese question, have-been a disgrace to journalism. He has been called a liar, a hypocrite, a moral pervert, and epithet has been piled on epithet in the frenzy of the writers who seem entirely unaware that in so doing they injure themselves and their papers far more than they injure Dr. Jordan.. Not many of the persons who have stood for what they regard the right, in this controversy, have escaped the venom of the persons who write with the same savagery with which men are clubbed and shot *About one-third.--Editor. 12 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. to death by other elements of our society who cannot tolerate any opposition to their aims. Our daily papers, and some of the weeklies also, need to learn that what the public wants at this and all other times are facts and arguments, not abuse." *,The organ of the Congregational Church on the Pacific Coast. Attack on President Jordan. A sensational article appeared in the Call of January 22, 1907, headed "Anti-Japanese Order Issued by Jordan: Orientals Segregated in Stanford Dormitory and Quartered in Basement: Practice Belies Recent Preaching: Strict Rule Denies Right of Mongolians to Occupy Comfortable Apartments." The article says: "This has been a rule of the institution almost since the day it opened its doors. As Dr. Jordan has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the dormitory, it is. presumed that the law is of his own framing. At any rate, he enforces it to the letter. . . . In the basement—poorly ventilated, ill-furnished, and with floor of cement—the Japanese, Negro and Chinese students are quartered." A few days after this appeaerd, the writer visited the Japanese Students' Club at Stanford, and not one present knew of such discrimination. Neither did several others with whom he spoke. The fact that the janitors occupy the quarters in the basement seems to be the only basis for this attack upon President Jordan. President Wheeler of the University of California returned from the East about the time that the President's Message was made public, and immediately became the target at which the shafts of the papers were fired. Great interest was manifested as to who influenced the President, and President Wheeler was openly charged with underhandedness and advised to attend to his own business in the University. The President and Secretary Metcalf. Secretary Metcalf and President Roosevelt naturally came in for their share. In an editorial in The Chronicle, January 18, 1907, we read under the title "Secretary Metcalf Forgot His Duty to the Nation-: "The Pasadena News says that the San Francisco critics have been unjust to Secretary Metcalf, 'who had a duty to perform not as a. citizen of a state but as a representative of the nation.' San Franciscans find fault with Metcalf because of his desire to please the President caused him to neglect his duty to the nation by sending in an utterly misleading report, which represented a condition as existing here totally different from that which really does exist." In another place he is advised to seek political preferment from the President, as he need expect no further honors from California. Equally bold have been the accusations of the President. Considerable space has been given to reports of the Exclusion League and Labor Organizations in their attacks upon the President, and the subject has also received due notice editorially. These are too insult- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 13 ing to reproduce. Some of the editorial comments of The Chronicle will be noted. LACK OF CONSIDERATION AND TACT: THE EXCLUSION LEAGUE. President O. A. Tveitmoe of The Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, at a public meeting held in San Francisco while Mayor Schmitz and the Board of Education were en route to Washington, and after a request had been made from Washington to cease agitation in order to make possible diplomatic success, said, as reported in The Chronicle of Februry 4, 1907: "You have no doubt noticed in the daily press some dispatches which might lead us to believe that this meeting should adjourn sine die at the command of President Roosevelt. The talk of war all over the world as a result of this school question was for a purpose. I do not believe that there is any possibility of war with Japan. But rumors of war have a perceptible effect upon the stock markets, you know. . . . President Roosevelt saw fit to heap insults upon the people of California, but he was not honest in his expressions. He has now summoned our School Board to Washington to try and induce them to yield the stand it has taken under the state law—to shake the big stick in its face. He wants 'us to stop the exclusion agitation. He would have exclusion by treaty, but exclusion by treaty never excludes. Roosevelt and Root may hedge and scheme and try to throw dust in the eyes of the people of the Pacific Coast, but we know what the Oriental invasion means." Pressure in the Settlement. After the Mayor's party arrived in Washington and it was reported in the Press that the Californians might yield, hundreds of telegrams were sent to the Capitol, it is said, exhorting the Mayor and School Board not to yield. One from President Tveitmoe of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League will be of interest. Mayor Schmitz replied: "I am a Californian and trying to do my duty to my State. Cannot succeed if hampered by hostile press of San Francisco." The telegram of Mr. Tveitmoe is as follows: "Hon. Eugene E. Schmitz, Washington, D. C.: Morning papers announce in big headlines that 'Mayor Schmitz Deserts Labor for Japs—Mayor and School Board Make Complete Surrender.' We can not and will not believe it. Exclusion League endorses City Attorney's telegram of yesterday, and demands exclusion by act of Congress. Treaty will not exclude. Sovereign rights must not be bartered away for promises, and should not be basis for compromise. We will not yield one iota of our rights as a sovereign people, regardless of cost or consequence. If President wants to humiliate American flag, let him tell California's Governor and Legislature to repeal the law, but he cannot coerce free Californians to bow in submission to the will of the Mikado. Roosevelt's power will not make one white man out of all the Japs in the Nipponese Empire. California is the white man's country, and not the Caucasian graveyard."—The Call, February II, 1907. It is easily seen from the above that the exclusion leaders are 14 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. very determined and that they are bitter toward the defenders of the National Policy. More will appear under the chapters treating of the "Real Issues" and of the -Relation of Organized Labor to the Broader Question of Immigration." Loss of Memory or Lack of Sensitiveness. "Since it is formally announced that the President is endeavoring to satisfactorily adjust our relations with Japan," says The San Francisco Chronicle of February 1, 1907, editorially, "no patriotic American —and no Americans are more patriotic than those of California—will by word or deed knowingly make the situation more difficult. It must be remembered that, so far as the expressions of press or organized bodies in California are concerned, there has never been one word that we now recall of which the most sensitive people could complain." The reader can draw his own conclusions, after completing this chapter, whether there has been a loss of memory or a lack of sensitiveness. For the edification of those who have not been permitted to see the daily papers of the Coast, during these months of excitement, we will give some brief quotations from The Chronicle and_ from other papers. EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE CHRONICLE What shall be said of the tolerance or temperance of a paper that asserts that the President is evidently insincere, and that he is detested by both ,The Chronicle and by Congress? The quotations follow: The President Insincere and Detested. "We care nothing whatever for Mr. Roosevelt, but we do desire at all times to speak with respect of the President of the United States. It is necessary, however, to say that the President has degraded his position by assertions which are untrue, assumptions which have no basis in fact, recommendations which can only excite ridicule, implied threats which he has no power to execute, all presented in a tone calculated to arouse national and international passion, and the worst of all is that he is evidently insincere."—Chronicle, Editorial, December 5, 1906. "We have not the slightest ill-will to Congress, for we know that it detests the President as heartily as we do, and is as ready to snub. him if he steps outside his authority on the Japanese question as it was in respect to his attempt to dictate the Government's official spelling."—The Chronicle, Editorial, January 17, 1907. The Chronicle and Justice. "If the case goes up, it will be interesting to see what view the Supreme Court takes. There is no Judge, however exalted, whose-views of the law are not affected by his views of public policy, which in turn are affected by the prevailing sentiments of the day. The discussion inspired by the Federal assault on State control of its own schools is setting men to thinking. . . . We in California cannot pretend to have either a good or a strong government. It can do nothing-with our great corporations, and we permit notorious criminals to. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 15 badger our courts of justice."—Chronicle, Editorial, January 2, 1907. "It is hard to conceive of the folly of those who stirred up this question in the first place. It is still harder to understand how any sane person could be so destitute of reason as to persist in pressing it. Even if a legal victory could be won, it would be a barren victory. No sensible Japanese parent would permit his' child to enter one of our schools upon a court order. The only result of the unspeakable. stupidity of our Federal authorities in this matter will be to stir up international hatred and make it difficult, if not impossible to, settle the matter in a reasonable way."—Chronicle, Editorial, December 1, 1906. This Paper Is the Leader in the Campaign Against the Japanese. This is the paper that has been leading in the opposition to the Japanese upon the Coast. This extravagance has been recognized since The Chronicle began its campaign in the spring of 1905, with such glaring headlines as the following: Crime and Poverty go Hand in Hand with Asiatic Labor; Brown Men Are an Evil in the Public Schools; Japanese a Menace to American Women; Brown Asiatics Steal Brains of Whites; Big Immigration may be Japanese Policy, etc. It is no wonder that so strong a paper as The Argonaut, in criticising this method, should then say editorially: "The Chronicle will effect nothing for its cause by talking, when referring to the Japanese, of the 'manners and customs of the slave pen.' Such exaggeration hurts rather than helps, for we all know that the ordinary Jap is a neat, clean, personally pleasing little fellow." The Contention of The Chronicle. The following quotation from an editorial of The Chronicle of November 30, 1906, is laughable in view of the violent language which it has so frequently used during the two years' discussion of this whole question. Think of the editor sitting down and talking over, in a friendly way with representative Japanese, these matters with any hope of a satisfactory adjustment! The quotation reads: "The objection of our people is simply to the establishment of Oriental forms of civilization in the United States. We particularly object to a Japanese invasion, because, as the Japanese are the most virile of Oriental peoples, their lodgment on our shores is by so much the more dangerous. We recognize that Asiatic peoples are entitled to maintain such forms of civilization and such a standard of life as they prefer in their own country, and to exclude, if they so desire, and as they certainly did once desire, the people of Western countries. So far as we are concerned they are quite welcome, as they have the right, under existing treaties to exclude all American manual workers from Japan. We claim the same right, and demand that it be exercised. "We have more hopes of convincing the Japanese statesmen of the wisdom of keeping the races apart than of convincing Eastern manufacturers and fool sentimentalists. We should be delighted to sit down and talk it over in a friendly way with representative Japanese not concerned with ocean transportation nor with contracts for 'coolies." 16 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. The question as to the establishment of Oriental forms of civilization in the United States will be considered in the next chapter, under the heading of Assimilation. OTHER SAN FRANCISCO PAPERS. Brief extracts from The Argonaut, The Bulletin, and The Cail will be given, and in the following section it will be shown that the Pacific Coast is not solid, the papers in the Northwest and in Los Angeles refusing to join in the outcry against the Japanese, and the Christian press being decidedly opposed to the movement. The Argonaut: Passive Resistance. It must not be inferred from the above quotation from The Argonaut that it is in sympathy with the Japanese. It has been equally zealous in its opposition, but for the most part more sober. It has taken a strong position on the question of State Rights, but recognizes the strength of the East in the matter of restricting immigration. In an editorial, December I, 1906, on California and the Japanese, this paper said: "California has a law which makes it obligatory on her school board to provide separate schoolhouses for children of Indian, Chinese or Mongolian blood. That law still stands on the statute books. It is a duty of the school board to enforce it. They are enforcing it. They will continue to do so. That law, we beg to assure our Eastern friends, will be enforced until it has been set aside by the Supreme Court of the United States. . . . Some of the Eastern journals consider it odd that California and Californians should seem at this juncture so extremely placid. The reason that we in California are calm in the presence of this crisis is: First, because we know we are right; second, because we hope to convince our countrymen that we are right; third, that if we fail to so convince them, we will, whatever they do or say, do what we know to be right." In a subsequent editorial, entitled "Passive Resistance," in reply to a criticism of The Commercial Advertiser, The Argonaut says: "The statement means simply that in this public school question we in California will do what we know to be right. By that we mean that we will educate our own children in our own way. We will not permit adult males—whether white, yellow, black or brown—to be intimately associated with white girls of tender age in the schoolroom. We will not permit the Federal Government, the Japanese Government, Theodore Roosevelt, the Mikado, or anybody else to dictate to us in this regard." It will be noted in the above that The Argonaut assumes that the State law is mandatory, that the only question is concerning adults,. and that the segregation of Japanese students of all ages is the only solution. These questions will be taken up later. The Bulletin: Adults in the Schools. In the following quotation from The Bulletin, emphasis is placed upon the objection to adults in the schools, and the editor suggests. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 17 that the reference of the whole question to the courts would be welcomed. We read: "Whatever may be the report of Secretary Metcalf, the stubborn fact remains that the citizens of San Francisco object to having Japanese men taught in the same classes with American children. They do not object to giving the Japanese all the educational advantages enjoyed by the San Francisco children, but as to the conditions under which this instruction is to be given, the California people claim the right to decide a local matter, even if it involves international issues. The President's desire to submit the matter to the Supreme Court for decision will not be obnoxious to the people of California, who feel that this whole affair is overemphasized. There may be some difficulty in enforcing the mandate of the Supreme Court."—Editorial, December 3, 1906. The Call and the President. In an editorial entitled "An Extraordinary and Unpleasant Situation," The Call of February 2, 1907, in referring to the President's request for two members of the San Francisco Board of Education to proceed to Washington for conference, says: "Officially the President has not exposed the reasons behind his urgent request that San Francisco and California back down in the matter of the segregation of Japanese and white children in the public schools of this city. In the usual left-handed manner, known as semi-official, it is made to appear, however, that if the present request be not heeded Japan will be angered to the point of a resort to arms. . . . It is an extraordinary request, an extraordinary and unpleasant situation. The President's reasons for his urgency need to be strong reasons. President Roosevelt asks us to take a great deal on trust, and apparently he still misconceives the attitude of Californians on this matter. . . . California has no angry or malignant feeling in the matter. As citizens of the commonwealth, we neither like nor dislike the Japanese, but are irrevocably apposed to permitting them to come here in such numbers as to make this an Asiatic colony." In Chapter V., under "The Broader Question of Immigration," this question will be taken up and discussed at length. As the statistics show, there is no ground for such a fear, and the reason for the agitation must be found elsewhere. THE PACIFIC COAST NOT SOLID. The attitude of certain Seattle, Tacoma, and Los Angeles papers is given in a review of the Pacific Coast Press in the Literary Digest of January 12, 1907, which says: Seattle News. "A canvass of the Pacific Coast Press, prompted by statements of The Seattle News to the effect that the majority of the thoughtful people of California are not in sympathy with the agitation of the demagogues of the cities against the Japanese, and that 'no part of the State of Washington or Oregon, which exceed in area and popula-the State of California, have any sympathy with the foolish agitation of the San Francisco people„ leaves us between the horns of a 18 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. dilemma. It seems that we must either believe that the thoughtful people of the Pacific Coast are not represented by the press of that section, or that The News is mistaken in its diagnosis of public opinion." The Tacoma Daily News. The Digest continues: "The Tacoma Daily News, it is true, protested that it has not shown sympathy with any demagogic agitation against the Japanese. But it adds that it is not convinced that the disturbance in California is due to demagogic agitation. The Pacific Coast, it asserts, will not close the doors to the Japanese nor drive them from the country. Nevertheless, we are assured it does and will refuse to set this people on any pedestal—a determination which no presidential order shall change." Los Angeles Times. Still quoting The Digest, "The Los Angeles Times also refuses to join the hue and cry against the Japanese, taking a rap instead at Mayor Schmitz. Alluding to the latter's declaration that he would, if necessary, lay down his life in battle against the Japanese, The Times remarks: 'It is a notable fact that his Honor has never laid down anything of value. His promise, however, would almost reconcile anyone to a war with. Japan. His Honor has probably merely discovered some place in Japan that the extradition treaty doesn't cover, and is willing to go for that purpose.' It claims, moreover, that 'California could utilize the services of 100,000 Chinese and Japanese at the present time more easily than 10,000 twenty years ago.' And adds that we need the Japanese as workers, but not as voters. In justice to The Literary Digest, the following should be added: "In a canvass of fifty leading Coast papers, however, these three are the only ones we find expressing such views. Most of the Coast press display uncompromising antipathy against Japanese aggression and competition, against the President, and against Secretary Metcalf for his 'disloyal' report. The latter is admonished by one paper to 'stick by the President, who can give him a job, because he could get nothing from the people of his own State.' " The editor of the above had doubtless not seen several other Coast papers. Extracts will be given from The Los Angeles Express, which places the responsibility for the agitation upon union labor; also from the Christian press. Los Angeles Express Fixes Responsibility. The following quotation from the Los Angeles Express is taken from The Pacific, January 3, 1907, the organ of the Congregational Churches on the Pacific Coast: "The Los Angeles Express declares that nothing less than the hanging of Japanese by the toes would satisfy some of the anti-Japanese agitators in San Francisco. With a desire to ascertain the sentiment as to Japanese exclusion, the Secretary of the Merchants and Manufacturers' •Association of Los Angeles has sent out a letter to the members of the Association. The Secretary himself says: 'We believe the gist of all this agitation is to be found in the action of the labor union leaders at San Francisco, and that they are trying to involve the entire State in their own little controversy.' And the Secretary says further: `If the Japanese labor were cut off from Southern California many interests would suffer.' In the days of the Discrimination Against Japanese in California. ig Sand Lot agitation Denis Kearney ended every one of his speeches with the words, And whatever happens, the Chinese must go.' There are among us now persons who are saying practically, 'whatever happens, the Japanese must go.' No matter if local industries are greatly damaged, no matter if we do lose influence and trade in the Orient, no matter if we do transgress the laws of human brotherhood, 'the Japanese must go.' But fortunately California is only a small part of this great nation, and fortunately also only a small part of our population has this deadly hostility to the Japanese. 'We have had some interest recently in a glance backward to the days of Kearneyism in California. Bryce, in 'The American Commonwealth,' says concerning Denis Kearney, out on the sand lot: 'At first he had mostly vagabonds to listen to him, but one of the two great newspapers took him tip. These two, The Chronicle and The Call, were in keen rivalry, and the former, seeing in this movement a chance of going ahead, filling its columns with sensational matter and increasing its sale among workingmen, went in hot and strong for the Sand Lot party. One of its reporters has been credited with dressing up Kearney's speeches into something approaching literary form, for the orator was a half educated man, with ideas chiefly gathered from the daily press.' In one way and another Kearneyism became ere long quite an influence, and, says Bryce, 'The Call had now followed the lead of The Chronicle, trying to outbid it for the support of the workingman.' We wondered when the representative of one of the leading daily papers of San Francisco called the other day, with the' offer of various trinkets as an inducement to subscribe, to what length San .Francisco dailies will go at this time when Japanese exclusion bids fair to become a burning question hereabouts. As a general thing nowsdays daily papers do not try to mold public sentiment. They cater to it in that direction in which it is strongest. Daily papers are money-making concerns, or are meant to be such. They want circulation, and trim their sails accordingly." The Coast Christian Press: Another quotation from The Pacific will be found in Chapter III., under the general heading of "Defense by Influential Classes in California." The California Christian Advocate. The California Christian Advocate, the organ of the Methodist ' Episcopal Church on the Coast, has taken a strong position in several editorials, one of which will be quoted here (November 8, 1906): "There has been for forty years a growing and intensifying agitation against the Chinese and Japanese dwellers upon the Pacific Coast. This agitation found but little support beyond the circle of the professional agitators of the Denis Kearney and sand-lot variety. It becomes active just before elections, and usually quiets down in the intervals. It is well known on the Coast that the Japanese who come to America come for an education. They are students. They work as domestics, or in the fields picking fruit; but they are nearly all eager to acquire an English education. These agitators, all of them foreigners, led by a foreigner, have from time to time been before the school boards seeking to exclude the Japanese from the public schools. . . The race-hating agitator is a sheer demagogue. The politicians are .afraid of him, and yield to his clamor, fearing that his appeal to prejudice will control the balance of power and defeat his candidacy 20 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. and his party. This anti-Asiaitc agitation has been for forty years an absolute despot on the Pacific Coast. We do not belong to that company who predict international conflict. The sensible nine-tenths of the people on the Pacific Coast believe in according the Japanese and Chinese their full rights under the treaty under which they are admitted to the country." Opposing the idea of discrimination, and calling attention to the fact that the agitation largely centers in the influence of foreigners, The Advocate expresses the hope that Federal interferance will put the whole matter on a proper basis. The language is as follows: "There is need of exclusion in case of Chinese and Japanese, but that exclusion should apply to all nationalities alike, and in accord with the national treaty existing between these nations and our own. The Japanese and the Chinese have the .same right to exclude the Swedes and Norwegians and Italians from the public schools as these foreigners have to exclude the Chinese and Japanese. It has come to a ridiculous pass when a dozen foreign agitators can intimidate a foreign school board and exclude the children of a foreign people from the public schools, taught by foreigners, and thereby provoke a foreign nation to an attitude of hostility. It is about time Uncle Sam should take a hand. We devoutly hope that this Federal interference will put the whole matter on a different basis." FOREIGNERS AGAINST FOREIGNERS. In illustration of the above assertion, if proof is necessary, that this is largely a campaign of foreigners against foreigners, the follow- ing resolutions are reprinted from The Chronicle of December 20, 1906. "Whereas, By resolution, dated October II, 1906, the Board of Education of this City and County, acting under the authority of Section 1662 of the Political Code of the State of California, established the Oriental school for the instruction of Chinese and Japanese, and directed principal's to transfer forthwith such Japanese as were enrolled in their respective schools to the Oriental school, be it "Resolved, That the German-American League of California, in regular .meeting assembled, cordially endorse the sentiments and action of the said Board of Education, believing that the welfare and wishes of the people of the commonwealth are alike served by this procedure; "Resolved, That copies of the foregoing resolution be forwarded to the German-American Alliance of the United States, the Board of Education, the press, and to the President of the United States." CHAPTER II. Charges Refuted Among the statements constantly recurring in the press are several which seem very plausible to those who have not carefully investigated the matter, to the effect that the School Board was compelled to exclude the Japanese under the State law; that the Japanese pupils were segregated because of their being adults, and because their influence is bad upon white children; that equal rights are given Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 21 them in the education provided for them in the separate school; that we cannot assimilate the Japanese, and that Americans are discriminated against in Japan. These statements will be considered in the present chapter sufficiently in full to indicate that they are not well founded, though our space will not permit an exhaustive treatment. STATE LAW MANDATORY. The school law of California, 1903, Page 37, Article 10, "Primary and Grammar Schools," Section 1662, says: "Trustees shall have the power to exclude all children of filthy or vicious habits, or children suffering from contagious or infectious diseases, and also to establish separate schools for Indian children,. and for the children of Mongolian or Chinese descent. When such separate schools are established, Indian, Chinese or Mongolian children must not be admitted into any other schools." It is generally admitted that so far as the organization of the-school is concerned, the language is permissive rather than mandatory. After such_ separate school is established, children of the parentage-indicated must not be admitted into other schools. Three facts are of interest in this discussion: The law as originally made is about thirty years old, and when made there were Te‘v, if any, Japanese in th-e country; until the resolution of the Board of Education, October II, 1906, .the law was interpreted as applying to the Chinese, the Japanese being permitted in the public schools; and authorities are divided as to whether the Japanese can properly be classed as Mongolians. Before this order was finally made by the Board of Education, that body was warned by the writer and by others that the matter, if carried out, would be contested. However, as the Japanese were to be put upon the defensive, the cours seemed an easy one to the Board of Education. The tables are now turned, and the Board of Education is on the defensive. The Chronicle Gracefully Surrenders. The Chronicle, which has led in this fight against the Japanese, now finds itself in a dilemma. In an editorial, January 19, 1907, this paper says: "We do not think it can be proved that the Japanese are Mongolians. The origin of the Japanese is not known even to themselves. As the burden of proof of origin, so far as we rely on the State law, apparently rests on us, we should fortify ourselves by a new law covering by name, and geographical expressions, all the races of Asiatic origin. We certainly cannot prove the Japanese to be Mongolians, and the authority for the segregation of the Japanese pupils must rest on the discretion of our Board of Education." Proposed New State Law. As a further proof that there was no authority for the action of the Board of Education, not to speak of their action being mandatory, on January 2r, 1907, the State Senate introduced the following amend- 22 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. ment, which later was reported from the committee with recommendation to pass: "Section 1. Section 1662 of the Political Code of the State of California is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 1662. Every school, unless otherwise provided by law, must be open for the admission of all children between 6 and 21 years of age, residing in the district, and the Board of School Trustees, or City Board of Education, have power to admit adults and children not residing in the district, whenever good reasons exist therefor. Trustees shall have the power to exclude children of filthy or vicious habits or children suffering from contagious or infectious diseases, and also to establish separate schools for Indian children, Chinese children, Malay children, Corean children, Japanese children, and all children of the Mongolian race. "When such separate schools are established, Indian children, Chinese children, Malay children, Corean children, Japanese children, and all Mongolian children must not be admitted into any other school; provided, that in cities and towns in which the kindergarten has been adopted or may hereafter be adopted as a part of the public primary school, children may be admitted to such kindergarten classes at the age of four years; and provided further, that in cities or school, districts in which separate classes have not been or may hereafter be established,, for the instruction of the deaf, children may be admitted to such classes at the age of three years. "This act shall take effect immediately upon its passage." After the Japanese were segregated, under the law which provides that Mongolians may be excluded, and after both The Chronicle and. the State Senate have admitted that it cannot be proven that the Japanese are Mongolians, The Chronicle says editorially, January 29, 1907: It shows a bad animus that the Federal Government 'should have raised the technical question of whether the Japanese are, or are not, Mongolians. The Chronicle has already expressed the belief that it would not be possible for the State to affirmatively prove that as an ethnological proposition." Under these circumstances it certainly seems absurd for the Board of Education to continue its assumption that it was compelled, under the State law, to segregate the Japanese. SEGREGATED BECAUSE ADULTS AND BECAUSE INFLUENCE BAD. One would suppose, from constantly recurring statements in the papers, that all of the Japanese students in the public schools were . adults. In an editorial, The Call of December 6, 1906, says: "All this outburst of august and Jovian wrath takes its rise in the fact that San Francisco, proceeding under the State law, has segregated Asiatic students in special schools because it is deemed inexpedient that adults should associate with little children in the intimate relations of school life." The illustrations in the papers, from day to day, have laid emphasis upon the fact that there was a great disparity in ages, one showing little white girls walking to school with Japanese young men, another picturing Japanese young men sitting in the same seats with small Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 23 American girls, etc. All of this has been for effect. In a letter from the Pacific Coast appearing in a Boston paper, in December, we read: "The children are frequently young men from eighteen to twenty-five years of age, who are brought into close association with little girls in the grammar grades. I have learned by personal conference with teachers themselves of the unseemly conduct of these young men of Japan toward the little girls, and even toward the young ladies who are teaching in the grammar grades. In one school it was found that of the ninety-three Japanese in attendance, two were over twenty years of age, four were nineteen, six were eighteen,, twelve were seventeen, nine were sixteen, and ten were fifteen." In Chapter III., under "Defense by Influential Classes in California," the testimony of educators, Christian bodies, etc., is presented in full. A strong challenge, printed in a leading daily paper, and testimonials from school men in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles are given to which the reader is respectfully directed. The questions of number and adults will here be considered. Important Facts and Figures. • Secretary Metcalf secured a list of pupils attending the schools, giving the name of each pupil, name of school, age of pupil, grade, place of birth, and sex, which will be found in his report to the President in the Appendix. In brief, the figures are - as follows,—There were ninety-three Japanese children attending twenty-three different schools, not one. school, as per above quotation. There was a total of sixty-eight, twenty-five of whom were born in this country. There were sixty-five boys and twenty-eight girls. Seven were seven years of age or under, nine eight, three nine, seven ten, five eleven, eight twelve, seven thirteen, four fourteen, ten fifteen, nine sixteen, twelve seventeen, six eighteen, four nineteen, and two twenty. Nearly all of the so-called adults were in the upper grades. Of the five in the first grade, all were eight and under, except one who was eleven; of the ten in the second grade, none was above twelve; of the eleven in the third grade only two were above twelve, one being fifteen and one sixteen; of the seventeen in the fourth grade only five were thir- teen; and of the ten in the fifth grade only three were above fourteen. Most of the adults were in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, though here also there were several Japanese children who averaged in ages with American children. A Strong Challenge. Colonel John P. Irish, a former San Francisco editor, a politician of great influence, and at present Naval Officer at San Francisco, presented a strong challenge in The Oakland Tribune of January 20, 1907, which was not answered, and a part of which I quote: "I state as a fact that no teacher nor school principal ever protested against the Japanese pupils in the San Francisco schools. I state as a fact that no oral or written protest was ever made against 24 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. the Japanese pupils by the parents of white pupils in those schools. I state as a fact that no Japanese pupil in those schools was ever under the slightest suspicion of immoral or disorderly conduct. I state as a fact that the Japanese pupils were obedient to discipline, studious, honest and unobtrusive. I state as a fact that they were exceptionally cleanly in their habits and neat in their dress. I state as a fact that they were frequently an aid to their teachers in creating by their good example a proper moral atmosphere in the schoolrooms. I state as a fact that they did not crowd white children out of the schools. The policy of isolating them is the policy of the present municipal government of San Francisco, endorsed by the head of that government in a public speech. It was entered upon without popular demand or suggestion. It affects the international policy of the United States, and is an attempt to formulate that policy, not by the government of the United States, but by the government of San Francisco." A Remedy Previously Suggested. The above is not only the opinion of a man who has been very prominent on the Coast for many years, but is endorsed by many influential men whose testimonies are found in a subsequent chapter. That the Board of Education was prompted, not by a congestion in the schools but by other motives, is seen in the following resolution of the Board of Education passed May 6, 1905, immediately after the Methodist Preachers' Meeting had sent a protest against discrimination. The action of the Preachers' Meeting called attention to the fact that there was no immediate need of the action proposed, as the Japanese had already taken steps to remove their young men from the grades. They suggested as a remedy the establishment of a separate school for backward children of whatever nationality, and heartily protested against discrimination. The resolution in reply is as follows: "Resolved, That the Board of Education is determined in its efforts to effect the establishment of separate schools for Chinese and Japanese pupils, not only for the purpose of relieving the congestion at present prevailing in our schools, but also for the higher end that our children should not be placed in any position where their youthful impressions may be affected by association with pupils of the Mongolian race." THE CLAIM OF EQUAL PRIVILEGES The article from the Pacific Coast in a Boston paper, quoted above, reiterates what has frequently been claimed—that the priviliges afforded in the Oriental school are equal. The writer says: "The educational facilities provided for Japanese and Chinese in San Francisco have been in every respect equal to those offered white children, and the charge of exclusion is therefore false and misleading." A Remarkable Letter. To bolster up this theory, a letter of a fourteen year old Japanese boy was published in The Chronicle of December 15, 1906. It is a Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 25 very remarkable letter; and indicates that Japanese boys are specially bright, or that he was coached by someone interested in maintaining the theory indicated. The letter is addressed to Theodore Roosevelt, President, and is signed by Frank Kobayashi, the only Japanese student in attendance at the new Oriental school. It is of so much interest that it is here reproduced in full: "Oriental Public School, San Francisco, Dec. To, Igo6.—Sir: As I think it quite interesting, I would. like to tell you my opinion about the Oriental Public School which was built for the Oriental children. here. I was a member of the Hamilton Grammar School until October 15, but, complying with the order of the Board of Education, I was transferred to this school, where I am now attending the eighth grade, skipping one whole year, and am going to the high school at the beginning of the next term. I am the only Japanese pupil who came to this school, and am enjoying my lessons very much. I have been educated among American children and am unable to understand why other Japanese do not come here. It is as good as any other public school in San Francisco. The teachers give the same instruction under the rules of the Board of Education. "The Japanese seem dissatisfied with this school without knowing its worth. Of course, I myself did not know what kind of a school it was, but after attending a few days I knew that this was the best school for Oriental children, especially for Japanese who do not understand very much English or are over the limit of the school age. "There are several reasons why I say this is the best school for them when I think I am the only Japanese in San Francisco who comes to the Oriental school. In the few months since I came here I have received fifty per cent more knowledge than I had when I entered. I can declare this to the public. I am a pupil of the graduating class .and have knowledge enough to say this. I am very thankful to Mrs. Newhall and Mrs. Greer, the principal and teacher of the Oriental school, who have taught me so kindly and patiently. "Yours very truly, Frank Kobayashi. "Theodore Roosevelt, President." Discrimination and Practical Exclusion. It is ,not simply a question of instruction, which may be as good\ -or even better in the new Oriental school as in the ordinary public schools. It is a question of discrimination. The Oriental school is located in the old Chinatown district, in the heart of the burned district, far removed from the principal center of Japanese population and miles from the remote sections where many Japanese live. Unlike the Chinese, who herd together in one quarter, the Japanese for the most part, in all of our cities and towns in the West, are quite widely scattered. Concerning this question of inaccessibility, Secretary Met-.calf, in his report, says: "An examination of the map attached hereto will at once clearly show that it will be absolutely impossible for children residing in the remote sections of the city to attend the Oriental school. The conditions in San Francisco are such, owing to the great conflagration, that it would not be possible even for grown children living at remote 'distances to attend this school. If the action of the Board stands, 26 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. and if no schools are provided in addition to the one mentioned, it seems that a number of Japanese children will be prevented from. attending the public schools, and will have to resort to private instruction." It will thus been seen that the action of the Board of Education. in compelling the Japanese children who have been attending twenty-three different schools, in widely scattered sections of the city, to, assemble in one school is practically prohibitive, as many of them are of tender years. The School Board recognized the injustice of its action in a letter to Hon. K. Uyeno, Consul for Japan, in reply to his protest against the order for discrimination. The letter, in part, is as follows: "As almost the entire Japanese quarter is in a locality easy of access to this Oriental school, and is situated practically the same as. the other schools in the city where children are required to walk several blocks, ofttimes in the burned district, it was thought that no hardships whatever would be placed on any Japanese student. Since making the order alluded to, the Board of Education has ascertained that there are some fifty very small children that would be affected thereby, and the Board has under advisement a plan to accommodate these tots at a school much nearer their place of abode than the-Oriental school."—The Call, October 23, 1906. THE BUGABOO OF NON-ASSIMILATION. No statement is more frequently made by those who are striving: for a restriction of Asiatic immigration than that it is impossible to. assimilate the Asiatics, and no distinction is made between the Chinese-and the Japanese. The Call of December 6, 1.906, says editorially:: -The National body politic can assimilate the European of whatever grade, but never the Asiatic. They are aliens always, no matter what their civil status. The proposition to naturalize them is preposterous." This extract is fairly representative of the Coast press. Intermarriage and Assimilation. In reply, several things are to be noted. First, it is assumed that intermarriage is essential to assimilation. But is it not strange that these enthusiastic defenders of our Anglo-Saxon civilization, who are-so loud in their assertions that we can assimilate the European, have-never thought that we do not assimilate the Hebrew by intermarriage? In a later chapter, when Immigration is under consideration,. reference will be made to the enormous increase of Jews in this country, especially from Russia, during the last few years. The. papers on the Pacific Coast, as is seen from the following quotation,. are not troubling themselves about immigration from Europe. The Chronicle says, in an editorial entitled "Japanese and Others," April 15, 1905: "Another reason why we confine ourselves to the Japanese question is that The Chronicle is published in San Francisco and not in New York. We are doubtless getting some very undesirable people from Southern Europe, but comparatively few of that class reach Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 27 California. The class that fills the Eastern sweatshops land in New York, and nine-tenths of them remain in Eastern cities. That is particularly a problem for the East to take up, while Japanese immigration for the present is a question for the Pacific Coast. We doubt whether they will consent to the exclusion of Europeans, and so in the exercise of our sound common sense we are asking for, what we think we can get." Japanese Versus Chinese. Again, the Japanese differ greatly from the Chinese. In Chapter V., in the discussion of the Broader Question of Immigration, reference will be made to the agitation against that people, which finally resulted in the passage of an exclusion act. While there was much ground for the various criticisms, it is clear that there was much unjust treatment. From the beginning of that agitation until the present time, it has been urged that the Asiatic immigrant preserves his old standard of living and herds with his mates. Visitors to the various Chinatowns on this Coast have seen much to confirm them in this opinion. While in all Chinese settlements there will be found some Japanese, it is not true that the Japanese herd together. See the discussion referred to. The Japanese Scattered: Our Customs Adopted. The fact brought out in Secretary Metcalf's report that Japanese were scattered all over the City of San Francisco, their children attending twenty-three different schools, should be sufficient proof oi this fact. Unlike the Chinaman, the Japanese adopts our clothing and, so far as possible, our methods of living. They do not herd together nearly so much as do the great mass of immigrants that come to us from Europe. As is well known in the great cities of the East, and of the West as well, there are quarters set apart for the various nationalities. The Japanese live in various parts of our cities and towns, unless restricted by city or town ordinance, as in one or two cases, dress in American style, live in American homes, use American furniture, and very largely adopt our food and methods of serving it. Soon after the beginning of the agitation against the Japanese,' nearly two years ago, the Methodist Preachers' Meeting of San Francisco, through a strong committee, made a careful investigation and published an exhaustice report. In this it is said concerning the Japanese who live on the Pacific Coast: "In their neatness and cleanliness, in their adaptability and desire to learn the best that we have to teach, in their freedom from crime and their desire to faithfully obey both in letter and spirit our laws, they are models whom we may well hold up for the imitation of many ,of the European immigrants who are flocking to this Coast." Conversion From Thorough Inspection. After the great earthquake and fire in San Francisco, when the Japanese, in common with others, were seeking new locations, some .of them rented vacated homes in the Western Addition, not being so 28 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. terrified with earthquakes as the people who had moved out. Soon-after, an agitation was started against them, and an effort made on. the part of the leaders of this general campaign to prevent therm securing leases of houses. Public meeting were held and fiery speeches made. Among others, a Protestant preacher was reported in the newspapers as saying that the landlords who would rent to the Japanese ought to be treated with a coat of tar and feathers. The writer called upon him and asked him his objections. After a conversation of an hour it was agreed that they should visit the various parts of said Japanese district at once, without notifying anybody of. their intentions, in order that things might be found in normal condition. The preacher was asked to select the places to be visited. We-went to a hotel in which it had been reported that upwards of seventy were nightly accommodated, and found the rooms nicely furnished,. the beds all in order, and everything neat and clean. There were no more beds in the house than would ordinarily be found in an., American house of similar size. At his request we visited the Buddhist Mission, private residences arid various places of business, including several fruit stores. These latter were found especially neat. At his request we visited the narrowest streets and lanes in, the quarter, and he was greatly surprised not to find the odors that: had been described. I reminded him that we were neither in Chinatown nor in the quarters of certain immigrants from Europe, but in the Japanese. section. He expressed his great surprise, and gladly opened his church afterward, several times, for large Japanese gatherings. When he was in San Francisco, Secretary Metcalf visited this same section, and took occasion to speak in the highest terms of what he saw: The so-called Japanese quarter of San Francisco, will compare very favorably with most parts of the city, and is-decidedly superior to many parts occupied by immigrants from. Europe. Japanese Assimilate Our Civilization: The President's Message. The fact that Japan has made such marvelous progress in the last few years, and taken on our civilization to such an extent, should be a strong proof of the adaptability of the Japanese to take on the best that we have to give them. If in their own land, under circumstances not altogether favorable, they can assimilate our civilization, we certainly in our own country can assimilate the few thousands that come here. . In his Message to Congress President Roosevelt took occasion in one paragraph to outline the marvelous changes that have taken place there, and his terse statement is universally endorsed by all who know the facts. I quote the paragraph: "But fifty years ago Japan's development was still that of the-Middle Ages. During that fifty years the progress of the country in every walk of life has been a marvel to mankind, and she now stands- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 29 as one of the greatest of civilized nations; great in the arts of war and in the arts of peace; great in military, in industrial, in artistic development and achievement. Japanese soldiers and sailors have shown themselves equal in combat to any of whom history makes note. She has produced Generals and mighty Admirals; her fighting men, afloat and ashore, show all the heroic courage, the unquestioning, unfaltering loyalty, the splendid indifference to hardship and death, which marked the Loyal Ronins; and they show also that they possess the highest ideal of patriotism. Japanese artists of every kind see their products eagerly sought for in all lands. The industrial and commercial development of Japan has been phenomenal; greater than that of any other country during the same period. At the same time the advance in science and philosophy is no less marked. The admirable management of the Japanese Red Cross during the late war, the efficiency and humanity of the Japanese officials, nurses and doctors, won the respectful admiration of all acquainted with the facts. Through the Red Cross the Japanese people sent over $100,000 to the sufferers of San Francisco, and the gift was accepted with gratitude by our people. The courtesy of the Japanese, nationally and individually, has become proverbial. To no other country has there been such an increasing number of visitors from this land as to Japan. In return, Japanese have come here in great numbers. They are welcome, socially and intellectually, in all our colleges and institutions of higher learning, in all our professional and social bodies. The Japanese have won in a single generation the right to stand abreast of the foremost and most enlightened people of Europe and America; they have won on their own merits and by their own exertions the right to treatment on a basis of full and frank equality." Christian Civilization and the Japanese. It is generally admitted that the Christian religion, through the faithful efforts of Protestant missionaries, has been a prime factor in bringing about the notable changes outlined above. Many there are who boldly assert that Japan is already Christian in Spirit. It is also true that those who come to us from Japan come with sympathy toward and interest in the generally recognized basis of our Christian civilization. To be sure, there are peasant classes in Japan, and there are those in middle life today who have not been greatly influenced by the modern school system in Japan. Some of these have been finding their way to our shores through Hawaii, and are to be found on the railways, in the orchards, on the ranches, and in the sugar beet fields. Various Classes Among Us. A large portion of those who serve as servants in our homes represent the student class, and are here primarily to secure an educatio-n. They serve us for the double object of learning our ways and of securing money to complete their studies in our schools. That there are in our larger cities. undesirable Japanese, both men and women, no one would attempt to deny. But that they are here in greater numbers, or that their influence is worse, than many peoples who come from Europe, no sane person would attempt to assert. There are many instances of Japanese of the so-called lower classes 3o Discrimination Against Japanese in California. among us having become progressive and prosperous, and many of them are active and influential Christian workers. Those who claim that we cannot assimilate the Japanese who come to us are either prejudiced against them or have not carefully investigated all the conditions. Japanese Women. Under this question of assimilation, two other phases need to be noticed,—Japanese women and Japanese patriotism. Some are so unfortunate as to form their opinions of Japanese women from the tales of travelers concerning the social evils in Japan, or from what they have seen or heard of the Japanese whom unscrupulous Americans and Chinese of the baser sort have induced to come here for gain. When the complete history of this dreadful iniquity is written, it will be found that 'scores of innocent women and girls have been victimized. The female population among the Japanese residents in the cities of the Coast and in other places is increasing, and Japanese women by the hundreds may now be met who in every way are worthy to associate with our most intelligent and cultivated American women. The Japanese and Patriotism. Because our laws do not permit the naturalization of the Japanese people resident in the United States, it is assumed by some that they are not interested in things American, and that their patriotism is confined to Japan. Nothing could be further from the truth. Patriotism is more than noise and show on a great national holiday. It is more than going to the front in time of war. Patriotism is an intelligent interest in the institutions of the country, and willing and glad obedience to its laws. Patriotism is unselfish devotion to the welfare of one's country. That the Japanese are patriotic in the highest sense is gladly admitted by all who know them. Those who know them best freely testify that their patriotism is not confined to their own country, but extends to the one in which they reside, even though denied the privilege of citizenship. In the Autumn of 1905, the present writer delivered an address at the National Immigration Congress, in New York City, in which he said that the Japanese, if allowed to become citizens of this land, would fight as loyally for the flag as they had been fighting in the East under the Japanese flag, and the statement was reecived with tremendous applause. This address will be reproduced in the latter part of this pamphlet as a part of the discussion of the Immigration question. JAPANESE TREATMENT OF FOREIGNERS. A very significant statement appeared in The New York Herald on the 30th of December, 1906, which has been very widely quoted in California. Concerning this The Chronicle says editorially, in its issue of January 7, 1907: Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 31 'The New York Herald of December 30th printed a letter from an American citizen doing business in Japan, in which he mentioned some of the drawbacks experienced by himself and other foreigners in that country. Among other things, he stated Americans are not allowed to own real property in Japan; they are only privileged to buy a certain class of securities; they cannot hold Japanese on certain sorts of mortgages; they are not allowed to attend Japanese schools, old or young; they are only permitted to reside in certain sections set aside for them; they are not permitted to sail in a private pleasure boat; they cannot leave a treaty port without a permit, and it is next to impossible to obtain one;' they cannot enter any port of Japan (except the regular open ports) from the water front; at the theaters they are charged more than double what the Japanese pay for the same accommodations, and hotel charges are on a similar basis; they cannot obtain justice in the lower courts, every case in which a foreigner is involved must be carried up before justice is given; they pay double the rate of taxes paid by Japanese. The Chronicle knows that most of these assertions are true; they probably are all true." It is impossible to understand how a great paper like The New York Herald, which is generally careful, should allow itself to be imposed upon in this way. A greater number of outright falsehoods is seldom seen anywhere in equal space. We are not dependent upon the above summary, but have the full text before us. It is significant that this so-called business man is nameless. He asserts there would be more letters of a similar nature sent from Japan to the United States if it were not for the constant espionage which foreigners resident in Japan have to endure. Revenge of War Correspondents. This identifies this writer with the campaign of certain war correspondents who for very wise reasons were held up in Japan and not permitted all the privileges at the front which they desired when they left this country. A book has recently appeared by one of these correspondents, in which an effort is made to correct what he claims to be false impressions concerning Japan 'and the Japanese. It is clear, in the language of the streets, that he "has it in" for Japan. And he is not the only one. It is well known that at the present time a systematic effort is being made to alienate the sympathy of the American people, which has hitherto been with the Japanese. Absurdity of Charges. These charges of this so-called resident in Japan are absurd on their face. Some of them contain partial truth, and some of them were true years before the treaties were revised. Almost without exception in their present form, and at the present time, they are absolutely false. Americans can and do own real property in Japan, but not as individuals. The thing required is that ownership shall come under the law of corporations, and that they shall not have foreign connections. For example, the Japanese have been wise enough to prevent the necessity of sueing for insurance in the courts of Germany, as has recently been necessary by losers in the recent San Francisco fire. Property which was formerly held in trust by 32 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Japanese, for various Foreign Missionary Societies, is now held by foreign missionaries residing in Japan who have incorporated themselves according to Japanese law. The ownership is real. So far as the individual is concerned, an unlimited lease is possible and actual, which for all practical purposes is real ownership. Japanese Schools and Foreigners . • The Japanese schools are open to foreign children. My own children were offered the privileges of Japanese schools, and some Americans of my acquaintance have availed themselves of this privilege. The reason why Americans and English people do not send their children to the Japanese schools is that the basis of the work is in the Chinese character and the Japanese colloquial. Two Stanford graduates, Messrs. D. B. Spooner and J. F. Abbott, are now studying in the Imperial University, Tokyo. Thousands of Chinese students are attending school in Japan today, and those who are qualified to enter the courses in the Japanese schools are permitted to do so, separate schools being provided for those finding it necessary to study elsewhere. That foreigners living in Japan are not prejudiced against the Japanese schools because of the associations is clear from the fact that the children of Americans and other residents in Japan frequently and quite habitually play with Japanese children. Freedom of Residence and. Travel. The assertion that Americans are permitted to reside only in certain sections set aside for them,' is decidedly out of date. Even before the treaties were revised, which years ago opened the entire country to residence, Americans and other foreign residents were permitted not only to occupy homes outside of the foreign concessions, hut in various parts of the interior. It was my privilege to live for several years in an interior city and in a Japanese house. One needs only to go to Japan to see hundreds of private sailing boats flying American flags and occupied by American people. The statements concerning leaving treaty ports without a permit, and not entering any except the regular ports from the water front is absurd. Thousands of travelers who have visited Japan in recent years can testify that they are free to go where they wish. Overcharging in Japan. As to double charges in theaters and hotels and in tax rates, reputable residents in Japan by the score and hundred will gladly testify that it is pure nonsense. Strangers in Japan, as in America and in other countries, are not infrequently overcharged because of their ignorance. My business required extensive travel in various parts of Japan, and where I was willing to put up with accommodations furnished to Japanese I paid the same prices. Because foreigners generally require more service and do not give the customary tips for tea money in the hotels, the custom has grown up of makinc, a distinction in certain parts of Japan. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 33 If space permitted, 4, would be possible to take up each one of these statements in detail and show its falsity. As indicated above, some of them contain partial truth, and some of them were true years ago, before the treaties were revised. But almost without exception at the present time and in their present form they are absolutely false. CHAPTER III. Defense by Influential Classes in California An effort has been made to make it appear that the entire Pacific Coast is at one on this Japanese question, including the segregation of pupils from the public schools and the restriction of immigration of the laboring classes. In the present chapter it will be shown that large and influential classes are entirely out of sympathy with this continued agitation. The testimony of prominent' educators, including principals and superintendents of schools, or both, of San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, is given, commending Japanese pupils most highly; also the opinion of President Jordan of Stanford University and of Governor Carter of Hawaii. Prominent Christian bodies, including the Oakland Interdenominational Missionary Conference, The Congregational Preachers' Meeting, The Methodist Preachers' Meeting and the General Missionary Committe of the Methodist Episcopal Church, are quoted as sustaining the same view; also the two strongest Christian papers published on the Pacific Coast. The opinion of Farmers and Fruit Growers is also. given touching the need of the very immigration that it is proposed to restrict. The present chapter will be devoted almost entirely to the educational question, the question of immigration being reserved for later consideration. EDUCATORS: Opinion of an Experienced San Francisco Principal. Through the courtesy of Colonel Irish, Naval Officer at San Francisco, I am permitted to use a letter to him from an experiqnced principal in San Francisco, which he read at a recent banquet of the Unitarian Club in San Francisco. It speaks for itself: "First. I have had ample opportunities, in over twenty years' experience with Japanese students, to know whereof I speak, in all its bearings. "Second. No considerable part of these students are adults. Had the adult pupils ever reached as large a proportion as twenty per cent, there would, years ago, have been protests from teachers and principals, and Japanese adults could and would have been excluded from elementary day schools, just as other adults, without friction or objection. "Third. Japanese students do not crowd 'white' children out of the schools. The San Francisco schools are not overcrowded. They never have been overcrowded, during the past twenty years, except in a few spots, and that for causes entirely outside this matter. "Fourth. The statement that the influence of the Japanese, in our schools, has had a tendency towards immorality, is false and abso- 34 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. lutely without foundation. From all I have ever heard in conference with other school men, as well as from my own continuous and careful observation, there has never been the slightest cause for a shadow of suspicion affecting the conduct of one of these Japanese pupils. On the contrary, I have found that they have furnished examples of industry, patience, unobtrusiveness, obedience and honesty in their work, which have greatly helped many efficient teachers to create the proper moral atmosphere for their class rooms. "Fifth. Japanese and American children have always been on good terms in my class rooms, and in others concerning which I am informed. They work side by side, without interference or friction, and often some Japanese student would be a great favorite among his American classmates. "Sixth. In all my years of experience, there has never come to me, orally or in writing, from the parents whose children have attended my school, one hint or complaint or dissatisfaction, concerning the instruction of their children in the same school, or the same rooms, with Japanese. Nor has there ever been complaint or protest from teachers in regard to this coeducation." Testimony of Leading Educators of Oakland. Upon the authority of the Rev. Miles Fisher of Oakland, a prominent pastor, I am permitted to give an extract from a paper which he read before the Congregational Ministers of his City, in which he said • "Curious to know the experience of educators, I inquired of Mr. Keyes, the Principal of one of our Oakland schools of eleven hundred pupils, and he said he had never had the least knowledge of any morally reprehensible conduct on the part of Japanese students. I talked with Mr. J. H. Pond, the Principal of the High School, and out of experience both in Oakland and Sacramento, where he has had many scores of Japanese students, he has no knowledge of any immoral conduct on their part, but much which leads him to esteem them as pupils. I talked with Mr. M. C. Clymonds, Superintendent of the Oakland schools; he has never had any improper conduct reported of any Japanese. Similar testimony was given by Mr. Crawford, County Superintendent of Schools." The Superintendent of Los Angeles Schools. Professor E. C. Moore, Superintendent of the Los Angeles City Schools, one of the best-known educators in California, says, in a reply to a letter- from Mr. Frank L. Browne, traveling in Japan, and printed in the Japan Mail of December 22, 1906: "Replying to your inquiry as to the status of Japanese pupils in the schools of Los Angeles, I beg to say that during all the time that I have been in the office of Superintendent of Schools here I have not heard a single word of protest against them. They are given every opportunity to attend school that American boys and girls have. We find them quiet and industrious in their school work, and such good students that our principals and teachers believe them to have a most helpful influence upon the other pupils with whom they associate. As a California school man I bitterly regret the action of the San Francisco school authorities. It was wholly unnecessary, in my view, and is, I am glad to say, not representative of public opinion in California." Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 35 Convention of School Superintendents. The California Christian Advocate is responsible for the following statement (November 29, 1906): "The State Convention of School Superintendents, which has just closed at San Diego, turned down Mr. Roncovieri's resolution favoring separate schools for Chinese, Japanese, and Coreans. The San Francisco Board of Education is finding itself very lonesome in its position on that question.. That such a mean and narrow policy could be accepted by educated Christian gentlemen is not possible. There are a good many demagogues to the square yard in California, but, to the credit of the State School Superintendents, they did net lend themselves to this narrow, this small and contemptible foreign policy." In the light of the above, it is not strange that there has been no reply to the challenge of Colonel Irish, already quoted. My duties take me up and down the Pacific Coast several times each year, from Seattle and Spokane to Los Angeles and Riverside. I have taken occasion to interview a large number of educators in these three great states of the West, and the testimony, without exception, has been in line with that furnished above. Views of President Jordan of Stanford University. In a letter to The Boston Evening Transcript, December 29, 1906, entitled "Japan in California," Dr. David Starr Jordan treats the questions at issue very broadly, showing that grown boys are not the source of trouble, giving the pro and con of immigration, indicating the high rank of the Japanese, setting forth why the Japanese are criticised, outlining the best method of restriction, revealing the situation in Hawaii, showing the ambition of the Japanese, and reviewing Japan's admiration for Americans. Concerning grown boys not being the source of trouble, Dr. Jordan says: "Various ex post facto reasons for the Board's action have been suggested. Among the Japanese are a few grown boys who try to learn English in the grammar grades. It might be well to shut out these, but, as a matter of fact, their occasional presence has made no trouble of any consequence. Neither have the Japanese children been the source of any friction. They are intelligent, docile and. clean—more so than the average children of most European immi-grants—and no patrons of the schools have complained of their presence. The School Board may have very good reasons for their action, but these reasons have not appeared. That their action was legal is not likely; the weak point is in their acting an racial grounds alone. . . . The school question is a side issue of the greater one of immigration." Governor Carter of Hawaii Endorses Federal Position. In a telegram from Honolulu, published in The San Francisco Call, November 21, 1906, we read: "That an entirely different view is taken in Hawaii on the subject of the education of the .Japanese children from the view that has been adopted in San Francisco is evident from the remarks of Governor Carter, who says: "There is nothing to deplore in the increase of Japanese children. The Japanese are here probably in large proportion to remain. Their natural increase has been very great, 36 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. and as eight years have elapsed since annexation, a large number of the Japanese children now crowding into our schools have been born under the American flag. When these reach maturity they will have the right of claiming American citizenship. It is therefore most important that they should have full opportunity of becoming equipped with the knowledge and habits of thought requisite to good American citizenship. Apart from that consideration it must be conceded that it is the inalienable privilege of every child under protection of the flag to enjoy the benefits of that public school system which is one of the chief glories of the American commonwealth and which, moreover, Hawaii took as an ideal long before admission and continues, as a part of the Union, with best endeavors to maintain. In a later telegram the Governor puts himself strongly in favor of the naturalization of the Japanese. In view of the large number of Japanese children and the large experience of the Governor in the Islands, this opinion should have great weight. The figures are as follows: Out of a total of 21,358 pupils in all the schools of the Territory there are 4,845 Hawaiians, 3,522 part Hawaiians, 4,472 Portugese, 4,297 Japanese, 2,092 Chinese, and 6,527 of all other nationalities. ACTION OF CHRISTIAN BODIES: The San Francisco Methodist Preachers' Meeting. The Methodist Preachers' Meeting of San Francisco and other Bay cities, at a meeting held Jan. 28, 1907, unanimously adopted the following paper dealing with the broad ethical principles involved in the Japanese Immigration and School Question: "We stand as we have ever stood for the Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, and we use that phrase not as a mellifluous catchword to be mouthed without meaning, preached but not practiced, but we use it as the expression of one of the most vital truths of Christianity. God hath made of •one blood all the nations of men, hence to oppress or ostracise men on account of their race or color is high treason against God and humanity, and they who today judge manhood by the color of the skin, have got into the wrong century and the wrong country. We recognize that while God hath made of one blood all the nations of men, He hath also appointed the bounds of their habitation, and equal rights does not mean that all national boundaries are to be wiped out. We do not deem it wise or expedient to land on our shores a vast number of the lower classes of immigrants either from Asia or from Europe, convinced as we are that such unrestricted immigration must inevitably lower the standards of American life and American manhood, and must degrade American labor. So far, however, as Japanese immigration is concerned, we have it on the very highest authority that the Japanese government is opposed to the immigration of unskilled Japanese laborers to the United States directly or indirectly, and has, as a matter of fact, for the last six years• prohibited their immigration here, and we express our firm conviction that it can be and should be left to the diplomacy of the two nations now on such amicable terms to adjust the whole matter in a manner satisfactory to both nations. With regard to the segregation of Japanese and other Oriental Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 37 pupils from the lower grades of the regular public schools, we waive .all discussion of the legal questions involved and agree that there -should be no objections to the exclusion of all adults or adolescent pupils of whatever nationality from the lower grades of our schools -or to the establishment of a language test admitting no pupils who *cannot speak English, nor to the establishment of a Cosmopolitan school for all aliens. But we submit that as an ethical proposition nay as a matter of Anglo Saxon fair play to say nothing of treaty rights, it is un-American as well as un-Christian to discriminate -against a single race on race grounds alone, while other nationalities are frely admitted. It is quite natural and wholly creditable to the Japanese people that they object to the establishment of separate schools for their children, thus placing upon them the ban and brand of race inferiority. Finally, we counsel patience and moderation at this crisis when .efforts are beino-'' made to inflame public sentiment and enkindle race antagonisms. This question will be settled by civilized and lawful methods and not by demagogism, denunciation or violence." Oakland Interdenominational Missionary Conference. The following Statement was unanimously adopted by the Inter-denominational Missionary Conference, composed of nearly two thousand delegates and representing a large section of the State of California, in session at the First Presbyterian Church in Oakland, October 15-18, 1906. This was only four days after the order of segregation was made by the Board of Education. The paper con-eludes: "We desire that these resolutions be given the widest publication possible, in order that the people of our own land and the people of Eastern Asia may know our sentiments on this question." The paper follows: "Whereas, the authorities of the City and County of San Francisco, in harmony with recommendations made by the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, have recently decided to segregate all Oriental pupils of the primary and grammar grades, and have established a separate school for children of Mongolian parentage, near the old Chinese settlement, in the heart of the burned district. "Resolved, That we deplore said action and place ourselves on record as disfavoring it, for the following reasons,— "IT IS UNAMERICAN. While we do not favor the mingling ,of young men of any nationality with little children in the lower grades of our public schools, we are strongly of the opinion that the success of our national institutions requires the intLrmingling, in our schools, of the children of the various nationalities represented here. "TT IS UNJUST. Nothing could be more so than to compel the little children of any race, scattered throughout the various parts of a great city, to attend school in one place, particularly if very inconvenient for the majority and positively dangerous for all, as is the case at the present time. The transfer of nearly one hundred Japanese who have been attending our public schools, and who desire to assimilate our civilization, practically excludes most of them from school privileges altogether and makes necessary the establishment of Japanese schools in this country by our Japanese residents, a course which is not calculated to Americanize the children. T IS UNTIMELY. Following so closely upon the great .disastcr, when the eyes of all are turned upon San Francisco, its city 38 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. officials cannot afford to take an action of this kind, particularly in view of the splendid conduct of the Japanese following the great calamity, and the generous gift of the Emperor of Japan of $Too,000 to the San Francis-co Relief Committee, not one-tenth of which, we are informed, was needed or used for Japanese, the remainder being at the disposal of the General Relief Committee. "THE ACTION IS UNWISE, whether considered from the standpoint of commerce or of missions. Such discrimination now will seriously jar the cordial relations that have existed for half a century between the United States and Japan, the leader in the Orient. It will further be felt in China, Corea, and other Eastern Asian countries, whose spirit and power are becoming more and more manifest. "IT IS UNCHRISTIAN. Nothing could be more contrary to the teachings of Christ, which require us to do to others as we would wish them to do to us. While far too few of our people and officials are governed by Christian principles, the United States is rightfully regarded as a Christian nation. As a great Christian Assembly, representing all Protestant denominations and all sections of the State of California, we can ill afford, even by silence, to sanction an action so un-American, unjust, and un-Christian. "SUCH PLAN IS IRREVOCABLE when fully established. The laws of certain States, pertaining to education, discriminate against Negroes and Indians. The law of California goes further and makes possible the segregation of Mongolians, providing that when separate schools are established such children will thereafter be excluded from the public schools. The new action may now be regarded as in its experimental stage. The new school is located in an unpopulated district and in a temporary building. When the policy has been fully entered upon, and a permanent building is erected, the city authorities are required to adhere to the plan. "We therefore disfavor the plan and respectfully request and entreat the Board of Education and the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco to reconsider their action and to continue to allow children of Asiatic parentage to attend our public schools." Congregational Preachers' Meeting. An extract has already been printed from the Paper of Rev. Miles Fisher, of Oakland, giving the opinions of prominent educators. This Paper, as will be seen from the following editorial in The Pacific of January 17, 1907, was practically adopted unimously by the Congregational Ministers' Meeting. The editorial says: "The Congregational Ministers of San Francisco and vicinity discussed the Japanese question last Monday. The subject was introduced by the Rev. Miles Fisher of Oakland in an able paper which left little to be added. Mr. Fisher's positions were in all essential particulars those taken by The Pacific, and he fortified them by an array of what seemed to nearly everyone in attendance at the meeting incontrovertible facts. Only one person of at least thirty-five in attendance made any objection to his statements or took exceptions to conclusions, and all gave expression to their sentiments. "Several persons expressed the wish that Mr. Fisher's paper be sent to The Congregationalist for publication, so as to correct the impression given by a recent article in that paper. A motion was made to this effect, but it was not carried, for the reason that it was stated by M r. Fisher that an article by Professor Nash of Pacific Theological Seminary had already been sent, and for the further Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 39 reason that the paper of Monday was regarded as too lengthy for acceptance by The Congregationalist." The section concerning the morals and conduct of Japanese pupils is found above. Two Americans who had lived in Japan from seventeen to twenty years, respectively, were quoted as having said in substance, "While among the lower classes in Japan laxness is more common than with us, among the middle and upper classes such safeguards are thrown about both men and women as to present a degree of social purity quite the equal of ours." This has an important bearing, in view of the fact brought out by Mr. Fisher that almost without exception the student body in our schools in California is recruited from the middle and upper classes, where fair standards prevail. Two additional paragraphs of the Paper will be ,of interest. Referring to the action of the State Convention of Superintendents of Education recently in session in San Diego, he • • "It appears that resolutions were drafted‘ in San Francisco and given publicity in the press endorsing the action of the School Board, and . giving this moral reason among others for such action. These resolutions were announced as intended for the consideration of the Superintendents then in session, who would beyond all doubt endorse them. But they did not. When the testimony of the Superintendents was in, so I am informed, there was no warrant for the position taken in the resolutions, and they were not issued." As to the matter of assimilation, the Paper says: "We have the charge that the Japanese are hard to assimilate, only less difficult than the Chinese. Well, what wonder when he has no franchise! I am not advocating the franchise. But I say, what wonder? If then we shall compel the Japanese by this affront to maintain his own Japanese school, we might write all over this hopeless problem of assimilation, what wonder? It is our national safeguard to imbue every alien who comes to our shores with American ideas, standards and feelings. Our public schools have been our great boast as we have watched the deluge of immigrants pour in upon us. By their leveling and reforming influences we have been sanguine of a happy outcome." Strong Position of General Missionary Committee. The General Missionary Committee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, composed of all the Bishops and representative preachers and laymen from all parts of the Church, at the annual meeting in Novem- ber, 1906, took the following action with reference to the discrimination against Japanese children in the public schools of San Francisco: "With a sense of shame as Americans, and a feeling of sorrow .as: Christians, we have heard from time to time of the indignities, insults, and even violence, inflicted upon the natives of China, Japan, and Corea, by certain classes of persons who resent the presence of these particular foreigners on American soil. "The sentiment of humanity, not to speak of international hospitality, or of the higher obligation of a great people to those whom they deem less favored, should ever protect such strangers as are found to be lawfully within our gates, even in the absence of the obligations imposed by the solemn compacts of international treaties. But where said 40 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. right sentiment is wanting or fails of its wholesome ends, and the safety of the stranger, visiting or resident, depends solely or mainly upon the fidelity of government to its treaty pledges, we hold that the obligation of the nation determines the duty of the citizen and that any class of persons in any part of our country who openly and clamorously repudiate the pledges of our government, show themselves unworthy of the respect and sympathy of all loyal citizens; and, as well, of the protection of the government they have thus discredited. "That such irresponsible classes of our population, many of whom are themselves citizens by the grace of adoption only, should ever be able to dictate the policy of any great municipality, and even to send advocates and defenders of their prejudices to the National Congress, is one of those monstrous facts that are at once a disgrace to American politics, and a challenge to Christian civilization. "We particularly deplore at this time the reported municipal action of San Francisco, which discriminates against the subjects of a great and friendly power—action which, if rightly interpreted by our government, is in violation of our treaty obligations, and the more to our discredit because directed against a people who have shown themselves humane even to their foes; a people in whose hearts there has been for decades a growing regard for the American nation, and under the strong protection of whose government Americans have found favor and safety. "We are confident that we represent the entire communion of our Church—three millions of Methodist Episcopalians—in our hearty approval of the prompt measures taken by President Roosevelt to make good the treaty pledges of the nation, and to relieve our people at large from any appearance of complicity in or sympathy with the conduct complained of, by which subjects of Japan, while under protection of our government, have been humiliated—and this in the land that first bade their country to rise and be strong in the presence of the nations of the earth. "For the sake of the many thousands of our loyal and courageous fellow-countrymen, who by reason of awful calamity need at this juncture, as never before, the sympathetic consideration of the whole country, and of all the world: and in the hope, cherished by every true American, that San Francisco may speedily rise from her ruins in new splendor and with increased power, we sincerely trust that every sign of hostility to any and all her inhabitants of foreign birth may be quickly suppressed and disappear forever." THE CHRISTIAN PRESS: The Pacific on Assimilation. The Pacific, the organ of the Congregational Church on the-Pacific Coast, in reviewing ex-Governor Pardee's assertion that both Europeans and Americans have lived in Japan and China, yet there is no intermingling of races even there, no intermarriage, says: "The facts are that there have been several intermarriages. Captain Brinkley, a retired British Army Officer, a resident of Japan for more than a third of a century, and editor of The Japan Mail, married a J apanese woman, and they have a family of several children. Professor John Milne of England, one of the world's most famous seismologists, long connected with the Imperial University of Tokyo, took a Japanese bride hack to England with him a few years ago. Sir Edwin Arnold, who has been termed "a connoisseur in femininity," when in Japan several years ago took a Japanese woman as a wife, Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 41 and, taking her with him to his old English home, raised her to the British peerage. Other such unions can be named. (We take the liberty of adding that Viscount Aoki, the Ambassador of Japan to Washington, has a German wife, and the late Mr. Hearne, the famous writer on Japan, not only married a Japanese wife but became a Japanese subject.—Editor.) If Mr. Pardee had looked about a little he could have found here in California both Japanese and Chinese, beyond intelligent question, with just as good material in them today for American citizenship as one-half of those persons who are already citizens. No unprejudiced person can come in contact with these Asiatics and not so conclude in a very short time. In saying this we are not arguing for the franchise for them; we are merely stating a fact. And there is every reason for the belief that if this nation had treated European immigrants as it has treated the Asiatics there would not have been any large assimilation of Europeans." The California Christian Advocate: State Rights and Ethics. The California Christian Advocate, after quoting the State law permitting Trustees to exclude children of filthy or vicious habits, or children suffering from contagious or infectious diseases, and also to establish separate schools for Indian children and for children of Mongolian or Chinese descent, says: "The unfortunate association of this paragraph with filthy and vicious and diseased and repellant conditions carries an impression which in no sense can lie against the Japanese. It is conceded by all that the Japanese are in every way neat, clean, obedient, and apt in their studies. This section, 1662 of the Political Code, was originally section 1669, and read as follows: 'The education of children of African descent and Indian children must be provided for in separate schools, provided that if the directors fail to provide such separate schools, then such children must be admitted in the schools for white: children.' "The origin and flavor of the law carries with it a repellent, not: tol say a repulsive flavor. It arouses a strong feeling in the minds. of the Japanese. No one can admit the intent and purpose of the-law without the conviction that it is a discrimination. We cannot hide in the meshes of States' rights the plain intent of. this law. If-the courts rule that the State has the technical right to make such a_ law, the ethics of applying such a law remains, and in the last analysis. determines the status of the law in its bearings on the international' question involved. The Japanese consider themselves in every sense-one of the great nations of the earth, and no on can blame them_ for resenting an application of a law to them which on its face is. intended for defective and abnormal conditions. We believe that, the Japanese children are entirely competent to enter our public schools, and that the application of this law, which is plainly intended to meet abnormal conditions, was a part of a deep laid political scheme based upon race prejudice." FARMERS and FRUIT GROWERS. Though bearing but indirectly upon the question of education, the side of the employers of labor will here be given, though strictly the subject should be classed in the chapter on Immigration. As already indicated, these two questions are really inseparable. 42 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Letter From a Fruit Grower. The following is a part of a letter from a Fresno fruit, grower to The Chronicle, and appears, with editorial comments, in the issue 'of January 2, 1907. The editor says: -As our readers may suppose, -The Chronicle gets many letters on the Japanese question, some commendatory of its course, some abusive. We have no space to print either, unless they contain some now statement of fact, which they seldom do—never in the case of the abusive letters." Most letters that are not commendatory must be abusive for, almost without exception, only one side appears. As noted in a previous chapter, this has been a one-sided campaign. The letter is as follows: "1 write of conditions as they are here, and they do not differ greatly from those in other parts of the State. We assert that the farmers do not want to exclude Japanese labor until such time as they can secure substitutes for them. You ask why? Because we are wholly dependent upon their labor. If they are excluded, we shall have to give up our farms and go out of business. That is reason enough. It is not a question with us of white labor or brown labor, because we cannot get white labor and we can get brown labor. Again, the Japanese and Chinese do a class of labor that white men can not do, and will not do at any price. It is not a question of cheap labor, or efficient labor, but of laborers of any kind at any price." Fruit Growers' State Convention. The Fresno Republican, commenting upon an editorial in The Seattle News: "The majority of the thoughtful people of California are not in sympathy with the agitation of the demagogues of the cities against the Japanese. . . No part of the States of Washington or Oregon, which exceed in area and population the State of California, have any sympathy with the foolish agitation of the San Francisco people."—Quoted in The Berkeley Reporter, December 25, 1906. "If by 'thoughtful people' is meant farmers, as the context would indicate, it is of course true that there is a strong sentiment among the farmers of California in favor of Japanese, or still better, Chinese laborers. The Fruit Growers' State Convention at Hanford the other day formally adopted resolutions to this effect, and the sentiment expressed is quite general." Orchardists Oppose Idea of Exclusion. In a special dispatch from San Jose to The 'Chronicle, October 9, 1906, it is stated that the orchardists at Saratoga and Cupertino strongly opposed the stand of Congressman E. A. Hayes on the question of Japanese exclusion. The dispatch says: 'Congressman B. A. Hayes addressed a meeting of orchardists tonight at Saratoga. On Thursday night last week he met the orchardists at Cupertino, and at the conclusion of his address asked for questions as to his action in the matter of Japanese exclusion. The farmers at Saratoga tonight, as well as at Cupertino, took the stand that to exclude the Japanese would be equivalent to pauperizing them. H ayes' arguments were firmly combatted by the orchardists, some of whom claimed that if they employed white labor there would soon be a prune pickers union. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 43 Thus it is seen in the two great valleys of California, San Joaquin and Santa Clara, the farmers and fruit growers take a strong position in favor of the unrestricted immigration of Japanese. In both of these sections, as well as in other parts of California, Japanese children and youths are in the public schools, and there is no opposition whatever against this course. CHAPTER IV. The Real Issues. The real issues have been hinted at and referred to indirectly in the preceding discussion. The resolution of the Board of Education, segregating Japanese children, and the State law upon which said action is based are given in Chapter II. QUESTIONS FOR INTERPRETATION. In order to secure a more complete understanding of the situation, in the present chapter an extract of the Federal Constitution and that part of the Treaty with Japan which is involved will be quoted; the cablegram from Secretary Root to Japan will be given; the position of the Government, as outlined by United States District Attorney Devlin, will be furnished, together with a statement by Secretary of State Root. The Japanese position will be outlined, the opinions of several leading men being given; and the position of the Central Government against the City of San Francisco and the State of California quoted, which will involve the question of State rights. It has been well said that the test case of the Japanese pupil, Aoki, is destined to take its place among the famous actions of the century-through the Supreme Court of California and thence, for final decision, to the Supreme Court of the United States, unless the matter is satisfactorily adjusted by diplomacy. The Federal Constitution. The Federal Constitution, Article VII., says: "All treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority-of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the Land; and the-Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." The Treaty Between the United States and Japan. The following extracts from the Treaty of November 22, 1894,. between the United States and Japan, cover the questions at issue: "The citizens or subjects of the two high contracting parties shall have full liberty to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the territories of the other contracting party, and shall enjoy full and perfect protection for their persons and property. "In whatever relates to rights of residence and travel; to the possession of goods and effects of any kind; to the succession of 44 • Discrimination Against Japanese in California. personal estate, by will or otherwise, and the disposal of property of any sort and in any manner whatsoever, which they may lawfully acquire, the citizens and subjects of each contracting party shall enjoy in the territories of the other the same privileges, liberties, and rights, and shall be subject to no higher imposts or charges than native citizens or subjects of the most favored nation. The high contracting parties agree that in all that concerns ominerce and navigation, any privilege, favor or immunity which either high contracting power has actually granted to any other power shall be granted to each as to the most favored nation." .EXPLANATIONS AND PROTESTS: _Prompt Action of the State Department. In view of a cablegram from Embassador Wright, at Tokyo, calling attention to the views of the Japanese newspapers concerning the segregation, and to acquaint the Japanese Government with the views of the Federal Authorities, Secretary of State Root sent the following telegram to Embassador Wright, October 23, 1906, as published in The San Francisco Call of October 28, 1906: "October 23.—To Wright, Tokyo: Troubles your dispatch of 21st are so entirely local and confined to San Francisco that this Govetn-ment was not aware of their existence until the publication in our newspapers of what had happened in Tokyo. The best information we have been able to obtain indicated that there is nothing even in San Francisco but an ordinary local labor controversy, excited by the abnormal conditions resulting from the earthquake and fire. We cannot prevent men desirous of a labor vote from making speeches in favor of excluding any kind of competition. This does not seem to have gone beyond irresponsible agitation, to which no attention can be paid by each Government, or should be by the people of Japan. The trouble about schools appears to have arisen from the fact that the schools which the Japanese attended were destroyed by the earthquake and have not yet been replacd. "You may assure the Government of Japan in most positive terms that the United States will not for a moment entertain the idea of any treatment toward the Japanese people other than that accorded to the people of the most friendly European nations, and that there is no reason to suppose that the people of the United States desire our Government to take any different course. "The President has directed the Department of Justice to make immediate and full investigation, and take such steps as the facts call for to maintain all treaty rights of Japanese subjects in the spirit of the friendship and respect which our people have so long entertained. The purely local and occasional nature of the San Francisco school question should he appreciated when the Japanese remember that the Japanese students are welcome in the hundreds of schools and colleges all over the country. ROOT." As a sidelight on the above, an interview with Mr. G. Ikeda, Secretary of the Japanese Association of America and one of the prime movers in the Japanese school controversy, as published in The Call of February 1, 1907, will be of interest. Secretary Ikeda is reported as saying: ''l ii the school controversy we arc depending on the United States Government to do the right thing. I made a protest against excluding the Japanese children from the public schools. My protest Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 45 was not accepted, and I sent word to all the papers throughout Japan. The news of the controversy was published, came to the attention of the Japanese Government, and was in turn presented to the Government of the United States." Hon. K. Uyeno, the Consul for Japan in San Francisco, made a protest in the name of his Government, and the writer and other Americans protested to the school authorities. Statement by Secretary Root. A Washington telegram, published in The San Francisco Call, February I, 1907, quotes Secretary Root as saying to a California Congressman: "Japan has been wounded in her tenderest spot—her national pride. The Japanese regard themselves as the equals of any other people on earth. They believe themselves to ,be superior, intellectually, morally and in every other way, to the Chinese. Anything which tends to place them on a level with the Chinese before the world is degrading and humiliating to them, and they will resent it. It is most important that tact should be exercised immediately to remove the impression on the part of Japan that the United States is not willing to treat her as one of the most favored nations." BASIS OF ACTION IN THE COURTS. In a communication of the Board of Education to the Hon. K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, is the folloWing, indicating that the Board ,of Education welcomed an action in the Courts: "The Board of Education regrets that it cannot comply with the request you have communicated in your letter—i. e., that the order -made on the nth inst. be rescinded. In conversation with your Secretary (not the Secretary of the Consul, but of the Japanese Asso-ciation.—Editor), the feasibility of having the State law tested in the Federal Courts has been discussed, and such a disposition of the -matter would be highly agreeable to this department. We can but refer you again to that section of the State law under which the order was made, and express regret that you have found cause for protest in the application of the same." The San Francisco papers expressed the same view, but it is quite clear that it was expected that the Japanese would be on the defense, rather than the Board of Education. -Government's Position Outlined. The Federal Government brought two actions in ,the Courts, .January 17, 1907, designed to compel the San Francisco Board of Education to accord the Japanese school children the same rights that are given to children of American or European parentage,—one in the Supreme Court of the State, and a bill of equity in the Federal Circuit Court. In the latter, an injunction was asked for restraining the municipal authorities from excluding the Japanese pupils from the public schools of the city which they attended before the famous .order of segregation was issued. The Chronicle gives the following summary: 46 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Summary of Suits. "It is alleged that the United States Government partly supports the schools of the State, having made a grant of public lands for this purpose, with the understanding that all the schools and institutions benefited thereby should be conducted in conformity with the Constitution of the United States, and all treaties made by the authority of the United States. It is denied that the Japanese are in any sense Mongolians, but are a separate and distinct race, and cannot be properly included among those affected by the provisions of the State code requiring the segregation of all pupils of Indian or Mongolian descent. It is alleged that the segregation of the Japanese children is a violation of the existing treaty rights of Japan, who, it is alleged, are entitled to the same treatment as the most favored nations. It is contended that the law of California does not justify any such action as the Board of Education has taken in respect to the Japanese school children, and that, if it does, then it is null and void." To make this historic case still more clear to these who are not in a position to consult the legal records, extracts from a statement issued by United States Attorney Devlin setting forth the legal actions instituted by the Federal Government, are given. The first shows the relation of the Japanese child, Aoki, to the case. Mr. Devlin says: "The United States began two suits today (January 17, 5907) in San Francisco for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the treaty with Japan giving to the Japanese equal school advantages. One of these actions is brought in the Supreme Court of the State of California in the name of a Japanese child, for the purpose of obtaining a writ of mandamus to compel his admission to one of the public schools, from which he is excluded by the action of the Board of Education. The proceeding in this action is against the Principal of the school in the name of a Japanese child, but to this petition is appended a request, signed by the Attorney-General of the United States, to the effect that the United States be bade a party to the record for the purpose of enforcing its treaty obligations with Japan, or, if such cannot be done in accordance with the practice of the Court, that it be permitted to appear by its proper law officers and be heard to urge the granting of the relief prayed for in the petition. "The second suit is a very comprehensive bill in equity, filed by the United States in the Federal Circuit Court, in which the members of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools and all the Principals of the various primary and grammar schools of San Francisco are made defendants. The allegations in both proceedings are substantially the same, but in the bill in equity filed by the Government the various facts upon which the Government relies are set out at greater length." The Treaty the Basis. The treaty between Japan and the United States is the basis of action in both cases. Continuing, Mr. Devlin says: "In both proceedings the Government alleges the execution of the treaty with Japan in 1895, which provides that 'in whatever relates to the rights of residence and travel,' the subjects of each party ta the treaty shall enjoy in the territories of the other 'the same privileges, liberties and rights as citizens or subjects of the most favored nation.' The State of California having expressly provided that every school in a district must be open to all children of school age resident within the said district, the privilege of such attendance is alleged to be clearly one of the said 'rights of residence' for Japanese children Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 47 resident in that State, to be enjoyed on the footing of the most favored nation. History of School Law. After outlining the claim of the Government to partial support of the schools of California, in view of grants of public lands for that purpose, which grants could only have been made with the understanding and intent that all schools or other institutions to be benefited thereby would be conducted in conformity with the Constitution of the United States and with all treaties made by the authority of the United States, which constitutes the Supreme Law of the land, Mr. Devlin outlines the history of the school law, which has an impor- tant bearing on the case. He says: "The school system of California, it is alleged, forms a continuous chain of educational establishments, from the primary school to the university, and California has at various times prescribed the qualifications for admission to her public schools. In the bill in equity it is set out that formerly separate schools were provided in California for native born white and colored children; that afterward the word 'white' was stricken from the statute, and in a case brought in California it was held that Chinese children born in California were entitled to admission to all the public schools. For the purpose of preventing this, the section was amended by declaring that the Board of Education might provide separate schools for children of 'Mongolian or Chinese' descent. At that time there were few Japanese children in California, and this amendment was made only to prevent the admission of Chinese children to the schools." Japanese Not Mongolians. "The bill alleges," Mr. Devlin continues, "that the Japanese are not in any sense 'Mongolians,' but form a separate and distinct race, and it is asserted that for more than twenty years, and until recently, the authorities in California have conceded that the Japanese are not 'included in the term 'Mongolian,' and have admitted them to all the public schools." Hardship and Discrimination. "It is further shown in these suits," says Mr. Devlin, "that the conflagration which prevailed in San Francisco on April 18, and several days following, impaired the means of transportation and made it more difficult than it had previously been for the pupils to attend schools a long distance from their respective residences. A map is attached to the various pleadings, showing the location of the Oriental school and the other schools of San Francisco, and the residences of the Japanese pupils. "The resolution providing for sending Japanese children to the Oriental school was passed on October II, 1906. At that date there were ninety-three pupils attending primary and grammar schools of San Francisco, of whom twenty-five were born in the United States and sixty-eight in Japan. Only those born in Japan are claimed to be protected by the provisions of the treaty. . . . The Government claims and charges that to compel all of the children of Japanese descent thus to attend a single school, without regard to the places of their respective residences or to their convenience, solely by reason of their race or descent, is a hardship and discrimination against all of them, and violates their legal rights under the said treaty; and the Government also sets out that Japanese pupils are allowed to attend 48 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. the high schools and schools other than those of the primary and grammar grades without discrimination, and that no such discrimination is exercised against German, French, Italian, or various other foreign children, so that the Japanese are not treated as the most favored nation. It is claimed by the Government that these acts constitute a flagrant violation of the treaty between the United States and Japan: that, properly construed, the law of California does not justify them, and that, if it does, it is null and void." The Subject of the Test Case. Preparatory to the action brought in the Courts, a statement of facts was agreed upon at a conference of the President of the Board of Education, the City Attorney and the United States District Attorney.. This is a long document, covering many points, only one of which is here quoted: "Fifth. That Kei Kichi Aoki was born in the Empire of Japan, and is a subject thereof; that the said infant is of the age of ten years and three months, and is a resident of the City and County of San Francisco, and, with the exception of being of Japanese descent, has the qualifications provided by the laws of the State of California for admission to the public schools. That Michitsuki Aoki is his father; that said father was born in the Empire of Japan, is not a naturalized subject of the United States, and is a subject of the Empire of Japan, but is a resident and taxpayer of the City and County of San Francisco. That the above-named infant, prior to the adoption of the resolution of the Board of Education above quoted, attended one of the regular public schools of the City and County of San Francisco, known as the Redding Primary School, to which American children and children of other nationalities were admitted, and after the passage of said resolution was prevented from attending said Redding Primary School, and was permitted to attend no other public school than the said Oriental school." THE POWERS OF THE STATE. In another communication to the press, Mr. Devlin makes a very' important distinction as to the rights of a State in the matter of establishing and maintaining public schools. He says: -The question is not involved whether California may or may not establish a free school system, as it may be conceded that such a matter is entirely within the discretion of the States; but if the State Constitution does require the maintenance of a free public school system, and does maintain such a system for the children of residents without regard to citizenship, and admits to its schools children of subjects or citizens of France, Germany, Russia or any other European country, the question is: Is the right of education in the public schools of the State not a right secured by the treaty provision with Japan; and is a segregation of Japanese children based on no other consideration than they are Japanese not a denial of equal treatment with the subjects of the most favored nation?"—Chronicle, December 7, 1906. Two Views of State Rights. The views of two very Prominent men are here given, repre- senting two sides of the vexed question of State rights—Secretary Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 49 of State Root and Governor Pardee. The opinion of the latter is found in his last message to the State Legislature after the Japanese, question became a National one; the views of Secretary Root are from his noted New York speech on "The Growth of National Power," in which he insisted that State lines are obliterated by the Nation's needs, and that States must rise to duty. The extract from Governor Pardee's message is as follows: Gov. Pardee: The State Is Sovereign. "The State of California, a sovereign State of the United States of America, has no quarrel with the Government of either Japan or China. On the contrary, California has the greatest respect for these two countries, and deprecates equally any indignities which may be put upon Americans in Japan or China, or upon Japanese or Chinese subjects in this country. But, nevertheless, until the Courts of this country shall have declared that California has no right to do so, this State reserves to itself the prerogative and privilege of conducting, under law, State, National and Treaty, its schools in such manner as seems best to us; and this without the slightest disrespect toward the Government of the United States or the subjects of any foreign nation." Secretary Root: States Must Rise to Duty. Secretary Root, as the guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Pennsylvania Society of New York, December 12, 1906, delivered an address which was heard not only by the five hundred present, but by the millions in all parts of the world where the English language is read. He said, in part: "I submit to your judgment, and I desire to impress upon you the earnestness I feel, that there is but one way in which the States of the Union can maintain their power and authority under the conditions which are now before us, and that way is by an awakening on the part of the States to the real question of their own duties to the country at large. Under conditions which now exist, no State can live unto itself alone and regulate its affairs with sole reference to its own treasury, its own convenience, its own special interests. Every State is bound to frame its own legislation and its own administration with reference not only to its own special affairs, but with reference to the effect upon all its sister States. Every individual is bound to regulate his conduct with some reference to its effect upon his neigh -hors, and the more populous the community and the closer the individuals are brought together, the greater becomes the necessity which constrains and limits individual conduct. It is useless for the advocates of State rights to inveigh against the supremacy of the constitutional laws of the United States or against the extension of national authority in the fields of control where the States themselves fail in the performance of their duty. The instinct for self-government among the people of the United States is too strong to permit them long to respect any one's right to exercise a power which he fails to exercise." Criticisms of the California State Legislature. Two years ago the State Legislature surprised the people of the entire nation by an action which called forth the following criticism from The Argonaut: "We warn the Legislature of the State of California, which this 5o Discrimination Against Japanese in California. week adopted a concurrent resolution urging upon the National Government the passage of a law or negotiation of a treaty looking to the restriction of Japanese immigration, that it will be regarded by the press of the United States with marked disfavor. The great majority of the journals of the East will, as with a single voice, characterize our Legislature's action as 'subserviency to the ignorant demagogues of labor.' Scornfully will they inquire: 'Are our National policies to be dictated again by the voice from the sand lot? Does another Denis Kearney dominate the California State and Assembly?' " In an editorial entitled "Our Weak State Government," December 24, 1906, in reviewing the New York speech of Secretary Root, the San Francisco Chronicle says: "The weakness of the Government of California is shown every day in the year. We do not control our corporations. There is no disposition to do so. We rejoice at the Federal prosecution of offenders against the Interstate Commerce Act, but when the same act, word for word, is introduced into the Legislature as a State law, it is smothered in committee, and not a word of protest is uttered. No Governor has ever referred to it in his message. No organization of citizens has ever asked for it." In an editorial in this same paper, January 17, 1907, printed in conspicuous type, we read the following concerning the present Legislature, and the San Francisco representatives in particular: "The obvious intent of the (proposed) law is to enable the indicted boodlers of this City to select the Judge who shall try them,' to set aside all that has thus far been done to get them before a jury and have their cases retried from the beginning. "Nothing more atrocious was ever proposed in any Legislature. The people of this City in their folly have sent to the Legislature as vicious a gang as was ever got together for such a purpose. The decent people of San Francisco have relied upon the people of the State to save them from the corrupt machine which has its grip on the City, and this is what we get. Instead of a law putting an end to the gross abuses which have characterized the trial of these hood-lers, we have bills whose object is to put us permanently in the hands of the robbers." The Legislature and the Japanese Question. It would be very improper to infer that all the members of the Senate and Assembly are unworthy. Many of them are superior in ability and very conscientious. But that they are not in control is seen in the failure to pass the anti-racetrack bill and the one providing for a weekly rest day. The Assembly passed the Sabbath law, but it was killed in the Senate. The latter body also killed the anti-prize fight bill, two to one. In order not to complicate matters in Washington, and to make possible a peaceful solution, the California delegation telegraphed, to Governor Gillett to use his influence to keep matters quiet in the State Capitol, and a special message of the Governor was the result. We have already noticed that, in spite of this request, the Japanese Exclusion League held its regular meeting in San Francisco while the School Board and the Mayor were en route to 'Washington. But it is surprising that the representatives of the State in Sacramento should follow suit. In a special dispatch to The Chronicle, dated Sacramento, Feb- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 51 ruary 6, 1907, under the heading "Japanese Bills Can't Be Kept Down," we read: "The best endeavors of the pacific element in ,the Senate were unable today to keep the Japanese question any longer below the surface of legislation. In the first place, the Committee of Education, of which Caminetti is a leading spirit, recommended Keane's school bill for passage. This bill adds the word 'Japanese' to that of 'Mongolian' in describing the classes of pupils for whom special schools may be provided." The same dispatch refers to the presentation of a joint resolution which was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations. The preamble reviews the entire field of controversy between this country and Japan, and calls upon the California lawmakers at Washington to oppose any treaty which does not insure the exclusion of Japanese laborers, and guarantee to every State the right to regulate its own schools. The dispatch adds: "The Black resolution is the most thorough-going anti-Japanese measure yet introduced." And this was all while negotiations looking toward a peaceful settlement were going on at Washington. The last day of February, the Assembly passed a bill limiting the titles passed to Japanese, with only one dissenting vote. It provides that 'no alien shall hold title to real property for more than five years, and forbids leasing to aliens for more than a year. The bill is generally understood to be aimed at the Japanese. It compels aliens owning property to become citizens after five years residence, which no Japanese is permitted to do. Under the lash of certain labor leaders of San Francisco, who have been lobbying at the Capitol, two other measures may be passed,—one providing for a referendum on the immigration question, and the Keane bill, above referred to, which provides for segregating the Japanese children in the public schools. The constant reference in the papers to these indefatigable workers for exclusion, and to their plans, are not calculated to help matters after the return of Mayor Schmitz and party. Concerning this The Call says: "City Attorney Burke feels confident that the amendment will be adopted. He will urge that the rules be suspended and that the bill be passed at once in each branch of the Legislature. If his plans materialize, Mayor Schmitz and the Board of Education will find the law in force by the time they arrive from the East." Associated with Attorney Burke are Messrs. McArthur and Tveitmoe. JAPANESE VIEWS OF THE CASE. it is important' to gain a clear view not only of the attitude of the Japanese Government, but the views of the press and leading men as well. Hence, an interpretation of Japanese views by a veteran missionary now in Japan, by the leading Japanese paper and the leading English paper in Japan are given; also interviews of representatives of Japan in this country showing their patience and 52 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. tactfulness. Writing on the San Francisco School Question in the Mission News of Kyoto, Rev. Dr. D. C. Green says: "No responsible Japanese would object to any suitably framed resolution which would exclude Japanese of practically adult age from the lower grades of the schools intended for children. Neither would any object to the strictness of regulations framed for the purpose of segregating individuals whose presence might reasonably be supposed to have an unfavorable influence upon the morals of the pupils of the public schools. The claim of the Japanese is simply this, that the existing treaty requires that no such educational or other laws and regulations shall subject their countrymen to different treatment from that accorded to other foreigners. They feel, and feel strongly, that special legislation like that which the San Francisco Board of Education has put in force is not only in flagrant violation of the existing treaty between Japan and the United States, but is an indignity to which they cannot be expected to submit.. Perhaps no other form of indignity would wound the amor propre of the Japanese nation more than this plan of segregating the children of their representatives. Smooth it over as one may attempt to do, the Japanese are bound to regard the regulation as tantamount to saying, 'Your children are not fit to associate with ours.' " The Jiji Shimpo: Leading Japanese Daily. The Japanese today proudly boast of many daily papers, some of which can truly be called great. None have had a greater and wider influence than The Jiji Shimpo, founded by the late Mr. Fukuzawa, who also established a great private university. This leading daily, as translated by the Japan Mail, says that in view of recent reports and publications, the Government has considered it advisable to invite the attention of Washington to three points: "The first relates to the question raised in some quarters as to whether Japanese are to be classified as Mongolians, arrd thus come within the purview of the California Exclusion Act. Japan desires it to be clearly understood that her claims are preferred as Japanese claims, and not as claims of any other nationality whatsoever. As Japan, she has a certain treaty with the United States, and as Japan she expects to receive the usage guaranteed by that treaty. The racial question is a matter entirely apart. "The second point is this: It is true that an explicit reference is contained in the treaty as to residential rights only, and that nothing is definitely stated with regard to educational rights, but it is quite evident that unless a resident can obtain for his children the same educational privileges as those enjoyed by other residents, his residential rights are essentially imperfect. Japanese subjects, residing in California, pay exactly the same taxes as those imposed on native citizens or on the subjects and citizens of other nationalities, and to discriminate against the Japanese in the matter of location would be to manifestly impair their residential rights. "In the third place, it is observable that a question is raised with regard to the relations existing between the several States of the 'Union and the Federal Government. Japan wishes to point out that such question, being purely a matter of domestic administration, has no conventional concern for her. She knows only Federal Government in the matter. I 1 er treaty is with the Federal Government, and she looks solely to the Federal Government for the just enforcement of her rights. "At the same time, being full convinced of the friendly and honor- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 53 able intentions of that Government, she does not wish to embarrass it in any way by importunity, and she is prepared to await patiently till such machinery as the United States authorities desire to employ for the purposes of domestic accommodation shall have been set in motion." The Japan Mail: Leading English Daily. There are several daily papers published in Japan and edited by foreigners, one being owned and operated by the Japanese themselves. One of the oldest, and by far the most representative, of these English dailies is The Japan Mail, edited 'by Captain Brinkley, who, as noted above, is an old resident of Japan. Until the establishment of The Japan Times by the Japanese, The Japan Mail was understood to have a semi-official relation to the Government. And it is quite clear, to those who have watched its course during the two great wars in which Japan has been engaged, that Captain Brinkley, the editor, must have had access to inside information.. Printed in Japan and edited by an Englishman, this great paper suggests for Americans a way out of the dilemma, as follows: "No thoughtful Japanese could fail to approve of a rule which forbade adults or adolescents attending the lower grades of the public schools. Such a rule would be founded on practical universal experience. Neither would they object to the introduction of a language test for all applicants for admission to the public schools. A certain standard-of efficiency in the use of the English language might very wisely be established, the attainment of which should be essential to admission to any but special schools. Furthermore, no one could object to the segregation of any and all pupils who might show themselves morally unworthy. "There is a right and a wrong way in all such cases, and it seems to the writer's Japanese friends that the people of San Francisco have more or less deliberately chosen the wrong." Tact of Japanese Representatives. The San Francisco papers have on various occasions commended the course of Mr. K. Uyeno, the Consul for Japan in San Francisco, for his diplomatic way in dealing with this and other vexed questions. A gentleman by birth and training, and realizing the gravity of the situation, Mr. Uyeno, though fearless in doing his duty, has managed the whole affair with great discretion. Great interest has been taken in the public utterances of Viscount Aoki, the Japanese Ambassador at Washington. On the 17th of December last he was the guest of honor at the annual dinner of The American Asiatic Association, held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, other prominent guests being present. Viscount Aoki, in responding to a toast, said: Ambassador Aoki at Banquet. "I am aware that the sense of this Association in regard to the 'relations between Japan and the United States, which has so often found fitting expression on former occasions, is based on the recognition of the broad principle that the interests of the United States and the Empire of Japan are identical, and that therefore the best of 54 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. reasons exist for the most cordial friendship between the two countries. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a parallel case in the history of mankind in which better reasons existed for the maintenance of the most amicable relations between any two nations, whether viewed from historical, commercial or moral points of view. "Historically speaking, it was the United States that rapped at the door of the seclusion within which Japan, in her ancient isolation, cherished her own science, literature and art, which were the products of a civilization entirely distinct in type from yours. It was the United States that half a century ago offered to Japan the right hand of fellowship and introduced her into the intercourse of nations, which has in turn brought into the Empire all the benefits of what is known as the Western civilization. "Since then, not a year has passed but has witnessed some incidents that have vividly recalled to the minds of the two peoples the existence of weighty reasons which form the basis of their mutual sentiment of respect, love and admiration. The fact naturally was never more eloquently brought home to us than in that hour of gigantic struggle from which it has pleased providence to see us emerge as a power of some consequence. It was a struggle in which our very existence was at stake. . . . The people of Japan are fully alive to the magnitude of the everlasting service which was thus rendered by the people of this country in the cause of Japan, and the memory of that support, liberally given, will continue to be a living monument of the cordial friendship which cements the two nations." Viscount Aoki then turned to the commercial aspect of the question, to the maintenance of the principle of the "open door" in the natural markets of Asia, and said: "You may rest assured that there is the best of commercial reasons for the resolute defense and maintenance by Japan of that principle with which the name of John Hay is honorably connected." Anglo-Saxon and Japanese Fair Play. Turning to the moral reasons which should draw the two nations closer and closer together, Ambassador Aoki said: "It should be observed that, while the political institutions of the two countries widely differ in form, yet that high sense of liberty, equality and justice which forms the ideal of the American national life is also the guiding principle of Japan's political life. The love of fair play, which is often referred to as a peculiarly Anglo-Saxon characteristic, I am proud to say, is also found in the blood of the Japanese people. It is, therefore, safe to say that so long as the moral character of the two peoples does not change, the commercial activities of the two peoples will be characterized by that sense of fairness which is after all the best guarantee of peace in the intercourse of nations, no less than in the intercourse of individuals." Patience of Japanese. Nothing has been more remarkable, during this entire agitation of two years, than the patience of the Japanese. Naturally proud as a people, and having recently come to a consciousness of their great power, the Japanese, both as a nation and as individuals, have shown a spirit which has been commendable. The Japanese Press of San Francisco has been thoughtful and moderate, notwithstanding frequent and, at times, great provocation. Secretary Al etcalf's report, which Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 55 may be found in full in the Appendix, contains many references to attacks of various kinds upon the Japanese. He speaks particularly of the assault upon Professor Omori and his party when here, in behalf of his Government, examining earthquake conditions. This will be referred to again in connection with the discussion of the agitation looking toward restriction of Japanese immigration. It is not simply by physical attack, but rather by little, petty annoyances and by constantly keeping the questions at issue before the public in their most undesirable form, that the Japanese are almost daily humiliated. But for the open attacks upon the visiting scientists, the public at large would hardly have heard of the many things which the more humble Japanese have been compelled to endure daily. Acquainted as I am with the remarkable self-control of the Japanese people, their patience through all these troubles has been to me a cause of astonishment. Attitude or Viewpoint of the Chronicle Changed. In an editorial entitled "A Modus Vivendi," The Chronicle, February 5, 1907, made the following suggestions: "The Chronicle's program for making everybody happy is this: 1st, the Government suit against the Board of Education of this city to be be dismissed; 2nd, the repeal of the order compelling Japanese pupils to attend the Oriental school; 3rd, by mutual understanding the United States and Japan to each enact a law excluding the manual workers of the other nation; 4th, the enactment by our Legislature of a general law by which aliens shall not be allowed to acquire title in fee simple to land in this State, unless that privilege is expressly granted to.them by a treaty. Japan certainly cannot complain of that, because no. alien can acquire title, except leasehold, to land in Japan —which is a most excellent law for Japan or any other country." It will be noticed that this is a decided change from the program of The Chronicle as originally announced. Of Course so radical a change could not be made without an excuse, and one which seems' sufficient to the editor is given. The idea is certainly novel of the President expiating his fault by condescending to invite the Mayor of San Francisco to a personal conference. The language of the editorial is of interest: President Expiating His Fault. "The situation has been complicated by the unwarranted and improper language used by the President of the United States in referring to the people of this State. This language, which from its nature was entirely personal, and in no sense official, because it was no part of his duty to pass judgment on our morals, when injected into what should have been a dignified State paper, inevitably, human nature being what it is, aroused deep and just resentment in this State. The.re is no occasion, however, to pursue that further. The President has fully expiated his fault by condescending to• invite to a personal conference an official person, who is doubtless the lawful representative of this City, but whom the President knows to have accumulated wealth in association with a corrupt politician who has confessed to receiving money for a disgraceful service—the official being now under 56 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. indictment, on which he is striving to escape trial, for conspiring to compel that payment, and presumably receiving some part of it. The humiliation of appealing to such a person, whom we have made our lawful representative, but whom the President would not, socially, touch with a pair of tongs, is ample repraration for the wrong done to our people,.and The Chronicle suggests that we consider the incident closed." Successful Termination of Conference Anticipated. It is to be hoped that the conference of the President with Mayor Schmitz and the Board of Education may result in the reopening of the doors of the San Francisco schools to Japanese children of suitable age. Also that this adjustment may open the way. for the Japanese Government to take such steps as it may deem best to restrict the immigration of laborers to the United States by way of Hawaii as efficiently as it has already done in the case of those bound directly for Pacific Coast ports. The broader question of Immigration will now be taken up. In view of the publication of a separate pamphlet about a year ago, on this question, and of the many references to immigration in the former part of the pamphlet, the subject will not receive as full treatment as would otherwise seem necessary. CHAPTER V. The Broader Question of Immigration Views of President Jordan. In an able article from the pen of Dr. David Starr Jordan, published in The Boston Evening Transcript, December 29 last, we find this significant statement: "The school question is a side issue of the greater one of immigration. There are, in general, three points of view in California concerning Japanese immigration. The fruit growers, the farmers, the railroad builders and the capitalists generally would welcome a much larger influex of Japanese and Chinese. California is suffering for want of common laborers. There are not men enough to till the fields, to gather the fruit, to build roads and railroads, or to properly attend to the coarser needs of civilization. A large body of Oriental laborers would mean a great increase of the wealth of the State. "Opposed to this, the labor unions, and laboring men generally, are jealous of competition, and especially of Oriental competition, for that would mean lower wages and a general reduction of the standard of living. The same arguments are urged against the admission of unskilled Japanese laborers that used to be urged against the Chinese. The name 'coolie,' which has here no meaning at all, is applied to all competing Orientals. . . "The attitude of the average man on the street, in California. towards the Japanese is one neither of welcome nor of antipathy. Sonic Japanese house servants and most Japanese students make themselves beloved within the circle of their acquaintance. The struggles of some of these penniless but ambitious young men to secure an American education, and to lit themselves for professional usefulness in Japan, has few parallels in the history of education. The future professor, the future admiral, the future general works in Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 57 a California kitchen, not because he wishes to spy out the land, but because through daily work lies his only means of securing an education." National Immigration Congress. In November, 1905, a National Immigration Congress was held. in New York City for three days, composed of 500 members representing all parts of the United States and practically all organizations interested in the question of immigration. The first day, after the -organization, was spent in a visit to Ellis Island, where opportunities were afforded the delegates of inspecting two shiploads of immigrants fresh from Europe. The next day was given to the consideration of European immigration, and specially to the distribution of immigrants coming from the various countries across the Atlantic. The third and last day was occupied in considering the various phases of Asiatic immigration. It was the privilege of the author to be present as a member and to deliver an address, Mr. Walter MacArthur of the Japanese and Corean League taking the other side of the question. It seems best, for various reasons, to lay before the readers the address delivered on that occasion just as it came from the mind and lips of the speaker in the earnestness of debate. The address is a reply to Mr. MacArthur and others who had spoken in favor of extending the Chinese Exclusion Law to cover Japanese, Coreans and others coming from across the Pacific. The address follows -exactly as it was delivered, the introduction only being omitted. ADDRESS OF THE AUTHOR. In my work last year, I traveled 15,000 miles, without coming .east of the Rocky Mountains, and made a very careful examination of the Japanese conditions, both in the church and out of it; so I think that what I have to say today may receive the. confidence of those who are present. And first, I want to say that I am very, very glad, indeed, that this conference had the good sense to endorse the position 'of our noble President in the able paper which he presented to Congress a few days ago, in which, as you will remember, he stated that he was opposed to discrimination and that he would not consent to discriminate against races, naming a large number, in which he included the Japanese. Which the Greater Menace? One question before us today, in connection with this subject, is whether the agitation on the Pacific *Coast against the Japanese and the Coreans is not a greater menace to our people and to our institutions than the immigration that it is proposed to do away with, or at least to restrict; an agitation which began at a moment when the Japanese people were in a life and death struggle with the great northern foe; an agitation which has been continued during the time of the serious boycott in China, which has stirred not only the Chinese 58 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. people but all the peoples of the world; continued at a time- when, Japan today sits as the mistress of the entire East. So that if we have any regard for the friendship of a nation which is bound to. influence more and more not only Eastern Asia but a large part of the-civilized world, it behooves us well •to think twice before we llow these agitators to have their way. (Applause.) Pacific Coast Divided. It was stated here this morning, from this platform, that this- is-a great movement, and that the people of the Pacific Coast are united in the matter. I wish I had time to read to you from this little pamphlet, which I circulated this morning, several extracts indicating that that statement is not founded in truth. For example, The Los Angeles Herald says: "All this opposition to Japanese immigration eminates from professional labor leaders, mostly those of San Francisco. The purpose is to maintain a shortage of labor, such as has been witnessed this year in harvesting the fruit crop. With a demand greatly exceeding the supply, as was the case a few months ago in the orange belt, the labor leaders find it an easy matter to enforce laws concerning wages and work hours." The extract is quite a long one, and indicates that The Los Angeles Herald has no sympathy with this agitation. Former Methods Revived. The Argonaut, one of the ablest papers published in the West,. has been up to quite recently in line with an agitation against Japanese immigration, favoring restriction to a certain extent; but so unwise have been these leaders that The Argonaut, in an editorial' after the action of the State Legislature of California, said: "We warn the Legislature of the State of California, which this week adopted a concurrent resolution urging upon the National Government the passage of a law or negotiation of a treaty looking to the restric—tion of Japanese immigration, that it will be regarded by the press of the United States with marked disfavor. The 'great majority of the• journals of the East will, as with a single voice, characterize our Legislature's action as 'subserviency to the ignorant demagogues of labor.' Scornfully will they inquire, 'Are our national policies to be dictated' again by a voice from the sand lot? Does another Denis Kearney dominate the California Senate and Assembly?' " And then, a little further-on, The Argonaut continues: "The Chronicle will effect nothing for its cause by talking, whenreferring.to the Japanese, of the 'manners and' customs of the slave pen.' Such exaggeration hurts rather than helps, for we all know that the ordinary Jap is a neat, clean, personally pleasing little fellow." This from a paper which is really in favor of-restriction; yet so unwise have been the agitators, in the opinion of The Argonaut, that it expresses itself in the strong language I have-read to you. And The San Francisco Call, one of the strong papers. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 59 of the Pacific Coast, in equally strong language condemns the agitation. (The Call has since changed its position and its editorial staff as well.--Editor.) Investigation in San Francisco. And what shall I say of the Christian press, and what shall I say of the various religious bodies? The Methodist Preachers' Meeting, in the City of San Francisco, regarding the agitation as not only 'untimely but unjust and wicked in the extreme, appointed a committee to make a thorough investigation of the matter, the committee consisting of Dr. George B. Smyth, one of the Secretaries of our Mis--sionary Society; Dr. W. S. Matthew, the Presiding Elder of the San Francisco district, who has charge of our Missionary interests in the city, including a large number of our missions, and therefore particularly qualified to look into this question, and the present speaker. We went into the matter most carefully, and the result of .our investigation was that we found, as stated in the last few pages gof this little pamphlet, that a very decided sentiment on the Pacific 'Coast is opposed to this agitation. When the statement is made here in public that the whole West is in favor of it, I want to declare to .you in unmistakable language that that statement is not founded in truth. What Corrupts San Francisco? We heard this morning that the Chinaman comes here to corrupt -us and destroy our manhood. I would like to have you ask yourselves -for just a moment, you who have traveled in the West and have investigated the conditions as they are to be found there, whether the -notably open San Francisco is the result of Chinatown being in it; whether the 3,000 or more saloons that are there, the public and -notable houses of prostitution, the racetrack gambling, the prize-fights .and bull-fights and other things that take place in San Francisco, whether they are due to the influence of the Chinese who live in Chinatown. It is not necessary for me to say that they are not. The influences which are injuring San Francisco and other cities of the -.Teat West do not come from across the Pacific. _Agitation and Peace. It was also stated here this morning that we are pursuing a policy destined to preserve peace between ourselves and other nations. I confess I cannot understand the position of the speaker of the morning, or of those who are in sympathy with him, for it seems to me that that policy pursued will result in just the opposite. It has, .as we know, resulted in the stirring up of tremendous race feeling in .China, and it certainly will result in the stirring up of race prejudice not only in China but in Japan and Corea, and among the various peoples in Hawaii. It will result in exactly the opposite of what the :speaker of the morning indicated was the intention. 6o Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Self-Protection in California. It was further said that the people of the Pacific Coast will. be compelled to protect themselves, indicating, as you know, that certain strong and rash measures must be followed unless the people of the East endorse the measures that have been proposed from the West. I was exceedingly sorry to hear, from a public platform this morning, any suggestion as to what possibly might take place if we here in this deliberative body do not find ourselves in a place where we can endorse the position of the speaker of the morning. (Applause.) Certainly such statements are not calculated to produce good feeling and to aid in the settlement of a question which ought to be settled on broad, humanitarian lines. The East and the West. Another speaker of the morning called our attention to the fact that the Chinatowns of Portland and San Francisco ought to be transferred bodily to Boston and to Harvard College, in order that the people of the East may know something of the conditions of the West. Here let me say to you that the Chinatown visited by tourists from the East is not the true Chinatown. There are certain things gotten up to please, to astonish the innocent from the East, and I can state this on the very best of authority. But I want you to note the fact that the Chinese are to be distinguished from the Japanese, both in their home land and in this country, and I am not here to say one single word for or against the Chinese. I think China was well defended this morning by one of her own nationality who spoke to you from this platform. (Applause.) Progress in China and Japan. But I do say that the people of Japan have made a progress. which is as yet unknown to China; that the conditions which prevail in Japan are not those which prevail in China, and are conditions which will probably not prevail there for ten, twenty or even fifty years. Therefore, when we think of people coming to us from Japan, we ought to distinguish very carefully between them and those who-are coming to us from China. Differences Also Here on the Coast. Then again, we ought to note the differences as they exist here on this Coast. As has been indicated, the Chinese do to a certain. extent gather themselves together and live in a class in their Chinatowns in San Francisco and Portland and Seattle and Los Angeles. and other cities. The Japanese do nothing of the kind. They dress. in American clothes, and they are dressed well when you see them on the street; they eat American food; they associate as far as possible with American people; they attend, to the full extent of the 'privileges. which are given them, our American schools and learn our language; Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 6i and were they allowed to become citizens of this land, they would fight as loyally for our flag as they have been fighting in the East under the Japanese flag. (Applause.) No Danger from Numbers. Another thing that we must note is that there i not the danger from numbers in the Japanese that there is in the Chinese. Our attention was called this morning to the fact that there are about 400,000,000 of Chinese and, therefore, there is a great menace growing out of this fact. There are less than 50,000,000 of Japanese altogether; and when we take into consideration their land, with the opportunities of expansion in the North, and in Formosa in the South, and particularly in Corea and Manchuria, the danger. is exceedingly small of large numbers of the Japanese ever even wishing to come to this country for labor. Immigration from Europe and Japan Compared. I think it will be well for us, in our thinking, to discriminate very carefully between the Japanese and the Europeans, some of whom are coming to this country. Now let us just for a moment look at some of the statistics. There were last year less than 15,000 Japanese who came to this country, 5,000 less than the year before. Are the Japanese increasing? I say last year, I mean for 1904, 5,000 less than came to us in 1903. And, as I have just indicated, as a result of the war and the opportunities opened in Eastern Asia, the Japanese are going to decrease rather than increase, and, therefore, there is no great fear. (Later figures will be found on subsequent pages, showing a still greater dropping off.—Editor.) There were rejected as paupers, or likely to become so, 158 from Japan last year, as against 1,396 from one of the lands of Europe, namely, from Southern Italy. Nearly 1,400 rejected from one country of Southern Europe, as against 158 from Japan! The Japanese Comparatively Young. Another thing I notice is that the Japanese are young. Last year there landed from Southern Italy nearly 10,000 over forty-five years of age; there landed from Japan last year of the same age only 380, all the others being young men, very many of whom, I think I can safely say most of whom, have come here for educational advantages, directly or indirectly. Last year, of those debarred, reported as relieved in hospitals, there were only four Japanese. Think of it! While from Southern Italy alone there were 1,698—in round numbers, 1,700. A voice: What are the percentages? Dr. Johnson: Well, it is not very difficult to figure out the percentages when there are only four from Japan as against 1,700 from another country. 62 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. The voice: Very difficult if you do not know the number. Dr. Johnson: I hope I will not be interrupted. Now, another point, concerning the Japanese as desirable immigrants. First, with reference to their intelligence. Ninety-two per cent of the children of school age are in the schools of Japan today. Is there another country from which we are receiving immigrants that has any such proportion? A voice: Yes. Dr. Johnson: Ninety-two percent? There are very few countries, if there are any. How many States are there within this Union in which ninety-two per cent of the children of our own people are in attendance in the public schools? Restriction by the Japanese Government. And furthermore, the Japanese Government itself has so restricted immigration that it provides that no young man or woman can enter one of our ports here until he or she has passed through the High School in Japan and received public recognition of the fact. To be sure, there are those of the other classes who are coming into Hawaii simply because they have been invited to come, and the Japanese Government has been of the opinion that they are desired there. And I notice in this proposed law which this Japanese and Corean Exclusion League has prepared for Congress, that they themselves make an exception in the case of Hawaii. Embarrassment Through Hawaii. One of the great difficulties is that there is no protection now from this class of people coming to our Coast from Hawaii. That is the great evil that needs to be corrected, and I want to say to you that I am not in favor of unlimited immigration to this country. I favor restriction. I believe that there ought to be restriction along the line I have just indicated, but I do not believe there ought to be any discrimination, particularly against a nation like Japan, which has been admitted into the sisterhood of civilized nations and which today stands as the peer of England, being recognized as an ally of that great country. Ideas of Government. Another thought as to their desirability grows out of the ideas which they have of Government. The Japanese are a progressive people. They are a people who live under a constitutional form of Government. They are a people who have respect for law. There is not a nihilist nor an anarchist among them, not one. And as I said before, if allowed to become citizens of this country, they would love our flag as well as they love their own. That is a matter which is of the utmost importance to us in considering this proposition. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 63 Poverty and Crime. Another thought concerns their relations to poverty and crime. I have already called your attention to some statistics concerning poverty, and I now say, without the possibility of successful contradiction, that Japanese names are remarkably rare upon our court records on the Pacific Coast. (Here the gavel fell.) LATE STATISTICS. A thought-provoking book entitled "Aliens or Americans?" by Howard B. Grose, recently published, reviews the meeting of the National Immigration Congress, where the above address was delivered, and makes some interesting comparisons based on the report of the Commissioner of Immigration for 1905. The author of this book says: "A million a year and more is the rate at which immigrants are now coming into the United States. . . . Gather these immigrants by nationality, and you would have in round numbers twenty-two Italian cities of 10,000 people, or massed together, a purely Italian city as large as Minneapolis with its 220,000. The various peoples of Austria-Hungary—Bohemians, Magyars, Jews and Slays—would fill twenty-seven and one-half towns; or a single city nearly as large as Detroit. The Jews, Poles and other races fleeing from persecution in Russia would people eighteen and one-half towns, or a city the size of Providence. For the remainder we should have four German cities of 10,000 people, six of Scandinavians, one of French, one of Greeks, one of Japanese, six and a half of English, five of Irish, and nearly two of Scotch and Welsh. Then we should have six towns of between four and five thousand each peopled respectively by Belgians, Dutch, Portuguese, Roumanians, Swiss, and European Turks; while Asian Turks would fill another town of six thousand." There are smaller groups of Servians, Bulgarians, Spaniards, Chinese, etc. The author calls attention to the fact that the illiterates alone would make a city as large as Jersey City or Kansas City, with a population of 230,000. Concerning this he says: "Divide this city of ignorance by nationalities into wards, and there would be an Italian ward of 100,000, far outnumbering all others; in other words, the Italian illiterates landed in America in a year equal the population of Albany, the capital of the Empire State. The other leading wards would be: Polish, 33,000; Hebrew, 22,000, indicating the low conditions whence they came; Slays, 36,000; Magyar and Lithuanian, 12,000 : Syrian and Turkish, 3,000. These regiments of non-readers and writers come almost exclusively from the South and East of Europe." Mr. Grose points out that of the total of 1,026,499 who came, 780,000 were unskilled laborers. He shows that the immigration of one year equaled the combined population of Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah, with 37,000 to spare. THE NEW IMMIGRATION. Concerning the change of racial type, Mr. Grose says: 64 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. "So great has been the change in the racial character of immigration within the last ten years that the term 'new immigration' has been used to distinguish the present prevailing type from that of former years. By new immigration we mean broadly all the aliens from Southeastern Europe—the Italians, Hungarians, Slays, Hebrews, Greeks, and Syrians—as distinguished from the Northwestern Euro-peans—English, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, French, Germans, and Scandinavians." He further says, concerning undesirability: "These people come out of conditions of oppression and depression, illiteracy and poverty. Far more important than this, they have had no contact with Anglo-Saxon ideas of government. They are consequently almost wholly ignorant of American ideals or standards." The author of this striking book, in pointing out the remarkable shifting of the sources of our immigration, says concerning two or three of the countries from which we get the largest number: "The immigration from Italy did not reach 10,000 (annually) until 188o, and passed the 100,000 mark first in 5900. In the past five years nearly a million Italians—or one-half of the entire Italian immi-gration—have entered the country, and the number in 1906 promises to exceed a quarter of a million more. . . . The immigration from Russia, consisting chiefly of Jews, did not become appreciable until 1887, when it reached 30,766. It passed 100,000 in 1892; and from 5900 to 1905 the total arrivals were 748,522, or just about one-half the entire number of Jews in the United States. The same is true of the Hungarian and Slav immigration. Its prominence has come since 1890." Illustrations Which Illustrate. The Report of the Commission of Immigration for 1906, if possible, makes a still more impressive showing. , During the year there were over 1,100,000 immigrant aliens admitted into the United States, and nearly 66,000 non-immigrant aliens. Sixty-seven per cent were from Southern and Eastern • Europe and Asia Minor; 14 per cent were Hebrews, most ly from Russia; 22 per cent from Southern Italy alone; less than 8 per cent were Germans; less than 10 per cent English, Scotch and Irish; 5 per cent were Scandinavians; and r/4 per cent ONLY were Japanese. Those who are so insistent concerning the preservation of our Anglo-Saxon civilization against the coming of the Asiatic hordes should take note of the following: The immigrants for 1906, as per races, were: Slavic, 408,903, 37 per cent, of whom over 550,00o were Hebrews and nearly 96,000 Poles; Iheric, 283,540, 28 per cent, of whom over 23,000 were Greeks and 240,528 from Southern Italy; Teutonic, 213,904, 19 per cent, the Germans leading and the Scandinavians, English, and Dutch following in order; Keltic, 116,454, or 11 per cent; Mongolic, 56,139, of whom 13,835 were Japanese; all others, 61,795, including Turks, Bulgarians, Magyars, Armenians and other living in Southern Europe and Western Asia. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 65 SILENCE OF PACIFIC COAST SIGNIFICANT. As was noticed in Chapter II., the papers of the Pacific Coast are not troubling themselves about immigration from Europe. An editorial in The Chronicle, in 1905, is significant: "Another reason why we confine ourselves to the Japanese question is that The Chronicle is published in San Francisco, and not in New York. We doubtless are getting some very undesirable people from Southern Europe, but comparatively few of that class reach California. The class that fills the Eastern sweatshops land in New York, and nine-tenths of them remain in Eastern cities. That is particularly a problem for the East to take up, while Japanese immigration for the present is a question for the Pacific Coast. We doubt whether they will consent to the exclusion of Europeans, and so, in the exercise of our sound common sense, we are asking for what we think we can get." There were aided in hospitals, as per the report of th4.. Commis- sioner, 2,495 Hebrews, 2,121 Italians, 1,000 Poles, 867 Germans, and 2,817 others, including ONE JAPANESE ONLY. Japanese Versus Jews. There was an increase of 3,504 Japanese; and the other principal increases were 51,641 Italians; 30,768 from Russia, mostly Hebrews; 4,968 from Turkey in Europe; 3,489 from Portugal; 8,974 Greeks, and 2,623 Bulgarians. Corresponding Decrease of Japanese. - What is an increase of three thousand Japanese, compared with the hundreds of thousands pouring in from Russia' and Southern Europe? Instead of a rapid increase, as in the case of the European countries, the figures for Japanese immigration since 190o are significant. There is a decrease, then an increase to 1903, when nearly 20,000 were admitted, then a falling off for two years to nearly 10,000, and then a slight increase last year. The figures are as follows: 1900, 12,6.35; 1901, 5,269; 1902, 14,270; 1903, 19,968; 1904, 14,264; 1905, 10,331; 1906, 13,835• And this is the wonderiul increase that we read so much about. It will be seen that there were about half as many in 1905 as in 1903—two years before. This includes the so-called undesirable immigration through Hawaii. It is not probable that there will be much of a further increase. If this aggravating agitation can cease, it is not unlikely that the Japanese Government will arrange matters to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. In another chapter, the question of Methods of Dealing with the Problem, will be consid- ered, where suggestions made by the writer two years ago will be quoted, and others offered. We have just seen how the Jews are very rapidly increasing, and in Chapter II., under Intermarriage and Assimilation, it was shown that non-intermarriage is not a bar to assimilation in the case of the Hebrew. A most interesting and instructive article on "The Great Jewish Invasion," by Burton J. Hendrick, appears in McClure's 66 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Magazine for January, 1907. It is in recognition of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the Jews on Manhattan Island. Mr. Hendricks says: "The twenty-seven Portuguese Jews who obtained a scant asylum in 1655 have multiplied into a colony of 800,000 souls. This is the greatest Jewish community ever assembled, in ancient or modern times, in any one place. Jerusalem itself, at its period of greatest development, sheltered not one-sixth as many Jews. Warsaw, the largest Jewish city except New York, contains 3o0,000; Lodz, 120,000, and Vilna, 100,000. In the whole United States there are 1,400,000; thus, in New York City three-fifths of our total Jewish population is found. In the greater city one man in every five is a Jew; on Manhattan Island, one man in every four." He further says concerning the sources of this immigration: "New York, the headquarters of American wealth, intelligence, and enterprise, seems destined to become ovrwhelmingly a Jewish town. More remarkable still, the great mass of its Jews are not what are commonly regarded as the most enlightened of their race. They are not drawn from Germany, from France, from Austria, and England —countries in which the Jew has been practically Europeanized—but from Hungary, from Poland, from Roumania, from Galatia, above all, from the Russian Empire. . When they land at Ellis Island they are to a large extent ignorant, unable to read or write; personally uncleanly; without professions or skilled trades; inevitably with a suspicious hatred of governmental authority. Their only capital stock is an intellect which has not been stunted by centuries of privation, and an industry that falters at no task, however poorly paid. In spite of all these drawbacks, the Russian Jew has advanced in practically every direction." This remarkable article describes at length the great advance made, refuting the idea that the Jew is congentially a money-changer, a trader, and not a workman, a manufacturer, a natural producer of wealth; it discusses his securing control of the clothing industry, where 175,000 craftsmen are employed, and his successful entry into real estate transactions, where, it is said, he has outdistanced all competition. BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. Every objection that has been urged against, the Japanese on the Pacific Coast can be urged equally, and with greater force, against the Jew in New York City, and yet I would be among the last to suggest that we cannot assimilate the Hebrew, or that his coming, on the whole, is not a benefit to America. Those who condemn the Japanese—especially of the laboring classes—for coming to America forget the great benefits that they have conferred in redeeming and developing waste lands, in cultivating the fields and harvesting the crops, in encouraging new railroad enterprises, in developing trade with the Orient, and in various ways that cannot be outlined here. Movements Toward Distribution. In the book, "Aliens or Americans," already quoted, the author further says: Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 67 "No phase of the immigration question is receiving more attention at present than that of distribution. There is a common opinion that if the proper distribution can be made, the chief evils of the tremendous influx would disappear. We are told that it is the congestion of aliens in already crowded centers of population that creates the menace to civilization; that there is land enough to be cultivated; and that vast enterprises are under way calling for the unskilled labor that is coming in. • But the puzzling problem is how to get the immigrants where they are wanted and needed, and can be of value." This question was seriously discussed at the National Immi- gration Congress, which has resulted in certain of our Southern States taking up the matter and encouraging immigration and migration to their sections. The Japanese in large measure have arranged this themselves, which is commendable. The Japanese population in California is increasing very little, if any. The Pacific Northwest finds employment for many on the railways, and the Japanese are moving eastward into Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. There are Japanese centers now at. Missoula, Pocatello, Ogden, Denver and Pueblo, though the settlements in these centers are not so large as in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. There was a scattering of the Japanese at the time of the earthquake, and it will be a long time before the population of San Francisco is what is was before. Resourcefulness of Japanese After the Fire. Because of their spirit of self-help, and by the aid of the Japanese Relief Committee, which was promptly organiz, the Japanese got out of the bread-line almost at once, and the promptness and efficiency of their relief organization caused wide and very favorable comment. The Japanese in the outer districts sent prompt aid to the relief of the sufferers and opened the way for them to go to the country districts. It is a sad fact that, nine months after the earthquake, hundreds, if not thousands, of European immigrants are receiving aid in San Francisco from the Relief Committee. This is in part explained by the fact that to a greater extent than the Japanese they live in families, but this explains it only in part. The Japanese are very resourceful and self-helpful. Japanese and Others in California. The percentages for California for the past eight years are as follows: Teutonic, 27 per cent, quite equally divided between Germans, Scandinavians, and English, the latter being largest; Keltic, 32 per cent, two-thirds Italian, the others being Irish and French; Iberic, 13 per cent, about half Italians; Slavic, 6 per cent; Mongolic, 18 per cent, largely Japanese; and all others, 4 per cent. The Report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1905 contains some very striking figures as to immigration into California. The races or peoples and the percentages are as follows: North Italian, 22 per cent; South Italian, 5; Japanese, 19; English, II; 68 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Scandinavian, 6; German, 6; Irish, 4; French, 4. This is 77-'per cent of the whole. There is quite a movement of Russians and Finns into California. It will thus be seen that the Japanese invasion is not as great as has been made to appear. A RACE QUESTION. That this is a race question, in all of its bearings, is readily seen from what has already appeared and from two or three additional quotations that are here given: "The Board of Education is determined in its efforts to effect the establishment of separate schools for Chinese and Japanese pupils, not only for the purpose of relieving the congestion at present prevailing in our schools, but also for the higher end that our children should not be placed in .any position where their youthful impressions may be affected by association with pupils of Mongolian races."—Action of San Francisco Board of Education, May 6, 1905. "The National body politiic can assimilate the Europeans of whatever grade, but never the Asiatic. They are aliens, always, no matter what their civil status."—The San Francisco Call. "The whole thing is based upon theoretical race prejudice. There are thousands of foreign children in the San Francisco public schools —Italians, Portuguese, Russians, Irish, and all the rest. None of them is neater, cleaner, more obedient and charming than the Japanese. There is no concrete or real objection to these children at all. The whole movement is based upon a theoretical race hatred, and utterly unworthy of any Board of Education."—The California Christian Advocate. "If the Japanese should continue to come in as they are coming now, there is unfortunately no doubt whatever of ultimate race warfare, which might become bloody, and which all the powers of the United States could not prevent."—San Francisco Chronicle. -In many States the white and colored races are taught in separate schools. If the Southern States can segregate the races in its schools, why may not the Californians do so?"—TheArgonaut. In the next chapter, reference will be made to several attacks and assaults upon Japanese which have no other explanation. They were attacked because they were Japanese, and an agitation had been started against them. CHAPTER VI. The Activity of the Japanese.Corean Exclusion League and of Organized labor The campaign against the Japanese really began with a series of sensational articles published in The San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 1905, and continued for about a month without intermission. From time to time, articles of a similar sensational nature have aPPeared since, especially in connection with the famous action of the School Board in segregating Japanese children, and in relation to the broader question of ;mmigration. A few days after the first article was published, namely, March 4, a report appeared in the papers of a meeting of the Building Trades Council, which passed a resolution Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 6g :presented by the Secretary, 0. A. Tveitmoe. This protested against "the national policy, laws, and treaties which allow Japanese to enter our ports, to the great detriment of our citizenship, our standard of living, and the progress of American civilization." The First Anti-Japanese Convention. Sunday, May 7, 1905, in Lyric Hall, San Francis.co, the first Anti-Japanese Convention was held. The Chronicle of that morning said: "The meeting. of the Anti-Japanese Convention at Lyric Hall this .afternoon will mark an important epoch in the history of 'San Fran-,cisco, of California, and, in fact, of the whole country. No movement of recent years has been more important to the vital interests of the ,country than the agitation against the unrestricted immigration of a non-assimilative horde of Asiatics. While the labor unions, the wage-earners of California, have taken. the initiative in the movement, the .question is one which affects every American, irrespective of occupation or affiliation." The following day The Chronicle said editorially: "The Anti-Japanese Convention, which met in this city on Sunday, although mainly composed of delegates from organized bodies of manual workers, desires to be considered, and is entitled to be considered, as .a representative body of American citizens, and not the representatives of any particular class." However, those who have kept track of the agitation, during these two years, have had no difficulty in ,observing that it has been a movement pure and simple of organized labor. The speakers at this first meeting were Messrs. 0. A. Tveitmoe, Walter McArthur, Andrew Furuseth, W. J. French, E. I. Wolf, and Mayor E. E. Schmitz. _Principal Agents in the Agitation. A paragraph concerning these speakers, Who have been the principal agitators during these two years, may be of interest. Mr. Tveitmoe is the Secretary of the Building Trades Council, the Presi-Aent of the Exclusion League, and has recently, been appointed one of the Supervisors of San Francisco by Mayor Schmitz. This latter appointment is understood to be a reward for his work in the Labor Party, which elected Mayor Schmitz, and also a recognition of his work in connection with the Exclusion League. In The Call of February 10, 1907, it is stated that while Mayor Schmitz and party were in Washington attempting to settle the Japanese question, and while the State Legislature was expected to be silent upon the question, Mr. Tveitmoe ,planned a trip to Socramento, the State Capital, to resurrect the proposed laws which had been pigeon-holed for the time being. The Sacramento correspondent of The Call said concerning the proposed visit: "The arrival home of Senator Lukens from the Orient, and the coming here early in the week of 0. A. Tveitmoe are expected to lend new incidents' to the Japanese question in the Legislature. `Tveitmoe, coming to the Capitol in his capacity as President of the 7o Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, is not expected to experience great difficulty in bringing from the committee some of the anti-Japanese measures now in hibernation." This will give a clear idea of the zeal and methods of Mr. Tveitmoe, as well as his lack of tact, which was referred to at the close of Chapter I. Mr. Tveitmoe has been specially active in this campaign from the beginning. Other Active Workers. Walter McArthur, prominently connected with the Coast Seaman's Union, is another prominent Union Labor man. As noted above, he was one of the speakers at the National Immigration Congress; and at the State Federation of Labor Convention at Stockton in January, 1907, he was chosen as representative to the American Federation of Labor. It is significant that, in reporting the Convention, the statement was made that San Francisco had about two-thirds of the votes of the Convention. Andrew Furuseth is also connected with the Coast Seaman's Union, and was the principal factor in the strike on the Coast steamers which was so embarrassing, immediately following the fire. Mr. E. I. Wolfe is a State Senator from San Francisco. He is a Hebrew, and is the one who caused such a sensation in requesting the Chaplain of the Senate to omit the reference to Jesus Christ in his prayers. Mayor Schmitz has been so much in the public eye of late that reference to him seems unnecessary. A Former Meeting. At the meeting of the first Anti-Japanese Convention, referred to above, Mr. Tveitmoe, on taking the chair, said that five years before a meeting was held in the Metropolitan Temple, at which an address upon the subject of Japanese Exclusion was delivered by Dr. Ross. Organized Labor, the organ of organized labor, said that this was "printed in the columns of Organized Labor and has since been reprinted by nearly every labor paper, magazine, and periodical of any standing published in the English language." Concerning this former meeting, Secretary Tveitmoe, in an interview published in The Chronicle, said: "This question was taken up four years ago by organized labor, the Building Trades Council of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Labor Council. We recognized at that time the imminent danger to our State and country from Japanese immigration, and the agitation resulted in a mass meeting, which was held in the Metropolitan Temple, where Dr. E. A. Ross and others made strong addresses showing how the Japanese immigration tended to deteriorate and injure the State of California, both from a political and sociological standpoint." American Federation of Labor. The American Federation of Labor which met in San Francisco Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 71 :in 1904, after a long preamble, adopted the following: "Resolved, that the terms of the Chinese Exclusion Act should be enlarged and extended so as to permanently exclude from the United States and its insular territory all classes of Japanese and Coreans other than those exempted by the present terms of that act; further, that these resolutions be submitted, through proper avenues, to the Congress of the United States, with a request for favorable consideration and action by that body." The Federation sent a commissioner to Japan to study the labor problem, and his report was ready when the above named articles began to appear in The Chronicle. ORGANIZATION OF THE EXCLUSION LEAGUE. The Japanese and Corean Exclusion League was then organized in San Francisco, which can be said to be Organized Labor directing itself toward the restriction of Japanese and Corean immigration. One of the early reports of the League, published in The Chronicle, August 14, 1905, outlined the activity of the League and indicated the personal interest of President Gompers in the movement. It said: "Your committee has been and is now furnishing the American Federation of Labor with plenty of statistical matter and data regarding the Asiatics in our vicinity. The result of this work brought many expressions from the press of the interior on the subject. President Gompers of the American Federation of Labor has personally taken up the question, and no doubt will accomplish a great deal of good work among our Eastern friends, where it is most needed." The same paper speaks of the organization of branches of the Exclusion League all over the Pacific Coast States. Later reports refer to its growth and influence in various parts of the country, especially in the labor organizations. The articles in The Chronicle were reprinted in pamphlet form and sent broadcast throughout the country. It is significant that, this year, the State Federation of Labor and the Exclusion League both met at Stockton, where they were in close touch with each other. Tactics of the League. President Tveitmoe, of the Japanese Exclusion League, made public through The Call of January 28, 1907, the plans of the League. These are of great interest in showing how public sentiment is created and as giving basis for the statement so oft repeated that the Pacific Coast is a unit on the question. The article says: "It is through the Legialat,tAr that the League hopes to acquire efficiency, and numerous bills will be presented to the lawmakers at the present session. To secure the co-operation of the people of the Coast and Western States, a bill will be introduced at Sacramento requesting the formation of a committee of the Legislature which shall confer with the Legislatures or committees of the Legislatures of Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and the people of California. The need of the exclusion movement in this part of the country is deemed obvious by the League officials, but to insure against any misunderstanding, additional pamphlets will be 72 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. issued. More than 20,000 copies have already been distributed on the Coast." The League and Congressmen. At an Executive Board meeting of the Japanese-Corean Exclusion League, reported in The Chronicle, September 30. 1906, Secretary Yoell stated that, in compliance with instructions from the board, he was compiling a record of the attitude of all representatives in Congress on the exclusion question, which, when completed, would be sent to all central labor organizations through the United States, for the guidance of voters at the coming election." Citizens' Mass Meeting. As another illustration of the method of manufacturing public sentiment and creating the impression that the Pacific Coast is united on this question, reference to the preparations for a Citizens' Mass Meeting, held in San Francisco, will be of interest. The Chronicle of December 8, 1906, says: "The San Francisco Labor Council, at the meeting held last evening, accepted the invitation from the Japanese and Corean League to participate in the mass meeting of citizens o be held under the auspices of the League next Monday evning, in the Dreamland Pavilion, to protest against that part of President Roosevelt's Message referring to the Japanese in California." This is the famous meeting at which Mayor Schmitz spoke, to which reference was made in a previous chapter. State Organizer of Labor Takes a Hand. In further illustration of the relation of organized labor to this movement, I note that one of the daily papers in reporting the organization of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League in Alameda County, California, states: "George K. Smith, State Organizer of the Federation of Labor, took a prominent part in the proceedings, and assisted greatly in the work of organization." This is the meeting that passed resolutions condemnirrg Secretary Taft for his utterances concerning the "unjust prejudice" of the people of the West to Chinese, another illustration of the statement previously made that no one can lift his head publicly in defense of the Oriental without attack by some of these leaders or bodies. Punishment of Opposers. It is well known in San Francisco that members of the various Labor Unions arc expected to discriminate against the Asiatics. In The Chronicle of December I, 1906, there is a report of a meeting of the San Francisco Labor Council in which Supervisor Lonergan was accused of "violating one of the fundamental principles of the Trades Union movement in harboring Mongolians, to the exclusion of Caucasians," the offense being that he rented houses which were occupied by Chinese. Secretary Metcalf's report refers to the boycott of Japa- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 73 nese restaurants, and a few days since a member of a Trade Union who lost his purse in a restaurant was told that he deserved the punishment because he patronized Orientals. In the first chapter, it was pointed out that the persons and papers agitating against the Japanese are very bitter toward the defenders of the Japanese, and of the Federal policy, several illus-. trations being given. THE AGITATION AND VIOLENCE. It would be miraculous for an agitation of this kind to be kept up for several months, not to speak of years, without violence resulting. That more has been noticeable since the fire than before is due-to the longer period covered by the agitation, and to the unsettled. conditions after the fire. Two days after the fire was extinguished, a meeting of the Exclu- sion League was held, and the report published in The Chronicle, April 23, said: "It would take more than a fire or shake to put the Japanese-Corean League out of business." About a month later plans were made and published for a meeting of the League and its sympathizers, on the first Sunday in June, and it is significant that this meeting was held and reports of it published only a few days before the unfortunate attack upon the noted Japanese scientists, Professors Omori and Nakamura. Attack on Noted Scientists. Professor George Davidson of the University of California is the author of the following letter, which was published in several of the city papers: "Your attention is respectfully directed to a_ condition of affairs which, I feel certain, will call forth not only your earnest protest, but that of every fair minded citizen who loves the good name of his city. I refer to the repeated insults which have been heaped upon the party of Japanese scientists, at present visiting this city, by boys and hoodlum gangs in the streets. Dr. F. Omori of the Imperial University of Tokio, and one of the greatest living authorities in Seismography, was especially sent here by the Japanese Government to make a study of the recent disaster. He is accompanied by Dr. T. Nakamura, Professor of Architecture in the same institution; and the two are assisted by Mr. R. Sano and Mr. M. Noguchi. These gentlemen, in the pursuit of their investigations, have had occasion to visit all quarters of the city to make numerous notes and photographs. "It has been while so engaged that the annoyances to which your attention is drawn, have taken place. On Saturday afternoon last, Dr. Omori, while taking certain photographs on Mission Street, near the Post Office, was attacked by a gang of boys and young men, some of them wearing the livery of the Postal Service, and his hat was crushed in by a stone as large as an egg. On Tuesday last, Dr. Nakamura was assaulted in a similar manner while making an examination in the ruined district, and sand and dust were thrown over him and his assistants. Insults of a similar kind, but varying in degree, have been suffered by these gentlemen not less than a dozen times since they began their work in this city. "They are naturally surprised that such treatment should be extended to friendly strangers, more especially in view of the extreme 74 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. courtesy and kindness with which they have been received by the -official scientists and representative men of this community. While I recognize the fact that acts of this kind are not countenanced by the better element of the people, and that it is extremely difficult to -control the acts of irresponsible hoodlums, I believe that something may and should be done to create a public sentiment which will frown 'down the rougher element which, in this vicious way, brings disgrace upon the community." Vicious Report in The Call. - Under the heading, "Tells How Omori's Dignity and Hat Were Jarred," and under the picture of the guilty lad, The San Francisco Call published the following report: "Bouncing a tomato can off the head of science with sufficient force to stir nations, and even receiving more or less questionable notice from no less a personage than the President of these United States, has left a far less lasting and gratifying impression upon Sydney Marks, late special delivery messenger, than has the manner in which he escaped the ignominy of the label of falsehood disgracing the metaphorical can his escapade attached to himself. "Marks is the lad who mussed Professor Omori's silk hat and dignity by shying a tomato can at the distinguished Japanese seismologist gathering photographic data on the effect of the earthquake behind the Post Office last summer. The professor's complaints were so vigorous that they reached the ear of President Roosevelt, and to show the Japanese Government our national regret over a most unfortunate occurrence, Sydney was separated from the Government Service." The report continues, in the language of young Marks: "Well, it was this way. There was a bunch of us out behind the Post Office, when one of the gang yells, 'Pipe the Skipple under the dicer. Let's soak 'im.' The Jap was squinting through his photograph machine when we let loose for fair; me to be the lucky boy. I bounced a can off his sky-piece. He was sure sore. But we sent him down the alley after the naughty boy who did him wrong." The report continues for several inches in similar style and language and, indeed, is a disgrace to journalism. The facts are that it was a stone and not a tomato can; a derby and not a silk hat; and Professor Omori made no complaint whatever. On the other hand, he greatly regretted the incident, and desired that no notice be taken of it. But an incident which called forth an apology from the Mayor and Governor naturally reached the President through Secretary Metcalf. It was quite unlikely that the boys knew who they were throwing at. Dr. Omori was 'attacked because he was a Japanese, and not because he was a prominent man. It is an illustration of what was taking place almost daily among the humbler Japanese of the city, and illustrates the harmful influence of a hostile press. Second Attack Due to Strike. That the second attack upon Professor Omori, while he was visiting the city of Eureka, was clue to the strike on the Coast Steamship lines, is clear from the letter addressed to Dr. Omori by Mayor Torrey, a part of which is as follows: "As the representative of the Executive Authorities of the City of Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 75 Eureka, and with full confidence that he is representing the undivided and unanimous sentiment of the citizens of the city, the undersigned begs to deplore the ruffianly and inexcusable assault committed upon your person last evening in this city. "That this assault was the result of unfortunate mistake, due to - the labor troubles now prevailing on this Coast, does not in any wise-excuse its heinousness and brutality." The Daily Humboldt Times, Eureka, in reporting the unfortunate-occurrence, under the heading, "Unfortunately Taken for a Strike-Breaker and Assaulted on the Street," said, in part: "The accoster thereupon struck the Doctor upon the jaw, knocking him down, and planting a No. 10 on the seat of his trousers, to the astonishment of the seismic specialist, who immediately sought the hotel and postponed any further sight-seeing. When he arrived at the hotel and a Times man explained the circumstances at the present time, and what prompted the attack, he took the affair quite good-naturedly, and considered that the joke was on him, although his face was swollen and gave him much pain." Though there may be no connection between the two, the leader of this strike, who is reported to have been before the Courts for complicity in it, was Mr. Furuseth, one of the prime movers in the organization of the Japanese-Corean Exclusion League. The Japanese have too much sense to engage as strike-breakrs, and it is strange that Dr. Omori was taken for one. Being a Japanese, it is not strange that he was severely dealt with. Other Assaults. It is not my purpose to burden this pamphlet with reports of assaults upon Japanese. Secretary Metcalf's Report contained many which he deemed of sufficient importance to report to the President. Two will be noticed here, and they will be referred to in the language of the press dispatches: "A small riot, insignificant in itself, but which may be the first of a series of events to strain the relations between Japan and America to the breaking point, occurred late this afternoon in- the Japanese quarter on Geary street. A yottng man, Ed Mell, employed in a stable at 1515 Geary street, precipitated the-disturbance with a vicious swing which landed on the jaw of Tokuchika, a Japanese delivery driver. In an instant a hundred angry Japanese and a score of young Americans had collected. There was a general move of the Orientals toward Mell. 'Come on, all of you,' he cried. 'I'll lick every d—d Jap in the crowd.' "—Special to The Oregonian, December 13, 1906. Prompt action on the part of the police prevented further trouble, the aggressor being arrested. "Clark, who was attacked by the Japanese, is not seriously hurt. He was somewhat bruised and received a bad cut on his head. The. trouble had its origin in the strong feeling growing out of the San Francisco school trouble and the Anti-Japanese sentiment in the corn-munity."—Portersville special dispatch to The San Francisco Chronicle, January 4, 1907. These attacks and many others are clearly due to the agitation against the Japanese on the Coast. 76 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. CHAPTER VII. Solution of the Problem It is most natural that in a problem so many-sided as the present tine there should be a diversity of views as to the best means of solution. In the present chapter, the demands of the Exclusion League, zas endorsed by The Chronicle, will be given, together with my own views and the views of others, including certain prominent Japanese. At the close of the chapter the question of Naturalization will be considered, particularly in relation to its effect upon the cessation of this agitation. DEMANDS OF THE EXCLUSION LEAGUE. The Japanese and Corean Exclusion League has from the beginning demanded an exclusion law. At a meeting of the League, as reported in The Call of November 27, 1905, the following proposed bill to be passed upon by Congress was unanimously adopted, and the League has done its utmost to have this bill, at least in substance, passed through the Congress of the United States: "A bill to prohibit the coming into, and to regulate the residence within, the United States, its Territories and all territory under its jurisdiction, and the District of Columbia, of Japanese persons and persons of Japanese descent, and Corean persons and -persons of Corean descent: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that all laws now in force prohibiting and regulating the coming of Chinese persons and persons of Chinese descent into the territory of the United States or the territory under the judisdiction of the United States, and the residence of such persons therein, be, and the same are hereby, made to apply to Japanese persons and persons of Japanese descent and Corean persons and persons of Corean' descent, with the same force and effect as to Chinese persons and persons of Chinese descent; and that wherever in such laws mention is made of the officers, territory or Government of China, or the officers of the United States in China, such mention shall be deemed, in the case of Japanese persons and persons of Japanese descent, to be mention .of the officers, territory, or Government of Japan, or officers of the United States in Japan, and in the case of Corean persons and persons of Corean descent, to be mention of the officers, territory, or Government of Corea, or of officers of the United States in Corea." The bill further prov;des that, as to all of the continental territory of the United States, Hawaii included, there shall be in the case of Japanese or Corean laborers a like registration and .certification as in the case of Chinese laborers to take effect six months after the passage of the act. And a further provision is made that, as in all of the insular territory of the United States, Hawaii excepted, there shall be a like registration and certification as in the case of Chinese laborers, to take effect nine months after the passage of the act. t will thus be seen that the proposition is to restrict Japanese immigration by act of Congress; and to apply the same law to the Japanese and Coreans which has been so offensive to the Chinese, a Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 77 law which excludes all except classes specially exempt. Endorsed by The Chronicle. The San Francisco Chronicle has, from the first, taken the position that the United States has the right, without the revision of the present treaty, to exclude Japanese laborers who desire to enter the United States and its possessions. Its position is clearly shown in an editorial of February 13, 1907, a portion of which reads as follows: ' "What we want is the exclusion of Japanese manual workers, and that not by 'treaty,' which may imply that Japan has a voice in the matter, but by national statute. Nevertheless, this should be with all due courtesy and in pursuance of a diplomatic understanding, possibly reduced to writing, in which each nation recognizes the complete sovereignty of the other over its own territory." Opposed by The Call. The San Francisco Call said editorially during the early stages of the discussion, in commenting on the language of the treaty: "When it was conceived that Chinese immigration was harmful to us, we made several ineffective attempts at exclusion, which were voided by the Courts. Finally, the Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion written by Mr. Justice Field, pointed out that exclusion legislation must be based upon an amendment to the treaty. We sent a special embassy to China and secured the desired amendment, and exclusion legislation followed. If we want to exclude the Japanese, we must take the same course. The Japanese Government has already let it be known that it will not assent to any treatment of its subjects different from that given to the people of any other nation. In other words, it adheres to the equality of treatment •secured in the treaty above quoted. To advise that we proceed against Japan, with that treaty in existence, is to advise mischief." RECOMMENDATIONS IN MY FORMER PAMPHLET. In a brief discussion of this question in a pamphlet entitled "Restriction of Japanese Immigration," published in 1905, the present author expressed his views as follows: "The position of The Chronicle and the action of Labor Organizations contemplates exclusion laws. The joint resolution of the State Legislature, on the other hand, requests action by the President and the State Department rather than by Congress. By entering into any such treaty the Japanese Government would declare before the world the inferiority of her people to the masses of immigrants who are coming from Europe by the hundreds of thousands. It is only recently that Japan, after an awful struggle, succeeded in getting relief from a treaty which discriminated against her. I refer to that which limited the amount of import duty which she could collect, and exempted foreigners residing in Japan from the action of the laws of that country. Then the exemption existed both in China and Japan, and it still exists in the former. Japan is today •a member of the sisterhood of civilized nations, and an ally of Great Britain. Those who suppose that she is going to forget the awful -struggle and step from this pedestal and take her place along with 78 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. China, as China was twenty years ago, or even as she is today, have not yet awakened to the situation. And in writing thus I do not refer to Japan's great military and naval strength and to her power to enforce her rights. Some there are who fear, and who have given . expression to their fears, but there is no 'yellow peril' of this kind so long as we hold steadily to our best American•traditions." This position, taken two years ago, the author finds no reason for changing today. That certain adjustments are necessary, all who have studied the question will admit. It must also be admitted that the United States has rights which Japan, like all other nations, is bound to respect. Still, Japan has rights under the treaty which we are bound to respect. And the adjustment, however important and urgent in the opinion of some, must be made to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. What is needed to day is a plan that will restrict undesirable immigration from whatever country, and that will apply to European nations as well as to Japan. VIEWS OF OTHERS. In view of their wide acquaintance with matters in the East, as well as in this country, and of the high standing and great influence of each, I present the views of President Jordan of Stanford University, Mr. George Kennen, the noted correspondent, and Hon. John Barrett, so well known in American diplomacy. President Jordan. The views of this prominent educator and writer are given in the article previously quoted. I am permitted to present an extract from a letter by Dr. Jordan to a prominent citizen of Los Angeles, which tersely expresses his opinion on the question. He says: "In 190o, the Government of Japan prohibited the direct emigration of this class (laborers) to the United States. This was in the belief that they made a bad impression on Americans, and that the higher interests of the Empire might be imperiled by their presence in America. I do not know who took the initiative in this suggestion. I was in Japan at the time. I was freely told that Japan wanted the good will of America, that she would do whatever America might wish in emigration matters, but that in whatever action might seem best she must take the leading part. She had then just escaped, through the good offices of America, from the national humiliation of the outside consular jurisdiction in her treaty ports (Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and Hakodate). Such humiliation she would not again endure, and her dependence was on America, a nation which had always been her friend, and from which her people as well as her national aspirations had always received justice. "As Japan has checked direct immigration to. the United States, so will she check indirect immigration through Hawaii, Canada, or Mexico, if we politely and diplomatically ask her to do so. This request cannot come from exclusion leagues, newspapers, State legislatures, nor yet from Congress. It can be received only through the President of the United, and the Department of State." Mr. George Kerman. 1\4 r. George Neiman, the distinguished war correspondent and Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 79 author, spent several weeks in personal study of this Japanese question in preparation for a series of articles which will appear shortly in certain of our leading magazines. Because of this investigation, as well as his thorough acquaintance with things Japanese growing out of his relation to the Japanese Government during the late war, he is particularly qualified to speak wisely upon this most difficult subject. In an interview published in The Call of December 6,.1906, Mr. Kennen said: "I. am here as a student of the situation, and am not ready to express myself in this regard (possible clash at arms). But if the Pacific Coast, and California especially, desire to escape being overrun by Japanese, the only proper court to pursue would be to request the Government at Washington to open negotiations with Japan looking toward restrictions being placed by Japan herself upon' the class and quantity of emigrants leaving that country for these shores. That would be the wiser course, instead of putting up the bars against them -on this side." Bon. John Barrett. At a dinner given in his honor at Portland, under the auspices of the Commercial Club, Hon. John Barrett delivered a remarkable address touching our relations to the East and to South America, as reported in The Oregonian of December 18, 1906. He is United 'States Minister to Colombia, and spent several years as a represen- tative of our country in the East during a very critical time. He said in part: "The present situation in California is indeed serious and unfortunate, and the problem is no easy one to solve, but the solution will be reached. It will be reached with honor and satisfaction to all, provided one thing is borne in mind: that it is studied patiently and impartially, with a view to the interests of all concerned. "The greatest desideratum to California seems to be the restriction of the entry of Japanese coolie labor. This can be brought about in only two friendly ways: either by treaty stipulations or by statutory enactment acceptable to both nations. There must be harmony of action. We cannot force Japan to sign a treaty that is not approved by the Japanese Government and people, and we cannot pass a law prohibiting Japanese coolie immigration without either revising the present treaty or, in order to avoid offending against the law of nations and precedents of international comity to the extent of precipitating a grave situation, depending upon Japan itself to restrict by law or order such emigration to the United States. "Now it stands to reason that whatever Japan does she will be persuaded to do through our respectful consideration of her rights and honorable. diplomatic treatment. Without for a moment discussing the pros and cons of the particular school issue in San Francisco, let us hope that there will be temperate judgment, patient discussion, an avoidance of rioting, rough treatment and untoward incidents pending the sincere efforts of the President, who, despite some public criticism, is deeply concerned in the progress and prosperity of the Pacific Coast, to conduct negotiations with Japan that will solve the problem in a way pleasing to all, satisfy alike the claims of California and the prestige of Japan, protect our commerce with the Far East, do away with all talk of war, and make the United States and Japan allies for-,Lever in maintaining pacific conditions on the Pacific Ocean." 8o Discrimination Against Japanese in California. JAPANESE VIEWS: Professor Mitsukuri. The Chronicle of January 20, 1907, printed a remarkable letter from Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri, Dean of the College of Science of the Imperial University of Tokyo, to President David Starr Jordan, written in September, 1900. At that time there was a demand for a law prohibiting the landing of Japanese in America, which inspired the letter, a portion of which follows. Dr. Mitsukuri reviewed the history of the international relations between the United States and Japan, mentioned several reasons why the Japanese are gratful to Amrica, and said that, take it all in all, there is no country which is regarded by the largest mass of the Japanese in so friendly and cordial a manner as America. Touching the methods of restricting Japanese immigra- tion into America, he said: • "It is, therefore, with a sort of incredulity that we receive the news that some sections of the American people are clamoring to have a law passed prohibiting the landing of Japanese in America. It is easily conceivable to the intelligent Japanese that there may be some undesirable elements among the low class Japanese who emigrate to the Pacific Coast, and if such proves to be the case, after a due investigation by the proper authorities, the remedy might be sought, it appears to us, by coming to a diplomatic understanding on the matter and by eliminating the objectionable feature. The Japanese Government would, without doubt, be open to reason. But to pass a law condemning the Japanese wholesale for no other reason than that they are Japanese, would be striking a blow at Japan in her most sensitive point. The unfriendly act will be felt more keenly than almost anything conceivable. An open declaration of war will not be resented as much. "The reason is not far to seek. Japan has had a long struggle in recovering those rights of an independent state which she was forced to surrender to foreign nations at the beginning of the intercourse with them and in obtaining a standing in the civilized world. And if, now that the goal is within the measurable distance, her old friend, who may be said in some sense to be almost responsible for having started her in this career, should turn her back on her and say she will no longer associate with her on equal terms, the resentment must necessarily be very bitter." SOLUTION IN NATURALIZATION. With the vision of a statesman, President Roosevelt, in his Mes- sage to Congress, introduced one sentence which has been the occasion of world-wide comment. The historic statement is: "I recommend to the Congress that an act be passed specifically providing for the naturalization of Japanese who come here intending to become American citizens." As is most natural, there is great diversity of opinion as to• the wisdom of the proposed legislation. Reasons for Naturalization. Naturalization is a recognition of equality, and the extension of this privilege to the Japanese would result in a cessation of the agitation against them on the basis of race prejudice growing out of fancied inequality. The politicians look very differently upon immi- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 81 grants who have not the rights of franchise from what they do upon those whose votes they think they can use. It is a sad fact that one great difficulty in securing the passage of a law restricting immigration from Europe is in the effect that such restriction would have upon the voting power of certain classes of naturalized citizens. On the other hand, talk as we may about equality, the Japanese are shrewd enough to see that they are not recognized as equal so long as they are not permitted to enjoy the privilege conferred upon certain classes of immigrants. The Japanese people who have been recognized as the equal of various civilized peoples, by treaties of equality with the most advanced nations, and by a special treaty with Great Britain, naturally resent any discrimination against them in the different treatment of their children in the schools and in proposed exclusion laws. Neither the people of Japan nor the people of America can truly recognize an equality so long as there is different treatment. The Japanese are in every way worthy of such full recognition. This has been seen in the discussion of the question of assimilation. To offset the charge made in the French papers that Japan is still barbarian, Professor Miwa, of the University of Kioto, has recently contributed an article in La Revue of Paris to show that the Japanese savants are contributing largely to the scientific knowledge of the world. These, he says, are only a few of the things which Japanese scientists have done of late years for the benefit of their country and the world at large. He tells "of the work on the multiplication of the elliptical functions by Professor Fuji, in the mathematical line, of Professor Nagaoka's study of the relation between magnetism and torsion; of Professor Sakiya's instrument to give ocular demonstrations of siesmic disturbances, in physical science; of Professor Yo-shida's varnish to keep the bottoms of vessels from fouling; of Professor Muabara's tubular boilers, now used exclusively in the Japanese Navy; of Professor Shimose's high explosive, which exerts more power than lyddite; of Professor Shimoyama's successful experiments in the treatment of camphor, which have made the export of that gum possible from Formosa; and of the work of Professor Nagai, which enables Japan to export indigo." The Japanese are generally recognized as among the most advanced in medical science. These only illustrate that there is an equality which the American people have not recognized. • Conservative as the Japanese nation has been compelled to be, she has opened her doors of citizenship to the peoples of other countries. The late Dr. Verbeck, whose distinguished services to Japan are a matter of common knowledge, after years of residence in Japan, found himself without a country, having left his home in Holland for America before he became of age, and having left this country for Japan without being naturalized. Before naturalization laws in Japan made possible any such recognition, the Japanese Government magnanimously extended special privileges to Dr. Verbeck, practically 82 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. recognizing him as a citizen. Still later, Mr. Hearne, the distinguished writer, became a Japanese subject, and others followed his example. Japanese Expatriation. A recent Washington dispatch reports Senator Perkins as having said: "The inherent Japanese traits of patriotic impulses will make them a foreign element in any country to which they may migrate. The Japanese, wherever distributed, will remain a considerable unit in the aspirations of the Japanese race; and, however distant their residence from the throne of the Mikado, will still constitute an element of strength in the unity of the Empire. Naturalization in any country to which they might migrate will not eliminate this racial instinct." Concerning this, The Pacific, in its issue of February 7, 1907, says: "The treatment of the Japanese by our nation has not been such as to encourage expatriation on their part. The few that have sought naturalization have been refused. Senator Perkins ought to be willing to give them an opportunity to expatriate themselves and to show, as other nationalities have had opportunity to show, that they can be as loyal to their adopted as to their native country. Certainly, so long as that has not been done, there is no justification for any dogmatic assertion that expatriation is a thing impossible to a Japanese. There was a time when it was claimed that the Germans, who came here in great numbers after the revolution of 1848, would subvert the principles of American Government. And in the earlier years of our national history there were ever those who were fearful that many of those whom we received to citizenship would in a crisis prefer their native to their adopted country. Time has shown all these things to have been bugbears." Should Open the Way for Further Legislation. Not only will the granting of naturalization privileges to Japanese, who come here intending to become American citizens, aid in the settlement of these vexed questions which seem of special importance to the Pacific Coast, but it will further aid in the correction of abuses in European immigration and in the settlement of the broader question of elevating the standard of American citizenship. Rev. Dr. Doremus Scudder, who has had many years of experience in Hawaii, writes to The Pacific: "President Roosevelt is right. He has proved himself a seer in suggesting naturalization for Japanese. The next step will be to grant this to all men upon precisely equal terms. This does not mean that we should not safeguard our citizenship. Japan will have done us an incalculable benefit if as an outcome of this controversy our Government be led to require that no alien shall be naturalized before passing an English examination in American civics under the auspices of a board constituted somewhat after the manner of our Board of Civil Service Commissioners. With such a safeguard we can afford to admit men of any race to our citizenship." l n refutation of the oft-repeated assertion that Hawaii is today a Japanese colony, Dr. Scudder says: "No possible statement could be further from the truth. Numerically, the people of this race predominate, but the one noticeable feature of the life of these islands is the victory of American ideals over those of Asia here. Instead of I lawaii being Japanese in civili- Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 83 zation, it is more truly American than San Francisco has been since the era of pure government immediately succeeding the rise of the vigilantes and preceding the days of fierce anti-Chinese agitation. The test of a civilization is not found in the clothes worn or in skin color, but in the spirit which moves forward toward the realization of higher ideals." Governor Carter of Hawaii is doubtless in accord, with these views, for he advocates the admission of Japanese children to the public schools, as noted in Chapter III., and, as reported in a Honolulu telegram, December 8, 1906, he expresses his approval of the naturalization of Japanese as advocated by President Roosevelt in his Message to Congress. It will require keen insight on the part of our statesmen, and sufficient courage as well, to overcome the opposition of Organized. Labor in bringing about the passage of a naturalization law as recommended by the President. But the frank recognition of perfect equality, including our belief in the genuine patriotism of the Japanese people, not to speak of the benefit that will accrue to us as a nation, should lead to the passage of the proposed law. COMPROMISE DANGEROUS. It is important that the questions at issue should be settled in a way which will commend itself to all parties concerned. An adjustment secured in haste and without that sense of justice which has been characteristic of our Republic from the beginning would prove a great calamity. The love of fair play is both an American and a Japanese trait. In discussing the moral reasons which should draw the United States and Japan closer and closer together, Ambassador Aoki, in an address, a part of which has already been quoted, said: "It should be observed that, while the political institutions of the two countries widely differ in form, yet that high sense of liberty, equality and justice which forms the ideal of the American national life is also the guiding principle of Japan's political life. The love of fair play, which is often referred to as a peculiarly Anglo-Saxon characteristic, I am proud to say, is also found in the blood of the Japanese people. It is, therefore, safe to say that, so long as the two peoples do not change, the commercial activities of the two peoples will be characterized by that sense of fairness which is after all the best guarantee of peace in the intercourse of nations, no less than in the intercourse of individuals." Temporary Settlement. Just as this pamphlet is being handed to the printer, the telegrams from Washington indicate that a temporary settlement has been arranged. A statement isused by Mayor Schmitz, which is reported to have the endorsement of the President, is, in part, as follows: "We have every reason to believe that the administration now shares, and that it will share, our way of looking at the problem, and that the result we desire—the cessation of the immigration of Japanese laborers, skilled and unskilled, to this country, will speedily be achieved. A striking proof of the administration's attitude is shown by the passage of the immigration bill which will bar out Japanese coming hither by way of. Hawaii, Mexico, Canada and the canal zone 84 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. by enforcinc, limitations which Japan voluntarily puts into the passports issued by her Government. "In view of our numerous interviews with the President and our understanding thereof, we feel that the question whether the right at issue was or was not given by treaty has been passed and has been absolutely eliminated from this controversy, and the proposition involved is one of comity and public policy. Such being the case, we are fully in accord with the view of the administration to the effect that the attainment of the exclusion of all Japanese laborers, skilled or unskilled, should not be complicated with or endangered by the exercise of right of segregation by the School Board, authorized by Section 1662 of the Political Code of the State of California. "As a condition to the modification of the resolution we respectfully insist that the legal proceedings heretofore instituted be dismissed forthwith, and that it is expressly understood that we have not conceded, and do not concede, or intend to concede, that our action was in violation of any of the stipulations of the treaty between the United States and Japan, but on the contrary, we do claim and assert that if any stipulation contained in said treaty is inconsistent or conflicts with the power and authority given by Section 1662 of the political Code of the State of California, then so far as said treaty attempts to circumscribe or prevent the Board of Education from regulating its own school affairs, as an exercise of local police power, such provisions in said treaty are nugatory and void." It is impossible to believe in a satisfactory settlement on the basis indicated. The great questions at issue between Japan and the United States and between the United States and the State of California would seem to be still open and liable to cause even greater trouble in the future than in the past. The Japanese were excluded from the schools of California on the ground that they are Mongolians, and the editor of The Chronicle, the City Attorney of San Francisco and the. Senate of the State of California have acknowledged that the Board had no ground to stand on. It is not surprising then, that the telegrams from Japan indicate dissatisfaction with the settlement. Their children of proper school age, under certain conditions, are to return to the San Francisco public schools, and in return their laborers, skilled and unskilled, are not permitted to pass from Hawaii to the mainland. This seems to be a settlement that will be cause for endless friction and even more serious international complications. Proposed Settlement of School Question. The statement of Mayor Schmitz, above referred to, contains the following substitute for the order segregating the Japanese children from the public schools of San Francisco: "It is therefore proposed by the Board of Education of San Francisco to modify the order segregating the Japanese public school children of San Francisco heretofore made by amending the resolution to read as follows: "Section 1. Children of alien races who speak the English language, in order to determine the proper grade in which they may he enrolled, must first be examined as to their educational qualifications by the principal of the school where their application for enrollment shall have been made. "Section 2. That no child of alien birth over the ages of To, ii, 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 years shall be enrolled in any of the first, second Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 85 third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth grades, respectively. ."Section 3. If said alien children shall be found deficient in their ability to speak, or deficient in the elements of the English language, or unable to attend the grades mentioned in Section 2 by reason of the restrictions mentioned therein, such children shall be enrolled in special schools or in special classes established exclusively for such children as and in the manner the Board of Education shall deem proper and most expedient." The Chronicle of February 20, 1907, in an editorial entitled "The Compromise," says, in part: "We have caused the acceptance of the principle that Oriental manual workers are to be kept out of the United States. That has been virtually accepted by the United States Government, and is said to have been conceded by the Japanese. Another thing has happened, and that is that we have agreed to recognize the authority of a foriegn sovereign to prohibit his subjects from entering our territory or to permit them to do so. If a Japanese immigrant is stopped under the law, it is because his sovereign has not given him permission to come-here. If his passport shows that he has received permission to enter,_ we are powerless. That may do as a temporary modus vivendi, but_ for nothing more. It is not satisfactory. "Finally, as a result of the school trouble, the cause of exclusion, has been put forward to a point which its most ardent advocates could' not have dreamed of reaching in so short a time. The active discussion has been going on for but two years, and exclusion is in sight." The Broader Adjustment. This adjustment would have been impossible but for the fact that there was pending in conference committee of the Senate and House of Representatives a general immigration bill, which was held up by the members of the upper house, who insisted on an educational test, to which the lower house would not assent. The Senators finally yielded to the House committee in the matter of excluding illiterates, a new clause being inserted empowering the President to deny admission to aliens without proper passports. No nationality is directly mentioned, but the new law is understood to apply specially to the Japanese, as that government does not allow laborers to leave Japan without passports, and not directly for the United States. It is hoped in this way to restrict migration of Japanese from Hawaii to the mainland, to adjust the general immigration question thus tied up in the committee, and to solve the San Francisco school problem. Difficulties of Further Negotiations. The present settlement is understood to be temporary, and con- templates further negotiations with the Japanese Government. It crtainly would have been easier to conduct these and reach a satisfactory conclusion had it not been for this agitation covering two full years, for the unjust and untimely order of segregation, and for this recognized compromise in the settlement. The President has won, but a large element in California and in Japan will regard themselves as losers. The Californians lost in the school decision and have not secured what they deem important in the matter of restricting immigration. The Japanese lost in the segregation of pupils over sixteen years of age, which they deem entirely proper, but especially in the recent act of Congress, unless it was taken at the request of the Japa- 86 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. nese Government. If we now turn back Japanese arriving in this country without passports issued for coast ports by their Government, while admitting immigrants from various European countries, we are discriminating against them, and it will be so interpreted. If the Japanese Government has requested such policing of its subjects, all is well, and there is no fear of complications so far as they are concerned. The Agitation Will Continue. A bad feature, at present, is the dissatisfaction of the people in California. A certain element in San Francisco expresses its willingness to trust neither the Emperor of Japan nor the President, but clamors for absolute restriction by law and treaty. This view is voiced in a special dispatch from San Francisco to The Berkeley Independent, February 20, 1907, as follows: "About the only thing discussed in the city now is the news from. Washington, and it is very safe to say that the result of the conference between the Mayor and the President is going to have a very decided effect upon politics hereabout. That people here will not be satisfied with the simple amendment to the treaty allowing the President to enforce exclusion or not, as he chooses, goes without saying. "At best it means that the agitation will be prolonged indefinitely, and that the ultimate result will be much ill feeling and possibly riots and trouble of a very serious character before it is over. Possibly, if absolute exclusion were granted, the school question could be easily settled, but no one believes that absolute exclusion for Japanese coolies has been secured, and the President has shown such a decided leaning towards the Japanese that there is a lack of confidence in the method that he will enforce the law. Most people seem to think that it means a club placed in his hands to coerce Californians to do as he wants, that hurts the President's prestige here, instead of strengthening it." It seems clear, then, that the agitation will continue in California until the promoters of this agitation- secure something that fully satisfies them. Absolute exclusion by act of Congress, or even by treaty, is a long way off. The Exclusion League on Further Agitation. The Japanese-Korean Exclusion League, at a convention held Monday, March 10, as reported in the Chronicle the following day, decided unanimously to continue the agitation in the following resolution,— "Resolved—That in view of the unsatisfactory condition of the immigration law recently enacted by Congress with reference to the exclusion of Japanese and Koreans, this League hereby asserts its determination to continue the agitation for the enactment of an act by Congress for the complete exclusion of Japanese and Koreans." According to the report, opinions in the convention were very much divided as to whether the Mayor and School Board merited praise or censure, but there was but one opinion as to the amended immigration law which gives option to the President to exclude Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 87 Japanese coming to the coast from Hawaii and other insular possessions. Nothing short of an absolute exclusion law will satisfy the Exclusion League. Mr. MacArthur Again. As a side light concerning the safety of Mr. MacArthur as a leader in the agitation against the Japanese, it is well to note that he was a prominent speaker at the Defense League's First Assmbly, Sunday, March 3, 1907, as reported in The Chronicle the following day. The headlines are significant: "Hiss Old Glory at Mass Meeting —Unseemly Demonstration at the Defense League's First Assembly —Capitalists Threatened—Union Labor Leaders Intimate that Force May Be Used." The article began thus: "The hissing of the flag of the United States, and the lowering of the national emblem in response to demands of frenzied partisans, the singing of the `Marseillaise' by a great crowd in the street outside the place of assembly, and the impassioned declarations of labor leaders, that force should be resorted to, if necessary, to free Charles H. Moyer, William D. Haywood and George A. Pettibone, were incidents of the first mass meeting of the Miners' Defense League, held at Walton's Pavilion yesterday afternoon, and attended by over _loco union labor men." The first speaker was Mr. George Tracy, president of the State Federation of Labor. He was followed by Mr. Walter MacArthur, who announced that he represented the San. Francisco Labor Councilp and the American Federation of Labor. The correspondent of The Chronicle says that MacArthur, after speaking most highly of the three men, and stating that Former Governor Steunenberg of Idaho deserved all the contempt that union labor bestowed upon him, and after reciting the incident of the kidnaping of the union leaders, severely criticised the decision of the United States Supreme Court in upholding the action of the Idaho authorities. The resolution as adopted, as printed in The Chronicle, contains these sentences: "At last comes the decision of the United States Supreme Court (the supreme guessing machine), handing down the decision that it makes no difference how our brothers were taken to jail, they are there to remain. Thus, in the language of Justice McKenna, 'kidnaping is legalized.' . . . Further, we demand an immediate trial before a jury of their peers. And in asking for a jury trial we would also remind the Mine Owners' Association and the capitalist class in general, 'If you pack the jury and attempt to judicially murder our brothers, we will help pack — full of you.' " In nothing that appears in this chapter or elsewhere in this pamphlet is there any intention of striking at Organized Labor. The author recognizes that Trades Unions have a legitimate field, and that in the present state of society combination seems to be necessary for self-protection. The utmost wisdom is essential, however, in the 88 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. management of these unions, especially as they increase in number and power. What is capable of being a great blessing may, under the dictation of unwise leaders, become the opposite. The object in the present publication is to give the facts. The readers must draw their own conclusions as to whether the various labor organizations in San Francisco are an unmixed blessing. LATER DEVELOPEMENTS. Measures Before the Legislature. In view of the activity of the Exclusion League at the State Capital and the evident desire of many members of both Houses of the State Legislature to pass something during the closing days of the session that would satisfy the agitators, the printer's forms were held open for a few days in order to give the readers the very latest information. Several measures were pending, viz: Senate Joint Resolution No. 1 (Sanford) against extending the elective franchise to aliens, in opposition to the recommendation of President Roosevelt; Senate Joint Resolution No. II (Black), a most radical measure to which reference is made elsewhere, favoring a national exclusion treaty against Japanese; Senate Bill 805 (Caminetti) intended as a rebuke to Mayor Schmitz and the School Board for their surrender in Washington, and providing that the Japanese _are among those for whom separate schools are provided_ and that the abolition of said schools be left to the people in the districts in which they may be located; Senate Amendment (Wolfe) providing for an age limit for admission into the regular schools, giving school officials discretion in the matter of the age of pupils in the primary grade, and providing for the education of other Japanese in separate schools; Senate Bill 930 (Keane) asking for the submission of the Asiatic question to a vote of the people of California in 1908; Assembly Bills 404 and 527 (Drew) providing that no alien shall hold property for more than five years without becoming naturalized which is not allowed in the case of Japanese, and further providing that leases be limited to one year; and one or two other measures. While some of these do not mention the Japanese, it is understood that they are all anti-Japanese. Vigorous Action of the President. Realizing the danger of any action whatever on the Japanese question on the part of the State Legislature, and of further delay on the part of the school board in keeping its pledge to rescind the famous resolution of October II, 1906, President Roosevelt sent a telegram to Governor Gillett making known his views. His special Message contains the latter's telegram of inquiry and the reply of the President in full. It is as follows: "To the Assembly of the State of California: I have the honor to advise your honorable body that yesterday T forwarded to the Pres dent of the United States a telegram of which the following is a copy: Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 8g "'SACRAMENTO (Cal.) March II, 19o7—Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, Washington, D. C.: A bill is now pending in our Legislature to submit to the voters two years from now the question as to whether or not Japanese labor shall be excluded from this country. Will the passage of this bill interfere with any of your plans or make it more difficult for you to accomplish what you have undertaken to do in the way of Japanese exclusion?' Please answer at once, as our Legislature is desirous of knowing concerning it. (Signed) "JAMES N. GILLETT, "Governor of California." "In reply to this telegram I received from the President the following message: "'Hon. James N. Gillett, Governor of California: I thank you for your kind and prompt attention to my request. Passage of a bill for submission to voters of California whether Japanese laborers shall be excluded will interfere with my plans and make it more difficult for me to accomplish through the national government what I am trying to do in the matter of Japanese labor exclusion. "'The assumption of power by the voters of California to settle this question, if assented by the national government, would immediately end all my negotiations with Japan for friendly adjustment, because to negotiate a settlement we must have power to settle, while on the other hand California cannot negotiate a treaty under the constitution. "'It is, however, perfectly clear that under the Constitution only the national government can settle the question of exclusion, and such a vote of California as is proposed would have to be treated as entirely nugatory, while it would probably be regarded by those opposed to exclusion as a threat to ignore the constitutional power of the United States and exclude Japanese in defiance of their - treaty rights to come in. "'I earnestly deprecate the passage of any legislation affecting the Japanese. The National Government now has the matter in hand, and can in all human probability secure the results that California desires, while at the same time preserving unbroken and friendly relations between the United States and Japan. "'I have the interest of California most deeply at heart. I shall strive to accomplish for California, as for other State or sections of this country, everything that can conserve its honor and its interest. Any such action as that you mention would merely hamper the National Government in the effort to secure for California what only the National Government can secure. (Signed) "THEODORE ROOSEVELT." "I understand it is not the intention of the Legislature to pass at this session any measure whatever affecting the Japanese. I believe this to be excellent judgment on the part of the Legislature, because to do so, as suggested by the President, might interfere with and hamper the national government in making proper treaties with Japan and bringing about the result which California desires, to wit: Japanese exclusion. "I forward this message of the President to you because I desire that you shall know before adjourning, the views entertained by him at this time upon this all-important question. (Signed) "J. N. GILLETT," Governor of California. Revised Action of the Board of Education. It was the evident desire of the School Board to have the case in the courts dropped before taking any action, but the Presi- go Discrimination Against Japanese in California. dent would not have it so. The Mayor then sent the following telegram to the President: "At a regular meeting of the Board of Education tomorrow, resolutions agreed upon will be adopted. Would suggest notice of dismissal of suit by you same day. Will live up to the spirit and letter of the agreement. E. E. SCHMITZ, Mayor." The President replied congratulating the people of the United States, and especially the people of California, on the outcome and stated that he had directed the dismissal of the suit to take place immediately upon the adoption of the resolution by the Board of Education. The following day, March 13, the Board rescinded its resolution of October II, 1906, and adopted an alternative reso- lution as agreed upon. United States District Attorney Devlin thereupon dismissed the case of the Japanese boy, Aoki, in the United States Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of California. The action of the Board is as follows: "Resolved and ordered, That the following resolution, adopted by the Board of Education October II, 1906, be and the same is, hereby repealed, excepting insofar as it applies to Chinese and Korean children; "Resolved, That in accordance with article X, section 1662, of the school law of California principals are hereby directed to send all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean children to the Oriental Public School, situated on the south side of Clay street, between Powell and Mason, on and after Monday, Oct. 15, 1906. "Resolved, Section 1. Children of all alien races who speak the English language, in order to determine the proper grade to which they may be entitled to be enrolled, must first be examined as to their educational qualifications by the principal of the school where the application for enrollment shall have been made. "Section 2. That no child of alien birth over the ages of 9, 10, II, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 years shall be enrolled in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth grades, respec- tively Section 3. If said alien children shall be found deficent in their ability to speak, or deficient in the elements of the English language, or unable to attend the grades mentioned in section 2 by reason of the restrictions mentioned therein, such children shall be enrolled in special schools or in special classes established exclusively for such children as in the manner the Board of Education shall deem proper and most expedient." Executive Order Concerning Exclusion of Japanese. An order which is destined to be even more historic than that of the School Board recently rescinded is thus referred to in a spec- ial dispatch to the San Francisco Chronicle. It is the first real step toward the exclusion of Japanese from this country. The question of discrimination depends solely upon the understanding with Japan and upon what it is proposed to do concerning the hordes that are pouring in from Europe at the rate of 20,000 per week. The dis- patch, including the order, is as follows: WASHINGTON, March 14..—President Roosevelt today issued an executive order directing that Japanese or Korean laborers, skilled and unskilled, who have received passports to go to Mexico or Canada or llawaii, and come from there, be refused to enter Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 91 the continental territory. Authority to refuse permission to the classes of persons cited by the. President to enter the continental territory of the United States is contained in the immigration bill approved February 25th. It was incorporated in that measure at the request of the President and in fulfillment of a promise he made to Mayor Schmitz and the School Board of San Francisco during their negotiations at the 'White House if the San Francisco authorities would rescind their action on the school question. The President's order follows: "Whereas, By the act entitled 'An act to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States,' approved February 25, 1907, whenever the President is satisfied that passports issued by any foreign government to its citizens to go to any other country than the United States, or any insular possession of the United States, or to the canals being used for the purpose of enabling the immigrants coming to the United States, it is reccommended that such persons be refused citizenship to the United States or such insular possessions or the canal zone. "And whereas, upon sufficient evidence, produced before me by. the Department of Commerce and Labor, I am satisfied that passports issued by the Government of Japan to citizens of that country or Korea, and who are laborers, skilled or unskilled, to go to Mexico, Canada and to Hawaii, are being used for the purpose of enabling the holders thereof to come to the continental territory of the United States to the detriment of labor therein, "I hereby order that such citizens of Japan or Korea, to wit, Japanese or Korean laborers, skilled and unskilled, who have received passports to go to Mexico, Canada or Hawaii and come therefrom, be refused admission to the continental territory of the United States. "It is further ordered that the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and he is hereby directed to take through the bureau of immigration and naturalization such measures and to make and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry this order into effect. "THEODORE ROOSEVELT." Coincident with this order, the1245isknt has directed dismissal of the two suits filed in 'San Francisco, at the direction of fhe— n-eFartni-e-nt of Justice, which -hid the testing of the ques- tion of treaty rights of Japanese children to enter the white schools. This step the President had promised to take when the School Board rescinded its original action barring Japanese children from the white schools. Concluding Words. The object in putting out this pamphlet, as stated at the outset, has been to give the gist of the question in all its bearings, in as little space as possible; to embalm current literature upon the subject; to furnish proof of the real nature of the campaign, laying stress upon the fact that a large and influential class in California have no sympathy with the movement against the Japanese; and to point out the only satisfactory solution to the problems. The school question has been settled for the present, and let us hope for all time. It would he a great pity to have it break out again in San Francisco or in some of the other cities of the State, as a result 92 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. of further agitation and in consequence of the cases being withdrawn from the courts. The permanent settlement of the greater question—that of immi-gration—will depend upon careful restriction arranged and enforced by the Japanese Government, and upon the door being opened by the-United States, under proper restrictions, for the naturalization of Japanese who come here intending to become American citizens. APPENDIX--A Extract from President Roosevelt's Message to Congress Concerning: the Japanese Question It is a mistake, and it betrays a spirit of foolish cynicism, to maintain that all international governmental action is, and must ever be,. based upon mere selfishness, and that to advance ethical reasons for such action is always a sign of hypocrisy. This is no more necessarily true of the action of governments than of the action of individuals. It is a sure sign of a base nature always to ascribe base motives for the actions of others. Unquestionably no nation can afford to disregard proper considerations of self-interest, any more than a private individual can do so. But it is equally true that the average private individual in any really decent community does many actions with reference to other men in which he is guided, not by self interest, but by public spirit, by regard for the rights of others, by a disinterested purpose to do good to others, and to raise the tone of the community as a whole. Similarly, a really '()Teat nation must often act, and as a matter of fact, does act, toward other nations in a spirit not in the least of mere self-interest, but paying heed chiefly to ethical reasons; and as the centuries go by this disinterestedness in international action,. this tendency of the individuals comprising a nation to require that nation to act with justice toward its neighbors, steadily grows and strengthens. It is neither wise nor right for a nation to disregard its own needs, and it is foolish—and may be wicked—to think that other nations will disregard theirs. But it is wicked for a nation only to. regard its own interest, and foolish to believe that such is the sole motive that actuates any other nation. It should be our steady aim to raise the ethical standard of natural action, just as we strive to raise the ethical standard of individual action. Not only must we treat all nations fairly, but we must treat with justice and good will all immigrants who come here under the law. Whether they are Catholic or Protestant, Jew or gentile; whether they come from England or Germany, Russia, Japan or Italy, matters nothing. All we have a right to question is the man's conduct. If he is: honest and upright in his dealings with his neighbors and with the State, then he is entitled to respect and good treatment. Especially do-we need to remember our duty to the stranger within our gates. It is the sure mark of a low civilization, a low morality, to abuse or discriminate against or-in any way humiliate such stranger who has come here lawfully and who is conducting himself properly. To remember this is incument on every American citizen, and it is, of course, peculiarly incumbent on every Government official, whether of the-Nation or of th.e several States. I am prompted to say this by the attitude of hostility here and there assumed toward the Japanese in this country. This hostility is Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 93 sporadic, and is limited to a very few places. Nevertheless, it is most discreditable to us as a people, and it may be fraught with the gravest consequences to the nation. The friendship between the United States and Japan has been continuous since the time, over half a century ago, when Commodore Perry, by his expedition to Japan, first opened the islands to Western civilization. Since then the growth of Japan has been literally astounding. There is not only nothing to parallel it, but nothing to approach it in the history of civilized mankind. Japan has a glorious and ancient past. Her civilization is older than that of the nations of Northern Europe—the nations from whom the people of the United States have chiefly sprung. But fifty years ago Japan's development was still that of the middle ages. During that fifty years the progress of the country in every walk in life has been a marvel to mankind, and she now stands as one of the greatest of civilized nations; great in the arts of war and in the arts of peace; great in military, in industrial, in artistic development and achievement. Japanese soldiers and sailors have shown themselves equal in combat to any of whom history makes note. She has produced great generals and mighty admirals; her fighting men, afloat and ashore, show all the heroic courage, the unquestioning, unfaltering loyalty, the splendid indifference to hardship and death, which marked the loyal Ronins; and they show also that they possess the highest ideal of patriotism. Japanese artists of every kind see their products eagerly sought for in all lands. The industrial and commercial development of Japan has been prenomenal—greater than that of any other country during the same period. At the same time, the advance in science and philosophy is no less marked. The admirable management of the Japanese Red Cross during the late war, the efficiency and humanity of the Japanese officials, nurses and doctors, won the respectful admiration of all acquainted with the facts. Through the Red Cross the Japanese people sent over $Too,o0o to the sufferers of San Francisco, and the gift was accepted with gratitude by our people. The courtesy of the Japanese, nationally and individually, has become proverbial. To no other country has there been such an increasing number of visitors from the land as to Japan. In return, Japanese have come here in great numbers. They are welcome, socially and intellectually, in all our colleges 'and institutions of higher learning, in all our professional and social bodies. The Japanese have won in a single generation the right to stand abreast of the foremost and most enlightened peoples of Europe and America; they have won on their own merits and by their own. exertions the right to treatment on a basis of full and frank equality. The overwhelming mass of our people cherish a lively regard and respect for the people of Japan, and in almost every quarter of the Union the stranger from Japan is treated as he deserves—that is, he is treated as the stranger from any part of civilized Europe is and deserves to be treated. But here and there a most unworthy feeling has manifested itself toward the Japanese—the feeling that has been shown in shutting them out from the common schools in San Francisco, and in mutterings against them in one or two other places because of their efficiency as workers. To shut them out from the public schools is a wicked absurdity, when there are no first-class colleges in the land, including the universities and colleges of California, which do not gladly welcome Japanese students and on which Japanese students do not reflect credit. We have as much to learn from Japan as Japan has to learn from us, and no nation is fit to teach unless it is also willing to learn. Throughout Japan Americans are well treated, and any failure on the part of Americans at home to treat the Japanese with a like courtesy and 94 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. consideration is by just so much a confession of inferiority in our own civilization. Our nation fronts on the Pacific, just as it fronts on the Atlantic. We hope to play a constantly growing part in the great oceon of the Orient. We wish, as we ought to wish, for a great commercial development in our dealings with Asia, and it is out of the question that we should permanently have such development unless we freely and gladly extend to other nations the same measure of justice and good treatment that we expect to receive in return. It is only a very small body of our citizens that act badly. Where the Federal Government has power it will deal summarily with any such. Where the several States have power, I earnestly ask that they also deal wisely and promptly with such conduct, or else this small body of wrongdoers may bring shame upon the great mass of their innocent and right-thinking fellows—that is, upon our nation as a whole. Good manners should be an international no less than an individual attribute. I ask fair treatment for the Japanese as I would ask fair treatment for Germans or Englishmen, Frenchmen, Russians or Italians. I ask it os due to humanity and civilization. I ask it as due to ourselves because we must act uprightly toward all men. I recommend to the Confiress that an act be passed specifically providing for the naturalization of Japanese who come here intending to become American citizens. One of the great embarrassments attending the performance of our national obligations is the fact that the statutes of the United States are entirely inadequate. They fail to give to the National Government ample power, through United States Courts and by the use of the army and navy, to protect aliens in the rights secured to them under solemn treaties which are the law of the land. I therefore earnestly recommend that the criminal and civil statutes of the United States be so amended and added to as to enable the President, acting for the United States Government, which is responsible in our international relations, to enforce the rights of aliens under treaties. Even as the law now is, something can be done by the Federal Government toward this end, and in the matter now before me affecting the Japanese, everything that it is in my power to do will be done, and all of the forces, military and civil, of the United States, which I may lawfully employ will be so employed. There should, however, be no particle of doubt as to the power of the National Government completely to perform and enforce its own obligations to other nations. The mob of a single city may at any time perform acts of lawless violence against some class of foreigners which would plunge us into war. That city by itself would be powerless to make defense against the foreign power thus assaulted, and if independent of this Government it would never venture the performance of the acts complained of. The entire power and the whole duty to protect the offending city or the offending community lies in the hands of the United States Government. It is unthinkable that we should continue a policy under which a given locality may be allowed to commit a crime against a friendly nation, and the United States Government be limited, not to preventing the commission of the crime, hut, in the last resort, to defending the peoplewho have committed it against the consequences of their own wrongdoing. B.—THE PRESIDENT'S SECOND MESSAGE AND SECRETARY METCALF'S REPORT. (Reprinted from The Oakland Tribune, December 18, 1007.) WAS NCTON, Dec. 18.—President Roosevelt's special message Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 95 on the Japanese situation in San Francisco, accompanying Secretary Metcalf's report, was sent to Congress today. The message and report follow: To the Senate and House of Representatives: I inclose herewith for your information the final report made to me personally by Secretary Metcalf on the situation affecting the Japanese in San Francisco. The report deals with three matters of controversy—first, the exclusion of the Japanese children from the San Francisco schools; second, the boycotting of Japanese restaurants, and, third, acts of violence committed against the Japanese. As to the first matter, I call your especial attention to the very small number of Japanese children who attend school, to the testimony as to the brightness, cleanliness and good behavior of these Japanese children in the schools, and tb the fact that, owing to their being scattered throughout the city, the requirement for them all to go to one special school is impossible of fulfillment and means that they cannot have school facilities. Let me point out further that there would be no objection whatever to excluding from the schools any Japanese on the score of age. It is obviously not desirable that young men should go to school with children. The only point is the exclusion of the children themselves. The number of Japanese children attending the public schools in San Francisco is very small. The Government has already directed that suit be brought to test the constitutionality of the act in question; but my very earnest hope is that such suit will not be necessary, and that as a matter of comity the citizens of San Francisco will refuse to deprive these young Japanese children of education and will permit them to go to the schools. The question as to the violence against the Japanese is most admirably put by Secretary Metcalf, and I have nothing to add to his statement. I am entirely confident that, as Secretary Metcalf says, the overwhelming sentiment of the State of California is for law and order and for the protection of the Japanese in their persons and property. Both the Chief of Police and the acting Mayor of San Francisco assured Secretary Metcalf that everything possible would be done to protec the Japanese in the city. I authorized and directed Secretary Metcalf to state that if there was failure to protect persons and property, then the entire power of the Federal Govrnmnt within the limits of the constitution would be used promptly and vigorously to enforce the observance of our treaty, the supreme law of the land, which treaty guaranteed to Japanese residents everywhere in the Union full and perfect protection for their persons and property; and to this end everything in my power would be done, and all the forces of the United States, both civil and military, which I could lawfully employ, would be employed. I call special attention to the concluding sentence of Secretary Metcalf's report of November 26, 1906. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. The White House, December 18, 1906. SECRETARY METCALF'S REPORT IN FULL. The President: I have the honor to submit the following: In my previous report I said nothing as to the causes leading up to the action of the School Board in passing the resolution of October IT, and the effect of such action upon Japanese children, residents of the City of San Francisco, desiring to attend the public schools of that city. A report on this matter will now be made, therefore; and after describing the local public sentiment concerning the recent disturbances with regard to the Japanese, an account will be given, first, g6 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. of the boycott maintained by the Cooks and Waiters Union of San Francisco against Japanese restaurants doing business in that city, and, second, of the several cases of assault or infury inflicted upon the persons or property of Japanese residents. It seems that for several years the Board of Education of San. Francisco has been considering the advisability of establishing separate schools for Chinese, Japanese and Corean children, and on May 6, 1905, passed the fallowing resolution: Resolution of Board. "Resolved, That the Board of Education is determined in its efforts to effect the establishment of separate schools for Chinese and Japanese pupils, not only for the purpose of relieving the congestion at present prevailing in our schools, but also for the higher end that our children should not be placed in any position where their youthful impressions may be affected by association with pupils of the Mongolian race." And on October II the Board passed the following resolution: "Resolved, That in accordance with Article X, Section 1662, of the School Law of California, principals are hereby directed to send all Chinese, Japanese or Corean children to the Oriental public school, situated on the south side of Clay street, between Powell and Mason streets, on and after Monday, October 15, 1906." The action of the Board in the passage of the resolutions of May 6, 1905, and October II, 1906, was undoutedly largely influenced b3r the activity of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, an organization formed for the purpose of securing the enactment by the Congress of the United States of a law extending the provisions of the existing Chinese exclusion act so as to exclude Japanese and Coreans. The League claims a membership in the State of California of 78,500, three-fourths of which membership is said to be in the City of San Francisco. The membership is composed almost entirely of members of labor organizations. Section 2, Article 2, of the consittution of the league is as follows: "The league as such shall not adopt any measures or discrimination against any Chinese, Japanese or Coreans now or hereafter lawfully resident in the United States." Yet, on October 22, 1905, at a meeting of the league held in San Francisco, as reported in The San Francisco Chronicle of October 23, 1905, a resolution was adopted by the league instructing its executive committee to appear before the Board of Education and petition for separate schools for the Mongolian children of San Francisco. Prior to the action of the league, the Board of Education, as I am informed, received many protests from citizens of San Francisco, whose children were attending the public schools, against Japanese being permitted to attend those schools. These protests were mainly against Japanese boys and men ranging from 16 to 22, 23 and 24 years of age attending the primary grades and sitting beside little girls and boys of seven and eight years of age. When these complaints became known to Japanese residents, I am informed that some of the older pupils left the primary grades. Number of Japanese Pupils. On the day when the order of October it went into effect, viz., October 15, there were attending the public schools of the City of San Francisco ninety-three Japanese pupils. These pupils were distributed among twenty-three schools of the primary grades. There are eight grades -in the public schools of San Francisco, the first grade being the lowest and the eighth the highest—graduates of the eighth grade going into the High School. Of this total of ninety-three pupils, sixty-eight were born in Japan and twenty-live in the United States. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 97 Those born in the United States would, of course, under Section I, Article XIV. of the Constitution of the United States, be citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, and as such subject to the laws of the Nation as well as of the State. The ages of the pupils attending the public schools on the day when the order went into effect ranged from seven to twenty years. A list of pupils attending the schools, which list gives the name of each pupil, name of school, age of pupil, grade, place of birth, and sex, is hereto attached and marked "Exhibit A." It will be observed that those born in the United States occupy about the same position in the different grades as American children of the same age, while those born in Japan are very much older. It will be noted that the Japanese students were distributed among the grades as follows: Japan born Native born Japan born Native born Grade. No. Age. No. Age. Grade. No. Age. No. Age. Eighth I 20 I 14 I II • • • • • • I 19 ... • • Fourth 2 19 I 13 2 18 • • . I 18 I II 5 17 .. • • • I 17 I JO 3 16 • • • • • I 15 I 9 3 15 ... . 3 13 • • • • • I 14 ... . 2 12 .. • • . Seventh • • • • 2 17 0 0 I II • • • • - 3 16 • • . • • Third 2 10 • • • • • • 2 15 .. I i6 2 IO • • • • Sixth I 20 I 13 I 15 I 8 1 18 • • • • • • 2 12 I 7 I 19 I 12 2 8 • • •- • • _ 4 17.. • • • • I 1 • • • • • • 2 I6 • • • . • • Second 1 io i 12 2 15 .. • • • I 9 I 10 1 14 .. • • • • • • • • . I 9 Fifth 2 18 . 1 II • • • • • 4 8 I 17.. • • • • F4irst • • • • • I 7 1 14 ... . I I r 1 8 2 13 ... . 1 8 2 7 2 12 • • • • • • • • 2 6 The number of schools in San Francisco prior to April 18 was 76_ Of this number 28 primary or grammar schools and two high schools were destroyed by fire, and one high school was destroyed by earthquake, leaving 45 schools. Since April 18 twenty-seven temporary structures have been erected, making the total number of school buildings at the present time 72. A map showing the location of the public schools in San Francisco attended by Japanese pupils up to the time the order of the board went into effect as herewith submitted, and marked "Exhibit B." The portion of the map marked off with red ink indicates the burned section of San Francisco. Oriental School. The Oriental School, the school set apart for the Chinese, Japanese and Corean children, is in the burned section. There is only one Japanese student attending this school at the present time, and there are no Japanese children attending any of the other public schools. I visited the Oriental School in company with the Japanese Consul, and found it to compare favorably with- many of the new temporary structures erected in the city. The course of instruction is exactly the same as at the other public schools, and competent teachers are assigned for duty in this school. Nearly all of the pupils attending this school have to be taught the English language. 98 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Children Cannot Attend. An examination of the map attached hereto will at once clearly show that it will be absolutely impossible for children residing in the remote sections of the city to attend the Oriental School. The conditions in San Francisco are such, owing to the great conflagration, that it would not be possible even for grown children living at remote distances to attend this school. If the action of the Board stands, then, and if no schools are provided in addition to the one mentioned, it seems that a number of Japanese children will be prevented from attending the public schools and will have to resort to private instruction. I found the sentiment of the State very strong against Japanese young men attending the primary grades. Many of the people were outspoken in their condemnation of this course, saying that they would take exactly the same stand against American young men of similar ages attending the primary grades. I am frank to say this objection seems to me a most reasonable one. All of the political parties in the State have inserted in their platforms planks in favor of Japanese and Corean exclusion, and on March 7, 1905, the State Legislature passed a joint resolution urging that action be taken by treaty or otherwise to limit and diminish the further immigration of Japanese laborers into the United States. Press Is Hostile. The press of San Francisco pretty generally upholds the action of the Board of Education. Of the attitude of the more violent and radical newspapers it is unnecessary to speak further than to say that their tone is the usual tone of hostility to "Mongol hordes," and the burden of their claim is that Japanese are not better than Chinese, and that the same reasons which dictated the exclusion of the Chinese call for the exclusion of the Japanese as well. The temper and tone of the more conservative newspapers may better be illustrated by an epitome of their argument upon the public school question. That argument practically is is follows: The public schools of California are a State and not a Federal institution. The State has the power to abolish these schools entirely, and the Federal Government would have no right to lift its voice in protest. Upon the other hand, the State may extend the privileges of its schools to aliens upon such terms as it, the State, may elect, and the Federal Government has no right to question its action in this regard. Primarily and essentially the public schools are designed for the education of its own citizens alone. It wiuld not for a moment maintain ,this expensive institution to educate foreigners and aliens who would carry to their countries the fruits of such education., Therefore, if it would be held that there was a discrimination operating in violation of the treaty with Japan in the State's treatment of Japanese children, or even if a new treaty with Japan should be framed, which would contain on behalf of Japanese subjects the "most favored nation" clause, this could and would be met by the State, which would then exclude from the use of its public schools all alien children of every nation, and limit the rights of free education to children of its own citizens, for whom the system is primarly designed and maintained, and if the State should do this the Federal Government could not complain, since no treaty right could be violated when the children of Japanese were treated precisely as the children of all foreign nations. The feeling in the State is further intensified, especially in labor circles, by the report on the conditions in the Hawaiian Islands as contained in Bulletin 66. of the Bureau of Labor, Department of Commerce and Labor. The claim is made that white labor has been Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 99 almost entirely driven from the Hawaiian Islands, and that the Japanese are gradually forcing even the small white traders out of business. Prominent Educators. Many of the foremost educators in the State, on the other hand, are strongly opposed to the action of the San Francisco Board of Education. Japanese are admitted to the University of California, an institution maintained and supported by the State. They are also admitted to, and gladly welcomed at, Stanford University. San Francisco, so far as known, is the only city which has discriminated against Japanese children. I talked with a number of prominent labor men, and they all said that they had no objection to Japanese children attending the primary grades; that they wanted Japanese children now in the United States to have the same school privileges as children of other nations, but that they were unalterably opposed to Japanese young men attending the primary grades. The objection to Japanese men attending the primary grades could very readily be met by a simple rule limiting the ages of all children attending those grades. All of the teachers with whom I talked while in San Francisco spoke in the highest terms of the Japanese children, saying that they were among the very best of their pupils, cleanly in their persons, well behaved, studious, and remarkably bright. The Board of Education of San Francisco declined to rescind its resolution of October II, claiming that, having established a separate school for Chinese, Japanese, and Corean children, the provisions of Section 1662 of the Political Code became mandatory. Boycott Maintained. A boycott was maintained in San Francisco from October 3 to October 24 by members of the Cooks and Waiters' Union against Japanese restaurants doing business in that city. Nearly all of the leaders of labor organizations in San Francisco, interviewed on this subject, disclaimed any knowledge of any formal action being taken for the boycotting of these restaurants. They admitted, however, that there was a decided sentiment in the unions against patronizing Japanese restaurants, and that that sentiment created and fos- tered by speeches in union meetings and by personal action of the different members, with the object of not only preventing union labor men, but the public as well, from patronizing these restaurants. The secretary, as also the business agent, of the Waiters' Union, Local No. 30, headquarters at 1195 Scott street, San Francisco, said that no resolution against Japanese restaurants had been passed by their union, but that it was urged in their meetings and by different members of the union to themselves refrain, and to keep the public as well, from patronizing such restaurants; that for three weeks in the early part of October men were employed by the Cooks and Waiters' Union to stand in front of Japanese restaurants on Third street and distribute match boxes on which was pasted a label, as follows: "White men and women, patronize your own race"; that this was not, strictly speaking, a boycott, as a boycott must be instituted through the Labor Council. Perhaps a better idea of the feeling in labor organizations against the Japanese restaurants, and the methods that were resorted to for the purpose of preventing white people from patronizing those restaurants, can be gained by reading the following extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Board of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, as reported in The San Francisco Chronicle of June 25, 1906: Ioo Discrimination Against Japanese in California. To Send Protest to Union Labor. "The Executive Board of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League at the meeting held Saturday evening listened to complaints that many wage earners, laborers and mechanics patronize Japanese restaurants, while eating houses conducted by white persons are as easy of access and more inviting than those of the Mongolians. Secretary Yoell was instructed to communicate with all central labor bodies in this city, informing them of the fact thSt among the patrons of Japanese restaurants are supposed to be men who hold membership in unions affiliated with central councils. ."The league requests the councils to urge upon all affiliated unions to enforce the penalties imposed by their laws for patronizing Japanese or Chinese. The league also offers to supply proof of the flagrant violations complained of, and proposes to have the offenders photographed in order to submit copies of the photographs to -the central councils, and through them to their affiliated unions. In this way the league hopes to accomplishe a double purpose—to deter union men from patronizing Asiatics, or establish the fact that the offenders are not union men, and thus refute what is said to be a persistent slander against union men. "The attention of councils and unions is also to be directed to the fact that many berries sold in San Francisco are grown and shipped to market by Japanese and Chinese, and wage-earners are to be cautioned against the danger to their health and that of their health and that of their families in eating berries picked and packed by unclean and unhealthy Asiatics. "The plans for holding a series of mass meetings in coast and interior towns in California were discussed at length, but final arrangements were deferred until the project shall be approved by the league, which will hold its next convention on Sunday, July 1." Boycott of Japanese Restaurants, and Results. As a matter of fact, a most effective boycott was maintained against nearly all of the Japanese restaurants located in San Francisco for a period of at least three weeks. Pickets were stationed in front of these restaurants, and every effort was made to prevent people from patronizing thm. At times stones were thrown and windows broken, and in one or two instances the proprietors of the restaurants were struck by these stones. I personally interviewed the restaurant-keepers and took down their statements. George Sugihara, a restaurant keeper at 177 Third - street, stated that the boycott commenced on October 3 and continued until October 24; that on the first _day the boycotters distributed match boxes on which was written: "White men and women, patronize your own race"; that at about noon of the second day a large number of men came to his place of business and asked the people who were about to enter his restaurant not to patronize the Japanese restaurants; that customers attempting to enter his place of business were sometimes restrained by force, and that blows were also struck; that on or about the loth or 15th of the month the boycotters came three times a day—morning, noon and evening; that sometimes they threw bricks and stones into his place; that one of the waiters asked them the reason why they did these things and they replied, "Ask the policeman"; that it was very seldom that a policeman was seen on the scene; that he complained to the policeman on the beat; that sometimes the policeman spoke to the boycotters and appeared to be friendly with them; that whenever a policeman appeared who was unfriendly to the boycotters, the boycotters left; that on one occasion when he asked the boycotters how long they intended to keep up the boycott, they replied: "Until the end—until the Japanese give tip Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 101 their business, pack up their goods, and return to the place whence they came." Agreement to Pay Boycotters. Mr. Sugihara also said that there was an agreement to pay the boycotters for the purpose of declaring the boycott off; that all the facts were known to Mr. S. Imura, president of the Japanese Union, and that the proposition to pay cash to the Cooks and Waiters' Union was made by Mr. Imura, repre!,enting the Japanese Union, and that the amount to be paid was $350; that he, Sugihara, did not know the name of the person to whom the money was to be paid; that he was present on October 25 or 26, when $1oo of the $350 was paid; that he saw the money paid; that it was paid by Imura, as president of the Japanese Union; that he did not know the name of the man to whom the money was paid, but would recognize him if he saw him again. The windows of the Golden Gate Restaurant, H. Sugiyama proprietor, 256 Third street, were broken on October 17 or 18. Mr. Sugiyama stated that whenever any customers left his place the boycotters threw stones at them, and struck them as well; that his customers were all white people; that it was impossible for him to stand at the cash register near his window, as they broke his windows; that one of the stones struck him on the side; that on the first day of the boycott he went to the Japanese Consul and applied for assistance, and that the Consul said he would write a letter to the Chief of Police; that on the second day he went to police headquarters, at the corner of Pine and Larkin streets; that he did not remember the name of the officer whim he saw, but that he was directed by that officer to go to the Southern station; that three or four days after his visit to the police station a special policeman and the regular policeman on the beat came to his place at the noon hour and remained from 12 to 1 and watched the place; that there was no violence after the policemen came, but that the men with the match boxes were always there; that when the policemen came there were five or six of the boycotters present at the noon hour: Japanese Restaurant Keepers Corroporate Each Other. S. Imura, proprietor of the White Star Restaurant, corroborated the statements made by George Sugihara and H. Sugiyama as to the breaking of windows and assaulting of customers. Y. Kobayashi, restaurant. keeper at 20 Ellis street, stated that his restaurant was' boycotted for three days only. I. Kawai, restaurant keeper at 1213 Folsom street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for twenty-one days. M. Shigeawa, of 336 Third street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for three weeks. Y. Noda, of 1905 Geary street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for about a month. G. Nishi, of 1625 O'Farrell street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for four days. R. Tamura, of 705 Larkin street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for two days, and 0. Matsumodo, of 1469 Ellis street, stated that his restaurant was boycotted for two days. These restaurant keepers were all examined by me at the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco. They all said that they were not assaulted by the boycotters, but that the efforts of the boycotters were mainly directed toward preventing customers from entering their places of business. The restaurant keeper who was struck with the stone said that he did not think the stone was thrown at him, but that it was thrown for the purpose of smashing the windows and frightening his customers. They Have a Union. It appears that the Japanese restaurant keepers of San Francisco have a union of their own, of which S. Imura is president. They made application, so they say, to the Cooks and Waiters' Union of 102 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. San Francisco for admission to membership in that union, but their application was denied. After the boycott had been maintained for a few days the Japanese restaurant keepers held a meeting for the purpose of discussing the boycott and of devising some way of stopping it. They discussed first the obtaining of an injunction, and appointed a committee. This committee visited the Japanese-American Association located in San Francisco and asked the association to consult a lawyer. They were informed that a test case would cost $500, and that if the test case failed it would cost each restaurant keeper $200 for each case tried. A second meeting of the Japanese restaurant keepers was then held, at which the matter was again discussed. The impression seemed to prevail that even if an injunction was obtained it would take too long, cost too much money and be ineffective. They then determined to pay money to the boycotters, and appointed a committee for that purpose. The committee consisted of S. Imura, G. Sugihara, Y. Kobayashi, and Mr. Nakashima. The sum of $350 was collected by this committee from the restaurant keepers, in amounts ranginc, form $17.50 to $25. An arrangement was entered into with the leaders of the boycotters, whose name was only known to S. Imura, for the payment of the sum of $350 for the purpose of declaring the boycott off. Imura declined to give the name of the man to whom the money was paid, claiming that he had promised not to do so, but if necessary he would furnish the name to the Japanese Consul. Before leaving San Francisco the Consul informed me that W. S. Stevenson was the man to whom the money was paid. One hundred dollars was paid by check at the Japanese-American Bank on Sutter street in San Francisco, the check being made payable to the order of W. S. Stevenson. There were present at the time this check was paid, S. Imura, G. Sugihara, and some members, so Imura said, of the bank, probably clerks. The balance of $250 agreed upon was to have been paid on Monday, October 29, but the man Stevenson did not call for the money, and I was informed that it had not been paid up to the time of my departure from San Francisco. The boycott stopped with the payment of the money. Business Fell Off. All of the restaurant keepers united in stating that their business had fallen off at least two-thirds during the period of the boycott. The correspondence between the Japanese Consul and the Chief of Police is here to attached and marked "Exhibit D." There have been a number of boycotts of white restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland and other cities in California in the past five or six years, growing out of labor disputes. These boycotts have been maintained for weeks at a time, and during their maintenance threats have been made an dacts of violence have been committed. Pickets have been stationed in front of the restaurants, and the names even of customers entering the restaurants have been taken down and reported. I saw the Chief of Police, as also H. H. Colby, Captain of Police in charge of the district in which most of the Japanese restaurants are located, and was informed by both of these officers that as soon as their attention was called to the disturbances on Third street, officers were detailed at each of the Japanese restaurants at each meal hour, and that the officers were instructed to arrest if any violation of the law was committed, and that after the officers were so stationed there were no disturbances or violations of the law. The Chief of Police assured me that every effort would be made by hint to protect the Japanese restaurants in San Francisco, and that Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 103 all violators of the law would be promptly arrested and punished. The acting Mayor of San Francisco also assured me that he would co-operate with the police department of the city and would see that everything possible was done to protect Japanese subjects and prevent violations of law. I am satisfied, from inquiries made by me and from statements made to me by the Japanese restaurant keepers, that the throwing of stones and breaking of windows was not done by the men picketing the restaurants, but by boys who had gathered in front of the restaurants as soon as the boycott was instituted. Japanese Are Often Assaulted. Assaults have from time to time been made upon Japanese subjects resident in the city of San Francisco. I was informed by the Chief of Police that upon receipt of a communication from the Japanese Consul he at once instructed Captains of Pol:ce to make every effort to stop these assaults, and, if necessary, to assign men in citizens' clothes to accomplish the purpose. The correspondence between the Japanese Consul and the Chief of Police and the acting Mayor of the city is hereto attached and marked "Exhibit E." I deemed it best, in order to get at the exact facts, to take the statements of the Japanese who claimed to have been assaulted. These statements were taken at the Japanese consulate in San Francisco, by Mr. J. S. McD. Gardner, interpreter in the immigration service at San Francisco, and Mr. K. Kawasaki, a Japanese student in the senior class of the University of California. Since these statements are in the words of the victims themselves, and shaw as nothing else could, such grounds as there are upon which to found a complaint of violence, they are here given in full: Evidence Given in Full. S. Inatsu, 121 Haight street. I am a student and a member of the Japanese Y. M. C. A. On October 28, at 7:15 p. m., I was attacked on the corner of Laguna and Haight streets by eight young men, from 18 to 20 years of age; they rushed up behind me and struck me in the face, and then ran away. I looked around for a policeman, but could not find one. I went to the Y. M. C. A. and was treated by the doctor there. I made complaint about the matter to the Japanese Association, but not to the police department. T. Kadono, 121 Haight street. I am a member of the Japanese Y. M. C. A. On the fifth day of August, 1906, on Laguna street, between Haight and Page streets, at 10:40 a. m., on my way to church, I was attacked by about thirty people, men ranging from fifteen to twenty-five years of age. They followed me down the street and beat me over the head and face with their fists. I tried to resist them, but they were too strong for me. They made my nose bleed. I went to St. Thomas Hospital for medical treatment. I complained to the superintendent of the Japanese Presbyterian Mission, and was advised by him not to make any complaint to the police. I was laid up for a week on account of this attack. I have the blood-stained shirt, which I can produce if necessary. C. Obata, 1823 Sutter Street. I am an artist. On September 20, 1906, at about 1:45 p. m., on Sutter street, between Pierce and Steiner, in front of the skating rink, as I was making my way home, I was attacked by about twelve young men, ranging from 16 to 20 years of age. They beat me and threw bricks and stones at me. I picked up a stick and started to go for them, and then they ran away, three of they falling down as they ran. A special policeman came along at this time, and the people told him that T knocked three people over; so he took me to the Police Court, where I was dismissed. This 104 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. finished the case. I was released on bail, as I had been arrested for disturbing the peace. I. Ikeda, 1608 Geary street. I have a fruit store. About a month ago—October 5, 1906—some bad boys came to my store and stole fruit and threw stones into the store. On September 2, 1906, down in the wholesale district (I do not know the name of the street), as I was driving my wagon, some men started to throw fruit at me, then pieces of brick, hitting my back. The reins of my ric, got loose, and I was obliged to stop and get down to fix them. I) had no sooner gotten down than somebody came up and hit me in the face, and gave me a black eye. I made complaint about this to the Japanese Association. I could identify the man who hit me. K. Kai, 1815 Sutter street. I have a provision store, Masu & Co. On September 6, 1906, about twenty young men, from 18 to 21 years of age, came to my store and stole a bunch of bananas. My clerk, S. Ichishita, ran after them and asked them what they were doing. Whereupon some of them turned on him and beat him so badly that he was laid up in bed for two days. On the 8th of September, 1906, as a white person was buying fruit in my store, someone threw a stone into the store, which hit my wife on the leg and hurt her quite badly. I made complaint about this to the Japanese Association. S. Ikusa, 578 Cedar avenue. I am a restaurant keeper. On August 29, 1906, about 8 p. m., some children, about sixteen of them, stood in front of my restaurant and broke the windows; they then pulled down my sign and ran away with it. I made complaint about this to the Japanese Association. Y. Sasaki, 121 Haight street. I am a member of the Japanese Y. M. C. A. and a student. On August 8 or 9, at 4 p. m., at the corner of Steiner and Sutter streets, I was attacked by about ten young men, ranging from 16 to 20 years of age, who were playing baseball. They called me bad names, and when I paid no attention to them they threw the baseball at me, but missed me. They then ran after me and beat me over the head and on the face, causing my nose to bleed and stunning me. Then they ran away. I looked for a policeman, but could not find any, so returned home. I made no official complaint of this to anyone. Y. Fuiita, 121 Haight street. I am a student and a member of the Japanese Y. M. C. A. On August 18, 1906, at about 11:30 a. m., on the corner of Haight and Lyon streets, about eight young men, ranging from 18 to 22 years of age, threw stones at me, but missed me. They then ran after me and beat me on the head, knocking me down. Some people on the street saw this and offered to help me. When the young fllows saw this they ran away. I met a policeman and complained to him. I do not remember the policeman's number, but he told me that he would help me, and took my name and address; but as the young man had run away he let the matter drop. K. Kimura, 121 Haight street. I am a student and a member of the Japanese Y. M. C. A. On September 6, 1906, at 11:30 a. m., on Webster street, between Haight and Walla streets, as I was walking along, five young men, about 18 years of age, stuck a big stick, about six or seven feet long, between my legs and lifted me up, throwing me on my face and cutting my mouth badly. After I had fallen they ran away. I made no official complaint of this to anyone. R. Koba, 1274 O'Farrell street. I am secretary of the Japanese Association of San Francisco. On August 16, 1906, at 9 p. m., as I was walking up Post street and had turned into Laguna street, three unknown men jumped out of the darkness of Cedar avenue and hit me on the neck from behind two or three times. I stopped, and started to fight them back. One of them tried to hit me in the face, Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 105 but missed; , then one of them drew a revolver and threatened me. Just at this time some friends of mine came along, and the three men ran away. I reported this attack to the Chief of Police next morning, and he told me that hewas very sorry, and would try his best hereafter to protect the Japanese. Y. Shinohara, corner Eleventh avenue and Fulton street. I work in a saloon. On September 15, 1906, at To p. m., on Sutter street, near-Webster, three men, ranging from 26 to 3o years of age, grabbed me and knocked me down, and then ran away. I was not badly hurt, so went home and went to bed. I did not make any complaint about this. matter to anyone. N. Akagi, 115 Church street. I have a furniture store. On. October 20, 1906, at 7 o'clock p. m., on Page street, between Steiner and Pierce streets, as I was delivering goods to my customers, two-young men, about 17 or 18 years of age, knocked the merchandise out of my hands and slapped my face. I took no action, and did not. report this case to the police. On October 20 I applied to Weidenthal & Goslinger, electrical workers, 151 Church street, to make electrical connections at my store. On November 3 the manager of the establishment flatly refused, saying that he was a member of the Japanese and Coreari Exclusion League and could not work in a Japanese establishment; otherwise he said he would be fined $5o by the league. On this account my store is still without electrical connections. I. Takayama, 1401 Scott street. I am a laundryman. On September 12, 1906, as I was on my route delivering, at the corner of Laguna and Eddy streets, about II a. m., four men, aged from 27 to 36 years, with gaspipes about four feet long, accosted me, and struck my wagon with such force that two holes, aout three by four inches, were made in my wagon. They threatened me with bodily violence and I hurried away. About a month ago, as I was delivering laundry work on Scott street, seventy or eighty school children threw stones at my' wagon, like stones of rain, and several holes were made. So continuous was this act on the part of the school children that I desisted from calling in that section of the city, thereby losing seven or eight customers. On September 9, on O'Farrell street, near Laguna, several hoodlums attacked my person, as well as Mr. Kawasaki, of the Japanese Association. This was about 2:30 p. m. The matter was reported to the. police department. For the last three or four weeks they have annoyed me continuously at my place of residence. During the afternoon or in the middle of the night, rotten fruit, stones, etc., have been thrown into my shop. The night watch has not been very effective. I did not report this case to the police. G. N. Tsukamoto, 3500 Twenty-third street. I am proprietor of the Sunset City Laundry. Soon after the earthquake the persecutions became intolerable. My drivers were constantly attacked on the highway, my place of business defiled by rotten eggs and fruit; windows were smashed several times. I was forced to hire, on September 6, two special policemen at great expense, and for fully two weeks was obliged to maintain the service. The miscreants are generally young men, 17 or 18 years old. Whenever newspapers attack the Japanese these roughs renew their misdeeds with redoubled energy. S. Takata, 1158 Haight street. I am a lodging house keeper. On August 28, 1906, about 9 p. m., my window was smashed by a person or persons unknown. Again, on August 30, about ii p. m., someone broke my large front window. I reported these incidents to the Japanese Association, but not to the police. T. Tamura, 1612 Laguna street. 1 have an employment office in 1o6 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. San Francisco. On August 5, about 7 p. m., a large numbers of youngsters passed through the streets with drums and trumpets, denouncing Japanese. One hour later a gang of rough looking laborers, thirty or forty strong, came to my place and smashed my windows. I telephoned to the police department several times, but to no avail. On the afternoon of the succeeding day a policeman called -and inquired what was the matter. That same night all the remaining windows were completely broken by persons unknown to me. M. Sugawa, 1172a Devisadero street. I am a shoemaker. On August 17, 1906, at 8:4o p. m., as I was passing on Sutter street, near Scott, three boys, 21 or 22 years of age, attacked my person. I nearly fainted. Upon rising to my feet, they again assaulted me. This time they smashed my nose. I grabbed the coat of one of the trio, and after having my nose dressed at one of the nearby hospitals, I went home. The next day a policeman came, requesting me to give up the coat. I at first refused, but finally, upon his assuring me that it would be deposited at the police station, I gave it up. I reported the matter to the police. When the case came up for trial the youngster was dismissed on the plea of insufficiency of evidence. Dr. S. Hashimoto, 1615 Gough street. I am a physician. Toward the end of-August, as I was on my way to visit a patient, in a great hurry, I was surrounded on Castro street, near Market, by a group of boys, ranging in years from 15 to 25. The number was soon increased to fifty. Seeing the situation was hopeless, I ran with all my might. I was struck on the leg by a flying missile and my valise was injured. I did not report the case to the police. I. Ikuda, 1608 Geary street. I am a clerk in a Japanese store. On November 2, 1906, as I was driving my wagon on Davis street, between Vallejo and Broadway, five or six laborers, apparently over 28 years old, appeared from the baggage cars and threw potatoes and egg plants at me and my horse. Soon they began throwing pieces of brick, and I was forced to turn back a block or so. Since September 8 such incidents occurred five times. None of these events were reported to the police, because it would be of no avail. No Police in Neighborhood. These attacks, so I am informed, with but one exception were made when no policeman was in the immediate neighborhood. Most. of them were made by boys and young men; many of them were vicious in character, and only one appears to have been made with a view of robbing the person attacked. All these assaults appear to have been made subsequent to the fire and earthquake in San Francisco, and my attention was not called to any assaults made prior to the 18th day of April, 1906. Dr. F. Omori, of the Imperial University of Tokyo, one of the world's most distinguished scientists, and, as stated by Prof. George Davidson, of the University of California, one of the greatest living authorities in seismography, sent to San Francisco by the Japanese Government to study the causes and effects of the earthquake, was stoned by hoodlums in the streets of San Francisco. Prof. N. Nakamura, professor of architecture in the .Imperial University of Tokyo, was also stoned in the streets of San Francisco by young toughs and hoodlums. Doctor Omori was also assaulted when visiting Eureka, Cal. Neither of these eminent gentlemen made formal complaint of these assaults, and wished that no official recognition be taken of them. 1 attach hereto copy of letter of Professor Davidson, calling the attention of the press of San Francisco to these assaults, as also copies of letters of the Postmaster of San Francisco, the Mayor of San Francisco, the Governor of the State, and the Mayor of Eureka, expressing their great regret for these assaults, and apologizing that Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 107 they should have been made. See Exhibit F. Assaults on Japs Condemned. I know that these assaults upon the Japanese are universally condemned by all good citizens of California. For months the citizens, of San Francisco and Oakland have been terrorized by numerous. murders, assaults, and robberies, both by day and night. The police have been powerless. The assaults upon the Japanese, however, were-not made, in my judgment, with a view of robbery, but rather from a feeling of racial hostility, stirred up possibly by newspaper accounts. of meetings that have been held at different times relative to the exclusion of Japanese from the United States. The police records of San Francisco show that between May 6, 1906, and November 5, 1906, 290 cases of assault, ranging from simple assaults to assaults with deadly weapons and assaults with murderous intent, were reported to the police of San Francisco. Of the number so reported, seven were for assaults committed by Japanese, and two-complaints were made against Japanese for disturbing the peace. The Japanese population in San Francisco is about 600o. The total population of San Francisco today is estimated to be between 325,000 and 350,000. While the sentiments of the State of California, as manifested by the public utterances of the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League, by articles in many of the leading newspapers of the State, by declarations of the political parties in their platforms, and by the passage of a joint resolution by the State Legislature on March 7, 1905, is in favor of the exclusion of Japanese coolies, yet the overwhelming sentiment in the State is for law and order and for the protection of Japanese in their persons and their property. Will Get Protection. The Chief of Police of the City of San Francisco, as also the acting Mayor of the city, assured me that everything possible would be done to protect the Japanese subjects in San Francisco, and they urgently requested that all cases of assault and all violations of law affecting the Japanese be at once reported to the Chief of Police. I impressed very strongly upon the acting Mayor of the city, as also upon the Chief of Police, the gravity of the situation, and told them that, as officers charged with the enforcement of the law and the protection of property and person, you looked to them to see that all Japanese subjects resident in San Francisco were afforded the full protection guaranteed to them by our treaty with Japan. I also informed them that if the local authorities were not able to cope with the situation, or if they were negligent or derelict in the performance of their duty, then the entire power of the Federal Government within the limits of the Constitution would be used, and used promptly and vigorously, to enforce observance of treaties, which, under the Constitution, are the supreme law of the land, and to secure fit and proper treatment for the people of a great and friendly power while within the territory of the United States. Police Power Not Sufficient. If, therefore, the police power of San Francisco is not sufficient to meet the situation and guard and protect Japanese residents in San Francisco, to whom under our treaty with Japan we guarantee "full and perfect protection for their persons and property," then, it seems to me, it is clearly the duty of the Federal Government to afford such protection. All considerations which may move a nation, every consideration of duty in the preservation of our treaty obligations, every consideration prompted by fifty years or more of close friendship with the Empire of Japan, would unite in demanding, it seems to me, of the United States Government and all its people, the -108 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. fullest protection and the highest consideration for the subjects of _Japan. Respectfully submitted, V. H. METCALF. Name of pupil. Joe Tsukamoto Minie Tsukamoto George Tsukamoto Hideo Okamoto Mitani -K. Furukawa C. Yamakawa Y. Niita B. Takenaka H. Sekawa T. Takahashi U. Takashi F. Fusaye 0. Okawara M. Okawara H. Amemiya T. Ishimaga I. Matsuda J. Kimishima M. Hayashi • H. Hayashi N. Izaki K. lzeri F. Sadakuru H. Ota C. Ogawa K. Hayashi J. Nakagaki M. Makai F. Kowamura N. Togasaki H. Shimozumi K. Togasaki K. Fujii K. Togaskai G. Fugimeaga K. Tsukamoto C. Tanaka W. Washizu U. Yoshioka T. Tanaka K. Orisaka Y. M anaga T. Tanaka 1. Arimura U. Sato 1. Enomoto S. I noeye S. Sigeuchi I Tayama 1 Yasuhara Kitaharit M. A rimura N. Gozawa EXHIBIT Name of school. Agassiz primary A. Age. Grade. Birthplace. Sex. States Boy States Girl Boy Boy 9 Boy 17 Boy 17 Boy 20 Boy 15 Boy 15 Girl ii Girl 13 Girl 16 Girl 7 Girl 16 Boy 19 Boy 18 Bay 15 Boy 7 Boy 16 Boy 16 Boy 17 Boy 16 Girl 15 Boy 17 Boy 17 Boy 16 Boy 17 Boy 14 Girl 17 Girl 8 Girl 17 Boy 15 Boy 15 Boy 14 Boy 12 Boy 19 Boy 15 Girl 18 Boy 17 Boy 16 Boy 16 Boy 15 Boy i8 Boy 12 Girl 12 Boy 17 Boy 11 11 Columbia grammar Clement grammar 11 31 Crocker grammar 11 Denman grammar 11 11 Pf Dudley Stone prmy JJ Emerson primary 11 Fremont grammar 11 f/ Grant primary Hamilton grammar 11 11 11 11 Hearst, grammar 11 11 11 Henry Durant prmy Horace Mann grmr James Lick grmr 11 John Swett grmr 11 Laguna Honda prmy Noe Valley primary Pacific Heights gmr 11 11 PP 92 82 13 4 12 4 2 8 8 6 6 8 5 5 6 3 3 4 4 4 4 2 8 2 2 2 8 6 5 6 7 7 6 5 8 3 6 6 8 3 6 5 4 4 4 7 5 4 8 8 8 8 3 3 6 10 Girl io Boy 12 Boy ii Boy 13 Boy 14 Girl ii Girl United United Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan United United Japan Japan Japan Japan United United Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan United Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan United Japan United Japan United United Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan United Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan States States States States States States States States States States Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 109 Name of pupil. Name of school. Age.Grade. Birthplace. Sex. C. Tonai 1, 17 6 Japan Boy T. Itow 51 i6 6 Japan Boy Y. Ochi 31 r8 6 Japan Boy T. Kimura 1, 18 5 Japan Boy S. Ono 11 18 8 Japan Boy K. Kojimoto 71 20 8 Japan Boy W. Watanabe " 18 8 Japan Boy H. Tanaka 17 8 Japan Boy R. Homma 15 7 Japan Boy T. Tanaka Redding primary 12 5 Japan Girl T. Takada 11 13 5 Japan Boy M. Tagaki Pi 7 3 Japan Girl F. China " 8 3 Japan Girl K. Muneyo 2) 8 3 Japan Boy B. Nakada 11 7 3 United States Boy J. Nakada 11 9 4 United States Boy T. Yamabata 71 13 4 Japan Boy H. Nakana 11 10 2 Japan Girl S. Otani 11 10 2 United States Girl H. Suzuki 71 12 2 United States Girl S. Takahashi 11 8 2 United States Girl H. Otani 11 8 2 United States Girl K. Takada 11 12 5 Japan Boy I. Nikuni 33 8 1 Japan Girl W. Suzuki 71 II 1 Japan Girl M. Yoshimura 53 6 I United States Girl K. Matsuda 71 8 I United States Girl S. Yoshimura 11 6 I United States Girl M. Aoki !) 13 4 Japan Boy K. Aoki 11 10 4 Japan Girl T. Takada 31 10 4 Japan Boy T. Yadabe ,, II 4 Japan Boy J. Yano Spring Valley grmr 19 6 Japan Boy F. Ogawa 1, 14 8 Japan Boy I. Agi Sturo grammar 17 8 Japan Boy E. 'i achimi Winfield Scott prmy 13 4 United States Boy S. '1 achimi ,, Io 3 United States Bay S. Tachimi 11 7 I United States Boy T. Tatabe Marshall primary 8 2 United States Boy Resume of Japanese Children Attending The Public Schools of San Francisco. Number of pupils 23 Number of schools attended. . 23 Number of pupils at— Number of pupils at- 6 years old 2 First grade 7 7 years old 5 Second grade To 8 years old 9 Third grade 12 9 years old 3 Fourth grade 16 TO years old 7 Fifth grade 11 1 1 years old 5 Sixth grade 13 12 years old 8 Seventh grade 7 13 years old 7 Eighth grade 17 14 years old 4 Number of pupils born in- 15 years old io Japan 68 16 years old 9 United States 25 17 years old 12 Number of— .18 years old 6 Girls 28 T9 years old 4 Boys 65, 20 years old 2 110 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. EXHIBIT C. (Translation from The Japanese American of October 31, 1906.) Honorable Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor is to arrive here early this morning, and we choose this occasion as the best opportunity to express our hearty welcome and satisfaction. It is indeed to be regretted that the historic relation of the two nations, sealed and stamped with such untarnished friendship and brotherhood, amounting, as we may safely assume, to virtual alliance, is now imperiled by the short-sighted actions of the political demagogues whose eyes can never see anything but the attainment of the selfish ambition through the whims of ignorant laborers. ° Among countless measures of injustice and prejudice, the question of separate schools is of supreme importance. The injurious effects of this discrimination are very wide and far-reaching. Firstly, the measure is a virtual exclusion of Japanese from the only wholesome means of assimilating themselves to American life. Japanese in this country want to adopt American life in its best and most real spirit, and no better means can be had to this end then the association of children in schools. The exclusion of Japanese children from the public schools, and their banishment from the society of American children, is decidedly against the welfare of this country, just as much as it is against the interest of the Japanese colony itself. Secondly, the separation of the schools is in fact a measure to prohibit the education of Japanese children. To walk over miles of desolation through the burned district every day, among every possible form of danger, is indeed an impossible task even for the strongest adult. But suppose they do it, what benefit can they attain by attending a school such as now actually provided by the Board of Education?' We do not enter into a detailed description, as the facts talk louder than the voice. Thirdly, the measure constitutes a gross violation of the treaty rights. It is discrimination and injustice ,indignity and disgrace in every sense and spirit. The movement is, however, local. It is an intrigue of the corrupt politicians, who have stirred up the innocent ignorant masses to sentimental agitation for the simple purpose of using them as political tools. We know well that such is not the general sentiment of the American people. We still trust the United States as our most confidential ally. And this, our belief, has been simply proved by the steps and measures taken by the President, to whom our respect and reverence can never be sufficiently expressed. The Secretary, in his personality, is the type of the true Californian and of the true American. His knowledge of the real conditions of the State can never be disputed. Now he comes here with the heavy .task of investigating the real grounds of the present controversy. We trust him to find a successful solution of the impending difficulties. The Japanese colony here, under the prejudice of the public authorities, is utterly powerless to redress its own grievances. We rely on the sense of justice and reasons inspired by the highest sense of humanity. Our hope of salvation and for the destiny of the entire Japanese colony here in California hinges upon the way in which this controversy is settled. (From the Soko Shimbun.) LET THE WORLD KNOW In order to have a fair judgment concerning the segregation of the Japanese children from the public schools in San Francisco, it is Discrimination Against Japanese in California. iii better to let all the nations know the situation of the Japanese on the Pacific Coast. We know there are people who believe that we are not entitled to enjoy equal rights on accounts of being Japanese. But we feel assured that the majority of people whose minds are contaminated with trickery and falsehood would decline to listen to such selfish confidence in a superior which results to their own advantage. We protest against the line of argument used and denunciations made by labor orators, who endeavor to draw a clear-cut distinction imply- that the Japanese physically and mentally are inferior to white people. The people of Japan, living under their gentle government, can not allow the people of San Francisco to discriminiate against innocent school children on the pretext of racial difference. It is the foundation of our civilization and of our ideals to enjoy the best liberty of equal rights. We can not keep the mass of the people of Japan in dense ignrance of the prevailing situation, nor oppress the little innocent creatures with such unbearable burdens. The telegrams from our foreign office are significant, in that the nation, as a whole, is deeply interested in the matter of the treatment received at the hands of the educational authorities in San Francisco. Although the hearts and wishes of our people rest with the people of America in the hope of fair adjustment of the present complication, yet the people of Japan are at the climax of indignation. We believe it is not time for us to take any revenging measures, but we must defend ourselves against the insolence of excluding our children from the public schools in San Francisco. The question may be well settled by referring the matter of pertinent opinions of the leading publicists of the world. (From the Japanese American, Oct. 25, igc6.) Our National Dignity Besmeared. To be candid in the matter, we confidently expected that in reply to the protest of our Imperial Majesty's consul in re seperate school, the San Francisco Board of Education would render a solution that is, in the main, satisfactory to us. Granting that the members of the board have neither the intellectual nor moral capacity to grasp the straight-formed wherefores of the Consul's protest, we, nevertheless, though it was not unreasonable in us to hope that in view of the overwhelming public opinion in Japan, in view of the inalienable friendship and comity existing between the two nations, in view of the undisputed status of our empire in the family of the greaf powers —of all of which the board is supposed to have some knowledge—the board would favor us at least with a formality of reconsideration. And what manner of answer did we receive? Not only did they fail to give us a shadow of satisfaction, but, relying upon the ambiguous provision of the political code, they most insolently ignored the legitimate protestations of our imperial consul. And from the broadsides of the local yellow journalism it would seem that our national prestige is daily dwindling away. The calamity of the poor little creatures may be borne; the disgrace of Japanese residents in America may be endured; but—but let none on earth or in heaven trifle with the honor of our beloved Empire; let none with impunity treat slightingly our national dignity —the indispensable foundation of our national existence. The school question of San Francisco may seem to some a matter of insignificance; but, viewed in the light of a nation's dignity, it is 112 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. a question of most far-reaching consequences. Upon it depends our country's status in the estimation of the world; upon it depends the very existence of our Empire. Patriotism demands the maintenance of our dignity pure and unassailed. And every loyal Japanese must aver himself presently with the weapon of righteousness in order to repel the assaults of the defamers. The question is no longer confined to a handful of school children; it has assumed into national proportions. We doubt not for a moment that every resident Japanese, backed by the sympathetic outburst at home, will participate in the struggle with that vigor and tenacity which have won for us the heights of Nanshan and the impregnable redoubts of 208-Meter Hill. (From the New World, Oct. 25, igo6.) Resolution of Mass Meeting. What manner of meeting is this, that is held in the midst of mountainous ashes, fanned by the vernal breezes that threaten to• devour the wasted lands of the Golden Gate? It is the ebullition of 70,000 dauntless heroes that hail from the blessed land of Yamato burning with the fire of indignation and clamoring for instant retaliation. What, then, is the cause of all this turmoil that sways the ranks of the Japanese? The story is long, but the time is short. Their property has been plundered; their lives and limbs imperiled; their national flao-' daubed with mire! By inmates of insane asylums that had escaped the notice of the guards? No! No! By organized mobs. and officials of an organized community! Personal indignities may be overlooked; property right .may be invaded with impunity; but when national dignity is called to question,. the sword of Masamune is unsheathed for action! Dulce est pro patria mort! (From the Soko Shimbun, October 25, igo6.) Retaliation. The separate school and restaurant questions are certainly examples of flagrant violation of the treaty of 1894. The State authorities having taken no adequate measures to suppress such wrongdoing, they must certainly bear the responsibility, and may, so far as we are concerned, be deemed as wrongdoers themselves. What are we to do undr the circumstances? One of the home newspapers is reported to advocate immediate retaliation against America and American goods. Would such proce dure be a wise one? It is true that our military and naval forces are able to cope with any adversary on the Pacific today. But we must ever keep in mind that our martial prowess is not an instrument for destroying international friendships of long standing. Fifty-four years ago, when our country entered the family of nations, America acted as our godfather, and for the last half century the growing intimacy was never for a moment questioned. Let us not, then, act rashly in any attempt to sever the ties of this deep-rooted amity. Let us confide in the justice of the American Discrimination Against Japanese in California. "3 Government. When such amicable settlement is unattainable, then, and then only, should we talk of retaliation. (From the Soko Shimbun, Oct. 23, igo6.) Manifesto of Mass Meeting. Any important question which concerns our welfare should be settled by public opinion. The opinion of an individual or small minority should have no weight in settling serious affairs. The school question and the boycott of Japanese restaurants in San Francisco would seem to a casual observer to be of a trivial nature, affecting only a small portion of our people in San Francisco-, but one will soon realize that the questions at issue are great problems of national importance, when he considers its causes, the motives, and the effects upon our future development at home and abroad. Any unnecessary delay would inevitably tend to aggravate the situation. It is needless to repeat here how long we have been suffering under such unjust treatment and unfair discrimination at the hands of public officials as well as of private individuals in San Francisco. Our occupations are hampered, our residences are assailed, our lives and property unprotected, the dignity of our Empire impaired, international comity toward our Empire ignored. Can we, under such conditions, claim that we are the subjects of Japan, with which the United States is on the most cordial terms? We have suffered much hitherto without murmuring, but incessant persecutions, after the terrible experiences of the earthquake, have placed us in the last extremities of endurance. If ever there was a time when patience ceased to be a virtue, this certainly is that time. Under such circumstances we should not depend on our Consul or on the Japanese Association of America alone, but we, Japanese residents of California, should stand together and take concerted action against the most unjustifiable treatment at the hands of the unscrupulous elements in California. As a first step, let us have a general mass meeting of our colony, in order to shape public opinion among us. Then let us proceed to inform our Government, as well as the people at home, of the exact situation. At the same time let us appeal to the sober-minded citizens of the United States, and, first of all, to the Chief Executive of the United States, the undaunted friend of the oppressed and suffering. The proposed mass meeting should be as representative in character as possible, and every corner of California should be equal to the occasion. Let every delegate pour out his hart's contents without shirk or reservation. (From the Japanese American, Oct. 31, igo6.) • GREETINGS TO SECRETARY METCALF. The Honorable Secretary Metcalf, of the Department of Commerce and Labor, will arrive here tomorrow. We greet him with great honor. We consider his coming to San Francisco as a favor extended to us by the Government of the United States. We hope that the opportunity will soon be afforded to us to express our great gratitude for the Secretary's personal effort for the impartial investi- 114 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. gation of the present deplorable conditions in this city and the attitude of the latter toward our people, especially toward our children, who have recently been expelled from the public schools. Finally, we desire to express our solicitude for his health during his long journey. The friendly relations which existed between the United States and Japan ever since Commodore Perry's first visit to our native country are so brotherly and sincere that they are generally accepted by the whole world as an unwritten alliance between the two nations. We are always proud of this fact, but to our great regret the local authorities of the city of San Francisco, in order to court favor with the Union Labor party, has taken hasty action against a people of a friendly nation. We believe that there are many reasons which support the objection of having separate schools for our children. Among them the following are the most important which will attract serious consideration: First. The separate school will greatly deter the Americanization of our children. Americans, as a nation, are a people composed of all the nationalities of the world, and the Japanese, too, since they have come to live on the American soil, will be and should be Americanized under the influence of American civilization. Furthermore, the Japanese children who are involved in the present question are mostly American natives, and therefore are destined to be first-class citizens of the United States at maturity. Should the authorities refuse to educate these children under the principle of Americanization, it will surely bring deplorable results to the very foundation of the nation. Second. The action taken by the Board of Education is a hostile one against Japanese, and hence the separate school is, in fact, by no means as adequately provided as other schools. Even if this were true, it would be impossible for every Japanese child in the city to go to one special school from every direction and from great distances. In other words, it seems a complete refusal of education to the Japanese children. Third. The action taken by the Board of Education is the refusal to recognize a right already conceded under the existing treaty between the United States and Japan. Under this treaty we, the Japanese in the United States, are entitled to receive similar treatment with the subjects of Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, yet the city authorities have taken an action to discriminate against children, and at the same time receiving the children of the subjects of other treaty nations. It is morally a disgrace to our nation. We must stand for the right and dignity of our country. We are of the opinion, however, that the public sentiment of the United States is not in sympathy with the action taken by the San Francisco Board of Education. The historical friendship existing between the United States and Japan is not so easily to be forgotten. No one on earth has greater confidence in the sincerity and uprightness of the President of the United States than the Japanese. Secretary Metcalf is the man who knows the people of this Coast better than any other man. llere rests our confidence in his coming to this Coast to investigate all conditions and affairs. We have withdrawn a law suit against the Board of Education from the Circuit Court, in order to express our confidence in the coming of the Secretary and his Government's action. We greet the honorable Secretary with great hope and the con Iidence of a child in his parent. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 115 (From the Japanese Daily New World, Oct. 31, igo6.) Investigation by Secretary Metcalf. Secretary Metcalf, of the Department of Commerce and Labor, has already left Washington for San Francisco. The main purpose of his present trip is said to be an investigation into the true condition of affairs in regard to the segregation of Japanese school children. The Japanese on the Pacific Coast have on innumerable occasions been subjected to most intolerable indignities and persecutions, but never before did the incidents receive any dirct invstigation at the hands of the Federal Government. President Roosevelt is a man of good wisdom and unquestionable rectitude. In the bright pages that adorn the history of the nation he has ever worked for the interests of the republic and the cause of humanity—ever in the path of righteousness. Never in his brilliant career has he been moved by personal bias or racial prejudice, and it is not difficult to surmise that the present mission of Secretary Metcalf was prompted by the same love of justice that has won for him the admiration of the world. And the Chief Executive did not err in his choice of his personal representative, for the holder of the portfolio of Commerce and Labor is said to be one of the ablest anti greatest men that California ever produced. With a thorough investigation by such a fearless man as Secretary Metcalf, the unpardonable misrepresentations concerning the Japanese will undoubtedly receive full ventilation, and it is our paramount duty to furnish him with true accounts of the existing conditions. (From the Japanese American, Oct. 27, igo6.) Attitude of Our People. The segregation of the Japanese school children from the public schools in San Francisco is a menace to the prestige of our Empire and a great insult to Japanese. Even if we should admit that the segregation does not affect the dignity of the nation, yet there are other grave reasons to which we must give serious attention, because it concerns the intellectual and moral development of future generations, to whose enlightenment all humanity, without distinction of race or color, must contribute its best. Education is the foundation of national existence. The educational system of a nation is an index of the degree of the civilization of that nation. We can easily gauge the progress of a people by the ratio of its school attendance. Considered from every point of view, we must try our best to secure a favorable consummation. (From the Japanese American, Oct. 27, igo6. Comment on Mass Meeting. A mass meeting of the Japanese residents of San Francisco, held in the Jefferson Square Hall on the evening before last, was an unprecedented success as a meeting of its kind. Not only did it attain its aim, but every member present gave serious consideration to the matter, prserving calmness and sobriety, notwithstanding the suffo-zating heat, due to the too closely crowded hall. 116 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. The general feature of the meeting justifies us in commending it most highly as worthy of the subjects of the Empire of the "Rising Sun." We are quite satisfied with the attitude of our colony as regards this matter, and we believe there will be an immediate solution satisfactory to us. We earnestly hope that every one of our number will exert his best ability and all stand together in the spirit of the meeting for the consummation of our purpose. (From the Japanese American, October 26, igo6.) The grand mass meeting which was held last night by the local Japanese calany aroused such intense concern throughout the State that numerous telegrams conveying the sentiments of Japanese residents have been received at headquarters. The following are a few of them: i."Congratulate you on today's mass meeting. Hope it will be a fight to the end. M. Tan, Santa Rosa." 2. "For the protection of our general interests, fight to the bitter end agairist the unwarranted discrimination of the San Francisco officials. Will give all possible support. Japanese Association, Los Angeles." 3. "For the cause of Yamoto people, fight to the utmost. D. Nishikata, Los Angeles." 4. "Compliments to the mass meeting of the Japanese colony. Earnestly pray for its merited success. F. Yamasaki, secretary Branch Japanese Association." 5. "Fight to the bitterest end for the sake of our compatriots. G. Yuasa, Los Angeles Branch Japanese Association." 6. "From the depth of our hearts we approve the general meeting of the Japanese colony, and hope for its triumph. Japanese Asso-cition, Watsonville." 7. "We pray for the success of the mass meeting. Japanese Association, San Jose." Letter from Los Angeles Branch of New World.. "Representing the readers of The New World in Southern California, let me approve the noble purposes of the general mass meeting, in regard to separate schools and the persecution of Japanese residents. At the same time allow me to tender a vote of thanks for the untiring efforts of the members of the committee. Last Night's Mass Meeting. "In order to institute a systematic fight against Japanese exclusion, a grand mass meeting of the Japanese colony was held last evening at the Jefferson Square Hall. As the question at issue was a most pressing one, added to the fact that upon its proper solution depended our national honor and prestige, the air was filled with the irresistible odor of indignation. So great, indeed, was the resentment of the people, that long before the appointed hour there was not standing room in the spacious hall. Excluding the late arrivals who jammed the corridors, the force was over 1200 strong. "Mr. K. Abiko, the president of the Japanese Association, presided at the meeting. After a brief opening address, he introduced Mr. G. Ikeda, the secretary of the Association, who read.the following: Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 117 " 'The resolution of the San Francisco Board of Education segregating the school children of Japanese parentage is emphatically an act which besmears the dignity, and honor of the Japanese Empire. It is a most cruel sword tht cuts off the parts of the moral and intellectual development of these tender, innocent creatures. `Can we, remaining lukewarm, suffer the national honor to be trampled upon—the honor that has cost us the noblest blood of half a million brothers? Can we without a murmur assent to an act which virtually demolishes the fountain-head of our future prosperity? This is no time for idle speech. The hour of action has come. " 'Fully cognizant of the situation, it is the purpose of this Association, supported by every manly member of the community, and aided by the diplomatic negotiations of the Imperial Government, to devise an adequate mode of procedure in order to raze to the ground the false breastwork of the enemy, thus forever securing to ou rchildren the blessings of education. " 'Let every man in whose veins runs a single microbe of patriotism, whose love for his compatriots, whose affection for the tender children has not deserted him, let him by every means at his command contribute his share to a speedy and fair solution of this most stupendous question.' " October 25, 1906. Japanese Association of America. The above declaration was received with thunderous applause.. Then followed powerful speeches by U. Suzuki, M. Tsukamoto, D. Aoki, S. Imura, Rev. K. Ki, Rev. N. Okubo, J. Kato, B. Yamagata,. K. Kiyose, F. Tanigachi, Dr. K. Kurosawa, A. Matsugaki, K. Tukawa, Rev. Z. Hirota, and others. When the speeches were concluded Mr. Kiba, secretary of the Association, read the opinion of Mr. T. Hozumi. Finally, Mr. Toga-zaki introduced the following resolution: Resolution of Mass Meeting of Japanese Colony. "Resolved, That we most emphatically oppose the establishment of separate schools for Japanese children. (2) We delegate and charge and charge the Japanese Association of America with the task of opposing any such attemtpts and to give all possible assistance for the speedy realization of our purpose. (3) We appropriate funds for all necessary expenditures incident to the proper solution of this question." The resolution was adopted in the midst of deafening applause, and after three cheers for the Japanese residents, and also for the Empire, the meeting closed at 10:13 p. m. Legal Protests and Diplomatic Conference. It is not true Americans, but the immigrants from Italy and other small countries of Europe who are desirous of excluding Japanese from California and other States on the Pacific Coast. The anti-foreign feeling in America originated some hundred years ago, when the English colonists endeavored to push the French and German invaders out of the land, and the French tried to kick out the Irish immigrants coming after them. Irish and Italians, thus pushed toward the western part of the United States, have organized a formidable body, with the aid of the Spanish and Portuguese, and followed the example of their predecessors in excluding Oriental races. They succeeded in checking the entrance of the Chinese by means of legislation. As for the Japanese, they thought it too difficult to treat them like Chinese, the former 118 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. having become an important element of the international community, bound by treaty with the United States on equal terms. Hence the idea was given up to exclude Japanese by means of legislation, and measures were taken to humiliate and persecute them at the hands of the authorities. The Board of Education, at the request of these people, too advantage of the letter of the law of the State of California and excluded the Japanese children from schools where white children are in attendance, upon the assumption that Japanese are of the Mongolian race. The conduct of the authorities is on one hand a malicious abuse of the friendly nation in the Orient, and on the other hand it is a manifest violation of the treaty made under the highest authority of the United States, to which the authorities of the State of California and San Francisco are subject. As for this malicious and violent conduct of the authorities, we must induce our own authorities to take every means to secure from the former a proper remedy for what has been done. (From the Japanese Daily New World, Oct. 22, igo6.) The Japanese Mass Meeting. The mass meeting of Japanese residents was nothing but a congealed expression of wrath against the ultrachauvinism of the authorities of San Francisco. Since the earthquake and fire the Japanese and Corean Exclusion League has been taking every opportunity of persecuting our people. For the past few months the league did its utmost to stir up the ignorant classes and young boys against the Japanese. When night comes these boys have been accustomed to make their appearance in great numbers and in many places in the Japanese quarter or adjacent to it, and attack Japanese stores or known down the Japanese on the streets who were passing by. They were so bold as to break into Japanese stores, even in daylight, and rob merchandise stored these. But the city authorities never gave ear to complaints of Japanese, who were therefore forced to subject their fate to the will of God. This anti-foreign feeling of the people of California has led the authorities at last to take measures for humiliating a nation friendly to America. Japan is a country with which the United States of America made a treaty. embodying the terms of the most favored nation clause. But this stipulation of the treaty has been utterly violated by the hostile and unlawful conduct of the Board cf Education. Further, the majority of the people of California seem to consider this conduct justifiable. The Call and The Chronicle, the influential papers of this city, are endeavoring to stir up the people by their vicious statements. What measure shall we take on this occasion, when everything is very unfavorable to Japan and Japanese? The mass meeting is the best way to decide what measure we Japanese residents shall take against the very barbarous conduct of the authorities. We are very glad to hear that the influential Japanese here are now under w ay to arrange the meeting for us.—From the Japanese Daily New World (From the Japanese Daily New World, October 20, igo6.) We are sorry to know that the Japanese children are suddenly excluded from the public schools because of race prejudice and forget- Discrimination Against Japanese in Califarnia.. rig fulness of true Americanism. It is far better to let race problems be decided by eminent ethnologists rather than by municipal authority and politicians. If the Board of Education be controlled by the agitation of ignorant laborers rather than by true Americanism,. then when the Japanese Exclusion League asgs them to exclude Japanese children permanently from the public schools, they will do it. From the Japanese American, Oct. 13, igo6.) THE IMPORTANT TREND OF AFFAIRS. All the political parties in California have resolved that the Japanese should be excluded, and that the candidates for the coming election show strenuous efforts in favor of exclusion of Japanese. It would seem that popular opinion among the people of California was in favor of exclusion of Japanese. But it is not so in its true sense. On August 8, Representative Hayes consulted the members of the Fruitgrowers' Association, inducing them to hire white laborers for picking fruit, instead of the Japanese. He said white laborers would gladly accept the positions of the Japanese. But the members discredited the suggestion, stating that the exclusion of the Japanese meant the failure of the fruit industry. It was further said that there are great difficulties in employinc, white laborers, for they are all under the influence of unionism, which is detrimental to the development of the agricultural and fruit industry. The fact is, the term "Japanese exclusion" has become a tool in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. (The San Francisco Call, November 13, igo6.) The Japanese Diplomatic Game. The tone of the person in authority lecturing an unruly child as to what is good for it, characterizes the pronouncements of the Eastern press in relation to the treatment of the Japanese by San Francisco. Some of them, like The New York Evening Post, get real mad over the matter. The Post, in the extremity of its indignation, says that it is all due to the fact that General de Young wants to run for United States Senator. To the local mind, the connection is not clear, but perhaps in New York they have superior means of information concerning the aspirations of California statesmen, especially as to the way in which these aspirations shake whole continents to their center and threaten to involve all America in floods of gore. We are not greatly alarmed at the outlook, notwithstanding the inky disturbance of the Eastern mind. There is about as much chance of war with Japan as there is of General de Young's going to the Senate. The pending protest is nothing more than a pawn in the diplomatic game. It is something like the time-honored dispute over fisheries on the Atlantic Coast. In the solemn game of diplomacy it is the ancient policy to cultivate and even cherish open sores. The contending dialectians trade one wrangle against another. The New-"foundland fisheries quarrel, for instance, is equal to one Alaska boundaries dispute. Such is the arithmetic of diplomacy. Great Britain and the United States have arrived at the conclusion that this kind of diplomacy is rather silly, and they are closing the old disputes wherever possible. But Japan wants an offset to our claim that American trade is 120 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. not being fairly treated in Manchuria. Further, the Japanese do not want extreme measures taken against their seal poachers in the Aleutian Archipelago. In default of a better argument they have picked up this absurd and technical plea that Japanese "children" meet with discrimination in the public schools of San Francisco. There is no discrimination. The segregation of Japanese students in one school is a police regulation, due to the fact that they are not children in the true sense. As a rule, they range in years from 15 to 25. It is not fit that they should be permitted to associate with children of average school age, and it will not be permitted.—San Francisco Chronicle, November II, 1906. The San Francisco Chronicle, November xi, igo6.) ASIATIC CIVILIZATION DOMINATES HAWAII. Out of 154,001 inhabitants found in the Hawaiian Islands in 1900, but 28,819 were Caucasians. There were 86,728 Asiatics, of whom 61,111 were Japanese. The remainder were of the perishing island races. Of the male population over 18 years of age, 63,444 were Asiatics, out of a total of 85,186, and of these 43,753 were Japanese. From 1900 to 1905 the arrivals af aliens in the islands were 48,086 Asiatics and 1726 of all other nationalities. Of the Asiatics, 38,029 were Japanese. The departures of Asiatics, however, during that period exceeded the arrivals by 4248. Of the 42,313 Japanese who left Hawaii between June 3o, 1900, and December 31, 1905, an unknown number—larger than 20,641—came to the Pacific Coast. This was in opposition to the efforts of the Japanese Consul, acting under orders from the Japanese Government. The Japanese are getting to be regardless even of their own Governmnt, and with incraesing vigor express their determination to go where they please. As matters now stand, the Chinese population is increasing, the Coreans.are increasing, and the Japanese probably about hold their own, their tendency being to make Hawaii a halfway house to his Coast, rigorous and systematic recruiting being evidently in progress. The total result of the Oriental movement has been to produce a great dearth of labor on the sugar plantations, with a corresponding decrease of profit in their operation. Not only are higher wages paid than formerly, and better living and quarters furnished, but there are at times serious losses from lack of ability to get labor at any price. This shortage of agricultural labor is not so much due to the departure of Orientals as to their engagement in occupations other than those for which they were imported. Of those engaged in domestic service, laundries, restaurants, barber shops and similar occupations, 50.97 per cent were Asiatic; of those engaged in trade and transportation, 48.68 per cent were Asiatics, and of those in mechanical pursuits, 49.17 per cent. Of the total engaged in gainful occupations, 75.63 per cent were Asiaics, the Japanese greatly preponderating. According to a report of the United States Commissioner of Labor, published in the September bulletin of the bureau, the Orientals, especially the Japanese, are now almost in complete control of the clothing trades, boots and shoes, food products, and of the production of coffee and rice. They are rapidly getting control of all the building trades and tin work. White mechanics are leaving the islands. In twenty-six occupations for which the territory requires licenses there were 2529 Chinese and Japanese license holders to 1629 of all other nationalities. As long ago as 1899 there were 753 Asiatic holders of merchants licenses to 36o of all other nationalities. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 121 There is now no merchandising license required, so that exact figures cannot be given, but the report states that the Asiatics are rapidly acquiring a monopoly of the smaller retail trade. They have not yet done much in the finer retail trade requiring large, capital, or in the wholesale trade, but that is coming. Japanese Have Capital. The Japanese have capital, arid Japanese capitalists realize that there is a jobbing trade all ready for them to take over. That the commerce of Hawaii will soon be as completely in the hands of the Chinese and Japanese as that of the Straits Settlements now is inevitable. The agricultural industries, except sugar, are now substan- tially itt the hands of the Orientals, either as tenants or owners. They .are already beginning in the sugar industry, not as yet as owners or lessees, but as contractors for the production of cane. As the Japanese, whenever they are ready, can command both the capital and technical skill, it seems inevitable that the entire sugar industry will in time pass into their hands—at first as contractors, next as lessees, and finally, very likely, as owners. It seems inevitable, because a race which will work long hours and have a low standard of life can, and therefore will, economically exterminate any race which has a high standard of life and insists on working short hours. The mass ,of the Hawaiian population is non-Caucasian. Of the non-Caucasians the Japanese is the dominant race. No human power can long prevent the assimilation of the civilization of the country to that of the mass -of its inhabitants. What we are fighting for on this Coast is that• California and Oregon and Washington shall not become what the territory of Hawaii now is. If the Japanese are permitted to come here freely, nothing can prevent that except revolution and massacre, which would be certain. No words can describe the intensity of the hatred with which the white mechanics and small merchants of Hawaii regard the Japanese, who have taken their work from them by doing it for prices for which they cannot do it except by accepting the Japanese standard of life. Our workingmen hate the Japanese because they fear they will supplant them. The Hawaiian workingmen hate them because they have already been supplanted. Being but a small minority of the population, the whites of Hawaii cannot help them. selves. The white men of the Pacific Coast are determined that the Orientals shall never be enabled to do her that which they have already accomplished in Hawaii. It will be prevented by whatever -measures are found necessary. Keep Races Apart. What we are now endeavoring to do is to prevent it by such wise action on the part of our own and the Japanese Government as shall keep the races apart. Just now our race feeling has shown itself in the provision that the children of the races shall be kept separate in the schools. It is said that the Japanese will contest it in the ,courts, and if defeated there will make it an "international question." We trust they will not do so. It would be found that there is no power on earth which could compel the people of this State to tax themselves against their will to educate aliens whom we do not want here at all. To attempt to enforce the co-education- of the races in the face of the determined opposition of those who pay the will would be inhuman, for it would result in scenes which we trust we may never witness. The example of I lawaii should he sufficient to assure the .early passage of an exclusion act. 122 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. (San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, Tgo6.) OBJECTIONS TO THE JAPANESE. The most profninent objection to the presence of the Japanese in our public schools is the habit of sending young men to the primary grades, where they sit side by side with very young children, because in those grades only are the beginnings of English taught. That creates situations which often become painfully embarrassing. They are, in fact, unendurable. There is also the objection to taking the time of the teachers to teach the English language to pupils, old or young, who do not understand it. It is a reasonable requirement that all pupils entering the schools shall be familiar with the language in which instruction is conducted. We deny either the legal or moral obligation to teach any foreigner to read or speak the English language. And if we choose to do that for one nationality, as a matter of grace, and not to do the same for another nationality, that is our privilege. We do not know that the Japanese children are personally objectionable in grades composed of pupils of their own age. We do not know whether they are or not. There is, however, a deep and settled conviction among our people that the only hope of maintaining peace between Japan and the United States is to keep the two races apart. Whatever the status of the Japanese children while still young and uncontaminated, as they grow cider they acquire the distinctive character habits, and moral standards of their race, which are abhorrent to our people. We object to them in the familiar intercourse of common school life as we would object to any other moral poison. Deny Obligation. While we deny any moral or legal obligation to give, at public expense, any education whatever to any alien, and consequently if we choose to give it as a matter of grace to one and deny it to another, we have also as a matter of grace provded separate schools for the Japanese. In the Southern States separate schools are provided for white and colored children. To say that we may exclude our own colored citizens from the schools attended by white children, but shall not exclude the children of alient from our schools, is not only absurd but monstrous. We deny that the Federal Government has any control whatever over the schools of this State, or any authority whatever to officially deal with them. The tenth amendment to the Constitution declares that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectfully, or to the people." If the control of public education is not one of the powers by that clause expressly withheld from the Federal jurisdiction, then there is no such power thus withheld, and there is nothing in which the jurisdiction of Congress is not supreme. Secretary Metcalf, now here, is not, as a United States official, entitled to any information whatever in regard to our schools. What is given is given him as a matter of courtesy. Section 2 of Article VI of the Constitution of the United States, says: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall he the supreme law of the land." Obviously no treaty can be made by the United States except under its "authority." Any treaty made in excess of that authority is void in that particular. If the United States has no "authority" over the schools of California, it can not be clothed with Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 123 such authority by any contract of its own with a foreign nation. To suppose otherwise would be to suppose that the President and the Senate alone could, under guise of a treaty with a foreign power, usurp every power now held by any State government, and even abolish those governments. If the power of the President and Senate to enact by treaty that which Congress and the President can not enact by law exists, it has no limit. It does not exist. Therefore, whatever engagements the Federal Government may have made with Japan with respect or our schools—if it has made any—are utterly void. (San Francisco Argonaut, November io, 1906.) The Japanese in our Schools. After the fire of April 18 the San Francisco School Department temporarily housed Japanese and other Asiatic children in the schoolhouses with the white children. As soon as it was possible, however, the school board provided a separate building for these Asiatic children in compliance with the school law of California. This led to a formal remonstrance from Tokoyo through the Japanese Ambassador at Washington. It was followed by a protest from the Japanese Consul at San Francisco, and the instituf on of proceedings in the Federal Court to compel the San Francisco School Board to admit a Japanese pupil to be seated side by side with the white pupils in the San Francisco schools. These formal court proceedings were presumably with the approval of the Japanese Consul, as a Japanese attorney assisted his white brother at the bar. President Roosevelt at once directed a dispatch to be sent by Secretary Root to the Japanese Imperial Government, apologizing for the action of the San Francisco school authorities, and explaining that the local extingencies due to the recent calamity, and the present labor disturbances had probably led to this action. The implication in this dispatch was that the Federal Government would at once take steps to remove the causes complained of by the Japanese Government, and the corollary was that the Federal Government would thus right a wrong. Pending action by the Federal Government toward removing the wrongs alleged to be due to the action of the school officials of California, the Japanese Government has refrained from further action. In accordance with same course, and probably at the direction of the Japanese Imperial Government, the suit brought in the Federal Court under the direction of the Japanese Consul against the San Francisco School Board has been dismissed. Sent Post Haste. In the meantime Secretary Metcalf, head of the Department of Commerce and Labor, has been sent post haste to San Francisco by President Roosevelt to investigate the matter. Secretary Metcalf has held conferences with the Japanese Consul, the United States District Attorney, Federal Judges Henshaw, Gilbert, and Ross, and the San Francisco school hoard. He has expressed no opinion, and has given out nothing for publication. As the Secretary is a discreet man, and particularly on these vexatious Asiatic topics, we are convinced that he will keep his own counsel until he reports to the President. The only significant utterance made by the Secretary was when he asked President Altmann how California defined the word "Mongolian" in that clause of her statute which it provides that separate schools shall be provided for "Indian children" and for "children of 124 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. Mongolian or Chinese descent." From this it is evident that the administration will probably hold that the Japanese are not Mongolians. It seems to us that President Roosevelt need not look out of the windows to note that we need no more race troubles. If he goes along Pennsylvania avenue from the White House to the Capitol he will see more negroes in a mile than he can of Japanese in San Francisco in ten. Yet already ominous troubles are beginning here over a few score thousand Japanese. In fifteen years from now, if the administration assumes this welcoming attitude toward the East Coast of Asia, we shall have millions of Asiatics on the West Coast of Americans. Are not the thousands of idle and lazy negroes, whom President Roosevelt may see any day in Washington, an object lesson of the undesirability of further race problems in the United States. Yet the Washington negroes are far superior to the negroes of the black belt. We have had the negroes with us for a couple of centuries, and our troubles with them seem to have but begun. We have had the Japanese with us for less than half a century, and we are having more trouble with them already on the Pacific Coast than with any other race, not excluding the Chinese. . When the Negroes were Given Civil Rights. It was on December 18, 1865, that the Thirteenth Amendment to. the Constitution went into effect, abolishing slavery. It was in July, 1868, that the Fourteenth Amendment went into effect, making the negroes citizens, giving them civil rights, and enumerating certain of those civil rights. This amendment also cut down the representation in Congress of such States as denied to negroes the right to vote. But no Southern State as a result of this penalizing, ever franchised the negro. It was on February 26, 1869, that the Fifteenth Amendment was proposed to Congress. It declared that" the right of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It went into effect March 3o, 187o, ratified by thirty States. It was rejected by California, Oregon, New York and seven other States. It is thirty-six years since the Fifteenth Amendment gave to• negroes the right to vote. Does President Roosevelt think that negroes freely exercise the right to vote in the Southern States? We do not think so. It is thirty-eight years since the Fourteenth Amend—ment gave to negroes civil rights. Does President Roosevelt think negroes are granted equal rights in theaters, hotels, railway trains, or street cars in all the States, Southern or Northern? We do not think so. It may be said that the Federal Courts can coerce the States into giving "equal rights" to the negroes. We do not think so. But if tere may be those who doubt the soundness of our judgment, we may add that the United States Supreme Court in the celebrated "Slaughterhouse cases" decided that the Fourteenth Amendment does not deprive the States of police powers; that court upheld the right of States to regulate domestic affairs; it decided that there is a citizenship of the States as well as of the United States; it decided. that the States could vest certain privileges and immunities upon their citizens. Decision Opposed. This decision was opposed by many extremists, as the war feeling still ran high. Congress thereupon passed a measure known as the "civil rights bill," which was intended to extort from the white citizens of the Southern States the recognition of the negroes "equal. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 125 rights.- This law, when brought up before the Supreme Court, was declared to be unconstitutional. In the light of these facts we do not believe that the Federal Government can coerce the State of California in the matter of its school laws. Since the fire we have not had at hand a copy of the treaty with Japan. It is true treaties are a part of the supreme law of the land, but we do not believe that even the Constitution could empower the Federal Government to force Chinese or Japanese or other Asiatic children into the California public schools. We believe that the conduct of the public schools is purely a domestic matter with which the Federal Government has nothing to do. That Government is a government of delegated rights, and the States never delegated to it the right to control their public schools. But, even if this reasoning is wrong, we assure President Roosevelt, Secretary Root and Secretary Metcalf that it is immaterial to the people of California what construction may be put on treaties and laws so far as they affect the right to enter the public schools of the State. The people of California will never permit children of Asiatic descent to sit at the same desks and occupy the same rooms with their white children. The Government of the United States is powerful, but it is not powerful enough for that. If it should attempt to force into the public schools of California the children of alien, semi-servile and pagan races, it may perhaps do so under the Federal law, for the citizens of this State are law-abiding. But the attempt will only result in the schoolhouses of this State being turned over to the Chinese, Japanese, Ceylonese, Filipino and Lascar proteges of the Federal Government; and the white men and white women of California will educate their children in schools of their own. EXHIBIT D. Letter From Consul. Consulate of Japan, 1274 O'Farrell St., San Francisco, Cal., October 16, 1906. To the Chief of Police, City and County of San Francisco. Dear Sir: Your attention is respectfully directed to the fact that the Cooks and Waiters' Union of this city, assisted and encouraged zy the members of the carpenters', masons', and cabmen's unions, are endeavoring to enforce a boycott against Japanese restaurants. Your attention is particularly called to the following: White Star Restaurant, at the corner of Third and Brannan streets. Grand Restaurant, 403 Third street. Port Arthur Restaurant, on Third street. Anglosia Restaurant, on Third street. Horse Shoe Restaurant, Folsom near Eighth. Since the 2nd of the present month these restaurants, which are conducted by Japanese, have been subjected to almost constant annoyance from the sources mentioned. The boycotters linger about the restaurant S and accost all customers who approach, giving them small match boxes bearing the words, "White men and women, patronize your own race." When this is not effective they frequently stand right in the doors of the restaurants and try to prevent customers from going in. On a number of occasions the windows of the restaurants have been stoned, or groups have gathered about the entrances in a threatening manner for the purpose of frightening customers away. As a result of these offensive methods the business of the Japanese establishments has greatly dropped, and it is feared that they will be unable to stand such intolerable harrassing unless your depart- 126 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. ment will find a means to protect them. I respectfully direct your attention to the matter, and venture the hope that you may find it possible to control the disorderly elements that are causing this trouble, that the persons and property of Japanese business men in this city may be made secure. Trusting that some prompt action may be taken, I beg to Temain, Yours respectfully, K. UYENO, Consul of Japan. Second Letter. Consulate of Japan, 1274 O'Farrell St. San Francisco, Cal., October 18, 1906. To the Chief of Police, City and County of San Francisco, Cal. Dear Sir: Referring to my communication to you of the 16th instant, relative to the action of the Cooks and Waiters' Union in boycotting certain Japanese restaurants in this city, I beg to now report that I was called upon today at 1:30 p. m. by H. Sugiyama, proprietor of the Golden Bay Restaurant, at 256 Third street. Sugiyama stated that between the hours of 12 and i o'clock his place has been besieged by a mob of boycotters, who assaulted people entering and coming from his restaurant. He states that several customers were knocked down, and that the window glass of his place was broken by stones. Twice he ran out and blew a police whistle, but no officer came to his assistance. In fear of his life he left the place and came to report the facts to me. I urgently ask that the matter have your prompt attention, and that steps be taken which will prevent the repetition of similar outrages. So violent and numerous have become the annoyances to which the Japanese restaurant keepers of this city have been subjected that they have not only fear that their business will be ruined, but that their lives are in peril. Trusting that your department will take vigorous action in the matter, I remain, Yours respectfully, K. UYENO, Consul of Japan. Office Chief of Police, San Francisco, Cal., October 16, 1906. To Company Commanders: Complaint is made by the Japanese Consul that his people are being continually annoyed by white persons, and in some instances assaulted and their property damaged. This last applies particularly to parties boycotting Japanese restaurants. Instruct the officers under your several commands to see that no further cause for complaint on these grounds be afforded the Consul. J. F. DINAN, Chief of Police. San Francisco, October 29, 1906. To Company Commanders: The above order is published for your information, with instructions to see that its mandates are complied with. J. F. DINAN, Chief of Police. Reply of Chief of Police. Office of Chief of Police, San Francisco, October 18, 1906. Hon. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 127 K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, No. 1274 O'Farrell Street, City. Dear Sir: Replying to your communication of the 16th instant relative to the action of certain unions in the boycotting of Japanese restaurants, would respectfully reply that the same experience has been had by restaurant keepers of other nationalities, including our own, and the only manner in which the unions can be stopped from boy cotting is by injunction proceedings in the Superior Court, restraining them from interfering with the business of the restaurant proprietors. However, your communication has been referred to the Captain of the district where the boycotting is reported as being carried on, wit hinstructions to see that no disturbance be allowed or assaults committed, and that the law governing the same be enforced. Respectfully submitted, J. F. Dinan, Chief of Police. Reply of Captain. Captain's Office, Police District No. 2, San Francisco, October 22, 1906. J. F. Dinan, Chief of Police. Sir: Replying to the attached communication of the Hon. K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, of the 18th instant, relative to the boycotting of certain Japanese restaurants and the breaking of the windows at 256 Third street, will state: .. On the day the windows weer broken the officer had to attend Police Court, and expected to be at his place of detail before the noon hour, but was delayed and did not get back until after the damage was done. I have detailed an officer at each of the Japanese restaurants at each meal hour, and have had no trouble, with the exception of this one instance. Officers have been instructed to arrest if any violation of the law is committed. Respectfully, H. H. COLBY, Captain of Police. Office Of Chief of Police, San Francisco, October 25, 1906. Hon. K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, No. 1274 O'Farrell Street, City. Dear Sir: Upon investigation of the subject contained in your communication of the 18th instant, we have found that all Japanese restaurant keepers in business in that part of the city covered by the recent fire have been assigned a detail of officers to remain in the immediate vicinity of their place of business during meal hours, and that the one, Mr. H. Sugiyama, located at No. 256 Third street, was assaulted while the officer was attending court. In the future, where an officer is assigned to such a detail and has cases in court, another will be sent to relieve him, so that an occurrence of this kind will be prevented in the future. Respectfully submitted, J. F. DINAN, Chief of Police. He Was Gratified. Consulate of Japan, San Francisco, Cal., October 26, 1906. Hon. J. F. Dinan, Chief of Police of the City and County of San Francisco, Cal. Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of your communication of the 25th instant, informing me of the measures adopted by your department for the protection of the Japanese restaurants, at present being boycotted by the unions of this city. I am much gratified at the assurance given me that adequate protection will be given in the future, and sincerely hope that the 128 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. abuses to which my countrymen have been subjected during the last few weeks may not be repeated. Yours respectfully, K. UYENO, Consul of Japan. EXHIBIT E. Consulate of Japan, San Francisco, Cal., August 17, 1906. The Chief of Police, City and County of San Francisco. Dear Sir: I beg to introduce to you the bearer of this letter, Mr. R. Koba, who is the Secretary of the Japanese Association of America, with headquarters in this city. I respectfully ask that you will listen to the statement which he desires to make concerning an assault upon him last evening by boys on Laguna street. In this connection I would state that one of the secretaries of Consulate was also menaced by young roughs in the same vicinity about the same time. As unprovoked assaults of this kind upon my countrymen have been quite frequent of late, I have to earnestly ask that steps be taken by your honorable department to afford them the protection to which they are entitled. Trusting that you will find it possible to do this, I beg to remain, Yours respectfully, K. UYENO, Consul of Japan. Office of Chief of Police, San Francisco, Cal., August 17, 1906. I-Ion. K. Uyeno, Consul of Japan, No. 1274 O'Farrell Street, City. Dear Sir: Your communication of even date, introducing Mr. R. Koba, was presented tnis afternoon, and his statement as to the assault on him last evening by boys in the neighborhood of Laguna street listened to, and he was instructed as to what steps would be taken by this department in relation thereto, as well as advice given him as to the best methods to pursue to the final punishment of the guilty parties, not only in his own case, but any other of his countrymen who might be annoyed. For your information I take the liberty of stating what was told to Mr. Koba: "That the company commanders of this department, throughout the city, will be instructed immediately to have all officers on street duty in their several districts pay particular attention to your people, and to see that none are molested by our people, young or old, and, if necessary, to detail officers in citizens' clothes throughout that part of the city where such annoyances are most frequent; that Mr. Koba call at the office of the bond and warrant clerk, in the O'Farrell Street Police Station, on O'Farrell street, west of Devisadero, where he can have what is known as John Doe warrants sworn out and registered at that station, after which he could have any of the guilty parties arrested by simply pointing them out to the first officer he saw." Of course you can readily understand the difficulties at present surrounding us: First, the reduction of our force by nearly one-fifth; then the strikes, involving this unfortunate city, which, of course, calls for a large detail of officers, and last, but not least, the peculiar provision of our laws bearing on misdemeanor offenses, which requires that an officer must be an eyewitness, or else clothed with a warrant, before he can make an arrest of parties guilty of these classes of crime. Hoping that you will advise any others of your people thus assaulted as to the steps necessary in such cases, and, better still, Discrimination Against Japanese in California. that no more occasion may arise for such complaints, I beg to remain, Yours respectfully, J. F. DINAN, Chief o?Police. Office Chief of Police, San Francisco Cal„ August 22, 1906. John Mooney, Esq., Captain of Police, Commanding Company E, City. Sir: Complaint is made by the Japanese Consul that his people are being annoyed, and in some instances assaulted, by white men on the streets in your district, particularly in the neighborhood of Gough, Fillmore, O'Farrell„ and California streets. You will therefore instruct the officers under your command t.> see that this is stopped ,and if it can not be done by men in uniform, assign men in citizens' clothes to accomplish the purpose. J. F. DINAN, Chief of Police. October 29, 1906. Captain Mooney: The above order is repub- lished for your information and attention. J. F. DINAN, Chief of Police. Letter to Mayor. San Francisco, October 27, 1906. Hon. James L. Gallagher, Acting Mayor of the City of San Francisco. Dear Sir: Your attention is directly directed to the fact that during the past few months Japanese residents of this city have been subjected to repeated and unprovoked assaults at the hands of hoodlums and rough characters on the streets. I have had occasion to call the attention of the police authorities on many occasions to these abuses. Their occurrence is most frequent during the evening hours, and to such an extent have the abuses been carried that many of my people are intimidated and afraid to pursue their usual occupations. Even the members of my consular staff have been insulted and threatened upon the streets, and the Consul himself has no guaranty that he would be free from annoyance and molestation when he moves about the city. In the early part of this month I submitted to the police department a detailed list covering seventeen assaults of this character which had taken place between the dates of August 5 and September 6. Not being able to secure through the regular police channels the protection demanded, the Japanese Association of America, having headquarters in this city, has incurred the expense of employing several special officers to patrol the quarters most affected, and those officers are still retained. Notwithstanding these precautions, the complaints which reach this Consulate show that the abuses still continue, and that unprovoked assaults of a more or less violent character are of almost daily occurrence. In this connection I would further invite your attention to the boycott at present being carried on by the Cooks and Waiters' Union of this city against the keepers of Japanese restaurants, during the course of which many acts of violence have been committed and the property interests and personal safety of the Japanese proprietors placed in jeopardy. I feel quite confident that your honor .will agree with me that these acts of injustice call for the vigorous exercise of every power of the city government for their suppression; and my purpose of addressing you at the present time is to ask that such measures be taken as will at once secure to my people in this city every right and 130 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. privilege to which they are entitled by treaty stipulation. Trusting that your honor will be pleased to give this matter your earnest consideration, and that early means may be found for the removal of all cause for complaint on the part of the Japanese residents, I remain, Yours, very respectfully, K. UYENO, Consul for Japan. Mayor's Office, City and County of San Francisco, Executive Department, October 27, 1906. Hon. J. F. Dinan, Chief of Police. Dear Sir; Inclosed please find a copy of letter received at this office. Will you kindly call the attention of the officers to the matter ontained therein, and, I trust, remedy the evil. Yours truly, JOHN J. DOYLE, Mayor's Secretary. (The foregoing is a copy of a letter referred to this department by Acting Mayor Gallagher.) Second Letter. Office of the Chief of Police, San Francisco, Cal., October 29, 1906. Hon. James L. Gallagher, Acting Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. Dear Sir: I am just in receipt of your communication of the 27th instant, with copy of the letter from the Japanese Consul, relative to the alleged assaults on his countrymen and the annoyances reported to him by restaurant keepers through the acts of boycotters. In reply, beg to say that numerous complaints have been received from Mr. Uyeno during the past three months on these same subjects, all of which were given prompt attention, as per reports of the officers, copies of which are enclosed herewith for your information. So that you may be fully advised on this question, so far as the police department has been involved, I take the liberty of handing you herewith copies of all correspondence had with the Japanese Consul relative thereto. In conclusion will state that, so far as the assaults are concerned, instructions were issued to company commanders to have patrolmen give protection to the Japanese on their respective beats. As to the restaurant keepers, an officer was assigned a teach of the Japanese restaurants located in the burned district of the city, where, it was claimed, the annoyance was being carried, on with instructions to be at such places during meal times, and to see that no violation of the law in any particular was committed. Owing to the unsettled conditions that have existed since the fire, it has been a very hard matter to afford particular attention to any one nationality, as you, as well as Mr. Uyeno, must certainly know that no race has been exempt from annoyances, as well as assaults, such as he complains of. Hoping that I have made myself understood in this matter, and assuring you that Mr. Uyeno's people, as well as all others, will be furnished with all the protection it is possible for this department to afford, I remain, Your obedient servant, J. F. Di NAN, Chief of Police. Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 131 EXHIBIT F. Professor Davidson. (Copy of letter of Professor George Davidson, of the University of California, to The San Francisco Examiner and other papers.) San Francisco, June II, 1906. Gentlemen: Your attention is respectfully directed to a condition of affairs which, I feel certain, will call forth not only your earnest protest but that of every fair-minded citizen who loves the good name of his city. I refer to the repeated insults which have been heaped upon the party of Japanese scientists at present visiting this city, by boys and hoodlum gangs in the streets. Dr. F. Omori, of the Imperial University of Tokyo, and one of the greatest living authorities in seismography, was especially sent hare by the Japanese Government to make a study of the recent disaster. He is accompanied by Dr. T. Nakamura, professor of architecture in the same institution, and the two are assisted by Mr. R. Sano and Mr. M. Noguchi. These gentlemen, in the pursuit of their investigations, have had occasion to visit all quarters of the city to make numerous notes and parggraphs. It has been while so engaged that the annoyances to which your attention is drawn, have taken place. On Saturday forenoon last Dr. Omori, while taking certain photographs on Mission street, near the Postoffice, was attacked by a gang of boys and young men, some of them wearing the livery of the postal service, and his hat was crushed in by a stone as large as an egg. On Tuesday last Doctor Nakamura was assaulted in a similar manner while making an examination in the ruined district, and sand and dust were thrown over him and his assistants. Insults of a similar kind, but varying in degree, have been suffered by these gentlemen not less than a dozen times since they began their work in this city. They are naturally surprised that such treatment should be extended to friendly strangers, more especially in view of the extreme courtesy and kindness with which they have been received by the official scientists and representative men of this community. While I recognize the fact that acts of this kind are not countenanced by the better element of the people, and that it is extremely difficult to control the acts of irresponsible hoodlums, I believe that something may and should be done to create a public sentiment which will frown down the rougher element which in this vicious way brings disgrace upon the community. GEORGE DAVIDSON, Professor of the University of California. From the Postmaster. (Copy of letter to the Postmaster of San Francisco to Dr. F. Omori.) Sir: I am informed by M r. Giichi Adki, in a communication under date of June 9, that you were subjected to certain indignities on the public streets of this city at the hands of boys employed in the San Francisco Postoffice. Immediately upon the receipt of this information I instructed my personal representative to call at the headquarters of the Japanese Association of America and express to you my deep regret that any employes of the postal service should have conducted themselves 132 Discrimination Against Japanese in California. toward a visiting foreigner in a manner unbecoming Americans, and particularly servants of this Government. I further regret that my representative was unable to see you personally and offer to you directly my apologies for the misconduct on the part of the employes of my office. The matter is receiving careful investigation at my hands, and I assure you that when the names of the boys guilty of this outrage are definitely ascertained, they will be immediately dismissed from the public service. Again regretting the necessity of this communication, I beg to remain, Very respectfully yours, Postmaster. (Sent in care of Japanese Association of America.) (Copy of a letter of Mayor E. E. Schmitz of San Francisco to Dr. F. Omori and Dr. T. Nakamura.) San Francisco, Cal., June 21, 1906. Gentlemen: I have learned through the daily press that you were stoned by some hoodlums while in pursuance of your investigations relative to the destruction of public buildings by the earthquake. I am very sorry, indeed, that you should have received such treatment at the hands of any of our people here in San Francisco, and assure you that every effort will be made in order that no recurrence of the act may take place. I know, as reasonable men, that you appreciate the fact that it is impossible for the authorities to absolutely prevent anything of this kind happening. It might have happened to you in any other country, and it might happen to me, but I wish here to officially express my regret for the occurrence of the outrage, and assure you that I will do everything in my power to have whatever amends you desire. • Very truly yours, E. E. SCHMITZ, Mayor. (Sent in care of Pacific Japanese Mission.) Governor Pardee. Executive Department, State of California, Sacramento, June 21, 1906. Rev. Dr. Herbert B. Johnson, 2428 Milvia Street, Berkeley, Cal. Dear Sir: I received your letter of June 18th, and have written to both Dr. F. Omori and Dr. T. Nakamura, and have expressed to those eminent gentlemen my sincere regrets for the recent unfortu- nate occurrences. Very truly yours, GEORGE C. PARDEE, Governor. ,i1,xecutive Department, State of California, Sacramento, June 21, 1906. Dr. F. Omori (care of Herbert B. Johnson, D. D.), 2428 Milvia Street, Berkeley, Cal. Dear Sir: Although I have no official knowledge of the matter, I am unofficially informed that certain indignities of a personal nature were offered to you in the City of San Francisco. Our laws do not permit the Governor of the State to take official action in such cases, which are directly under the authorities of the cities or counties in which they occur. Personally and officially, I desire to assure you that the assaults upon you meet with reprobation of all good citizens of this State; and I sincerely hope that the wanton act of young hoodlums will not be taken by yourself or your Government as reflecting the disposition and sentiments of even the smallest minority of. the people Discrimination Against Japanese in California. 133 of my State, in whose name I apologize to you for the unfortunate occurrence. Hoping that you will not judge San Francisco (for whose sorely stricken citizens your Government and people so promptly extended such great sympathy and material aid) by the utterly inexcusable actions of the persons who so wantonly assaulted you, I am, With great respect, very truly yours, GEORGE C. PARDEE, Governor of California. Mayor Torrey. Eureka, July 7, 1906. Dr. F. Omori, Professor of Seismology, Imperial University of Tokyo, Japan. Sir: As the representative of the executive authorities of the City of Eureka, and with full copfi-dence that he is representing the undivided and unanimous sentimen of the citizens of this city, the undersigned begs to deplore the ruffianly and inexcusable assault committed upon your person last evening in this city. That this assault was the result of an unfortunate mistake, due to the labor troubles now prevailing on this Coast, does not in any wise excuse its heinousness and brutality; and the writer, in offering you on behalf of this community a full apology for the regrettable occurrence, wishes to express his sincere desire to make to you any possible amends, and to assure you that the people of this community do not uphold nor countenance such outrages and unlawful acts, but on the contrary deeply deplore the unfortunate occurrence. Trusting that your further stay in this community will be free from disagreeable incidents, and will result in your securing valuable information on the subject now interesting you, I beg to express to you my distinguished consideration and to subscribe myself, Yours most respectfully, A. W. TORREY, Mayor of the City of Eureka. 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