Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-01-16
MONG0LIAN CHILDREN.
SHALL THEY BE ADMITTED TO
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
The Question Discussed by the State
superintendent of Public
Instruction.

The Question Discussed by the State
superintendent of Public
Instruction.
The following letter from the State Super
intendcnt of Public Instruction is self
explanatory;
SACRAMENTO, January II, 1885
To the Board Of Education Of San Fran
| ciSc0-GENTLEMEN | have seen in several
| newspapers statements that q decision had
| been rendered III the Superior Court of San
| Francisco that nativc-born Chinese children
were entitled to be educated in our public
| schools. These reports are none of them
complete, and are not the same in all re-
! spects; but all agree III the main fact
that the decision would throw open
| our public schools to the Chi
nesc | write to YOU because |
! do not think that this decision should be
allowed to stand, as the final declaration
of the law; and because believe that, if
an appeal shall be taken to the Supreme
| Court of the State, it will not so stand
1t is contended that this alleged right of
Chinese children born in this State, is dis
posed of favorably 10 them by the Four
| tecnth Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States. | believe there has re-
| Gently been, also, decision OF TIE United
States Circuit Court for California, which
under the same amendment gives citizen
ship TO native-born Chinese But this de-
cision cannot be regarded as finality
| because it has not been confirmed by the
United States Supreme Court.
If am not greatly mistaken a decision
| has been rendered in one of the Eastern
States, by a Court of equal authority, which
| is directly the reverse. to wit, that the Four
teenth Amendment did not apply to Mon
golianS
Whenever there is a reasonable doubt
whether the ordinary sense of the words of
a law taken literally do in truth convey the
intent of the enactors,
COURTS RESORT TO EXTRANEoUs MEANS
| To find out that intent. | do not mean. of
course, that they call witnesses to tell them
what was the real intent; but they refer to
| the cOntempOrancous debates, documents
and even the literature current at the time
the law in question was adopted. Now,
there is not an intelligent man or woman
in the United States above 30 years of age
land there might be included many
youngerl, who does not know perfectly
well that the Fourteenth Amendment was
intended for people of African descent and
| particularly for the protection OF those who
had been born in slavery. No thought was
had of Chinese i'll the matter: indeed had
there been such thought. undoubtedly an
exception would have been made against
them.
Again the Fourteenth Amendment de
clares that all persons born or naturalized
in the United States and subject to the
| jurisdiction thereof, are citizens Of the
United States and Of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or en-
force any law which shall
ABEIDGE TIE PRIVILEGES OR IMMUHITIEs
OF citizens of the United States without
adding, as before, and of the State where
in they reside" The protection afforded
| by this amendment, even to these who
were really meant to be reached by it, is
confined TO them within the sphere of their
Federal citizenship; and the State is
| properly left to regulate those matters
which belong TO persons within the sphere of
their State citizenship. And the education
given by the State in its public schools is
one of those matters and one of the most
important.
However succinct and pithy the follow
ing syiioglsm may appeara casual glance,
| its SOundness cannot be conceded Law
all children must be admitted to the public
schools, which means, of course. ecerg child
! =
| Fact Mamie Tape is cLad- Conclusion:
Namie Tape must be admitted TO the pub
| lie schools" Syllogisms are good things
when they are syllogisns. But then there
must be
| 4 CoNCLUsIoN LOGICALLY DRAWN
From two perfectly sound premises. Prob
| ably most people would admit the second
above, which is there denUminated fucf. but
| is the first true: Is ii law that at chill
dren must be admitted TO the public
! schools? The law on the subject, which is
to be found in Section 1862 of the Political
Code, says: Every school, 7tnless oHerrise
| procided 5y tar, must be open for
the admission of all children between
| six mot five and twenty-onc years of age
residing in the district; and the Board Of
Trustees or City Board OF Education
have power to admit adults and
children not residing in the dis
trict whenever good reason exists there
for. Trustees shall have the power to cr-
citde children of filthy or vicious habits.
or children suffering from contagious or in
fectous diseases Hereis ample exception
to thegenerality Of the all " which sounds
SO nicely IL the syllogiSm. But this is not
all the law is full of it. 1t has never said,
and never intended, that al children or
crery chid must be admitted to the public
is admissible: those between five and six
years Of age may he admitted or rejected at
The discretion of the trustees: those slls-
pended or expelled. as Il matter Of disci-
plinc, cannot enter, etc, etc. But Section
1898 of the Political Code shows particu-
larly
POWER or EXCEPTING AND DIsCRIMINAT-
ING,
And shows especially that the Chinese are
not iatenied to be educated at the public
expense The census children - are the
school children of the State they are those
between and II years of age Some
Others may be admitted, when there is good
reason therefor; but the census children
are the State ; pupils, and the primary in
tentiOn is 10 look out for their education
Section 1S5S directs the Superintendent of
Pablic instruction to apportion the States
money to the several counties in proportion
to the number of school census children
there but 70 insure against any interpret
alton Of The law in favor of tribal In
dians or Chinese, adds, :" Provided that the
Indian children who are not living under
the guardianship Of white persons. and
Mongolian children, shall not be included
in the apportionment list
But, gentlemen, without waiting to null
tiply instances from the statutory law to
show that the decision in question is not
correct exponent of the law,
TURN TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION.
There You will find an article-the XIX
devoted to the denunciation of and the dis
elimination against these very people. the |
Chinese. 1t places them in the attitude of
quasi public enemies. Among other |
things, it declares their presence here " to !
be dangerous to the well-being of the State |
and the Legislature shall discourage their !