The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-18
HAWAII
IN THE
SENATE
immigration Bill
Shuts Out
Japs.
/. HAYWOOD WORK
II
ING TO AMEND 1T
Seeks to Get Clause in the Bill
10 Admit Chinese
Labor.
Especial to the Advertiser.)


WASHINGTON, D. c.. Dec. 6.-The
immigration bill, which was brought up
in the Senate last Wednesday and only
briefly discussed, has provoked a lively
fight, which has not yet appeared under
the surface but which is of vital i'm
portance to several interests all the way
across the country from Maine and New
England to Hawaii. The bill, as 1t
passed the House last winter, providing
for a modification of the immigration
laws, was loaded down with little
amendment, providing for an educa-
tfonal test, by which all immigrants
coming into this country must be able
to read at least twenty words of the
Constitution of the United States in
their own language in type, known as
double small plea.
AS there is no such kind of type in
the Japanese language, the House bill,
should it become law in that form.
would shut out the Japanese and also
the Russians. The entrance OF Japanese
laborers into states on the Pacific coast
would be stopped, although Japanese
are immensely popular as laborers in
those parts. 1t would also shut out
the entrance of Japanese into Hawaii.
The clause, which has proved SO objec-
tionable, was part of an amendment
which Senator Lodge of Massachusetts
has kept before Congress for some
years, although he took no especial
pains to perfect it because there seemed
no immediate prospect of the matter
coming up for consideration. 1t was
tackled upon the Shattuc immigration
bill in the House on motion of Mr.. I'm
derwood, of Alabama.
Mr.. William Haywood. of Honolulu,
has been at work industriously for the
last week, seeking to overcome that OBJ
jectionable part of the bill, as far as
it pertains to Hawaii The friends of
Hawaii in the Senate have been helping
him. The large steamship companies on
the Atlantic have hurried their officials
to Washington to aid in making the
protest. The Russian Embassy and the
japanese legation have also been awake
to the situation. An amendment to
meet that situation has been prepared
by the attorney of the Japanese lega-
ton and introduced by Senator Fair
banks. of Indiana, providing that the
words from the Constitution to be used
in the educational test may be printed
also Gin correspondingly distinct type or
characters in the case OF languages
Tod IN ~
type"
There will be hearing within a few
days before the immigration commit
tee of the Senate, at which Mr.. Hay
wood and others will appear. to pro-
test against the Objectionable features
of the bin. 1t may come to the point
where the opposition in the Senate will
strive to load the bill down with OBJ
jectionable amendments for the purpose
of killing it and of preventing it from
becoming a law at this session of Con-
gress. Hawaii is not particularly in
terested in the paragraph. enacted by
the House, to allow immigrants from
Canada, Mexico. and Cuba to come in
without the educational test but Mr.
Haywood is working in common with
the railroad and steamship agents of the
Atlantic seaboard to prevent the adop-
ton of that clause in the Senate The
clause was put in by the House largely
to help carry the bill through the Sen
ate. 1t is of special interest to New
England, beginning with Maine and ex-
tending through nearly all the New
England states, because it permits the
French Canadians to enter the United
States, either by wagon conveyance OF
by the railroads, work for a few
months. as they may be needed, and
then hasten back to their homes. The
provision for Mexico permits the cattle
men to import the greasers from across
the border TO help in caring for the
stock, as they may be needed.
The bill is the unfinished business OF
the Senate at present but the opposition