The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-12-19

sonable one. All of the political parties in the state have inserted in their plat forms blanks in favor of Japanese and Korean exclusion, and on March {, 1905, the state legislature past joint reso- lution urging that action be taken by treaty or otherwse to limit and dimin- ish the further immigration of Japa- nese laborers into the United States
 The press of San Francisco pretty generally upholds the action of the board of education. Of the attitude of the more violent and radical newspa- pers 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 no better than Chinese, and that the same reasons which dic- tated the exclusion of the Chinese call for the exclusion of the Japanese as well.
 The temper and tone of the more con servative newspapers may better be il- lustrated by an eLitome of their argu- ment upon the public school question. That argument practically is as fol- lows: The public schools of California are a state and not a federal institu- tion. The state has the power to abol- ish those schools entirely, and the fede- ral government would have no right to lift it's voice in protest. Upon the other hand, the state may extend the privi- leges of it's schools to aliens upon such terms as 1t, the state, may elect, and the federal government has no right to question it's action in this regard. Pri- marily and essentially the public schools are designed for the education of the citizens of the state. The state is interested in the education of it's own citizens alone It would not for a mo- ment maintain this expensive institu- ton to educate foreigners and aliens who would carry to their countries the fruits of such education. Therefore, if it should be held that there was a dis crimination 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 fa- vored-nation' clause, this could and would be met by the state, which would then exclude from the use of it's public schools all alien children of eye- " nationality and limit the rights of free education to children of its own citizens, for whom the system is prima- rlly 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 in- tensified, especially in labor circles, by the report on the conditions in the Ha- walian 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 almost entirely driven from the Hawaiian Is- lands, and that the Japanese are grad ually forcing even the small white traders out of business.
 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 Universi- ty of California, an institution main tained 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 discrimlnated against Japanese children. I talked with a number of prominent labor men and they all said that they had no objeston to Japanese children attending the pri- mary grades; that they wanted Japa- nese children now in the United States to have the same school privileges as i children of other nations, but that they were unalterably opposed to Japanese young men attending the primary gardes.
 | The objection to Japanese men att tending the primary grades could very readily be met by 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 childen, sayingr 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 Fran ] cisoc declined to rescind it's resolution of Octobeh Ii, claiming that, having es- tablished a separate school for Chinese Japanese and Korean children, the pro visions of section 1862 of the political code became mandatory
 BOYCOTT.
 l A boycott was maintained in SSan ! Francisco from October 3 to October 24 | by members of the Cooks and Walters 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 was created and fostered 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 Walters Union, Local No. 30, headquarters at 1195 Scott street, San Francisco, said that no res olution against Japanese restaurants had been past by their union, but that it 1,yo c ,,ncrad In thoir. t1onntipoS ,.J 1