The San Francisco call., 1906-12-19
ALTMAN cRIrIcIsE. mnrcALF
Takes Exception to Sccretnry's Report
ON Segregation Conditions


Officials and others connected with
the segregation of Japanese in the pub
lie schools dissented from conclusions
drawn by Secretary Metcalf in his re-
port. when they were shown copies
of it yesterday, together with the mes
sage of President Roosevelt.
President Aaron Altman of the
Board of Education was the most out
spoken in his criticism of the report of
Secretary Metcalf
1T is misleading from the outset and
not in accordance with facts" declared
Altman. Secretary Metoalf makes the
mistake of informing the President that
the segregation of the Japanese was
due to the influence of the Korean.
Japanese and Chinese Exclusion
League. In refuting this 1 would point
to the fact that in the school budgets
of 1905 and 1906, before the exclusion
league came into existence, the Board
of Education made estimates Of the cost
of maintaining the Oriental Public
School Official documents on file with
the Board of Supervisors will prove
that Metcalf is wrong in his principal
conclusion.
HE is also in error when he states
| that 1t would be hardship for the
Japanese pupils, from the standpoint of
distance, to attend the Oriental School
The schSol is centrally located at Pow
ell and Clay streets. White children
have to travel much greater distances
| Those who live at Ocean Beach and
Corbett Road. for instance, are COM
PEELED to go much farther to school
/ than the Japanese. The Denman Gram
mar School for girls is another case
| in point.
Out OF courtesy for the Japanese
we informed Consul General Uyeno
that we would maintain a classroom
| within nf he Ton "a
colony, but he demurred to the pro-
posal on the ground that any segre-
cation would be unjust discrimination
M. p. Scott, president of the Walters
Local No. 80, discussing the reference
made in Secretary Metcaf's report to
the payment of $3.50 by the Japanese
| restaurant keepers to have the boycott
against them declared of, said:
II know nothing about this alleged
transaction. We have no man in our
union named w. 8. Stevenson, and if
the money was paid to him it was
done without the knowledge of any of
our officers. The boycott was called
off because it was found by the union
to be too expensive to maintain and
because the sentiment of the majority
| of the members was against 1t as a
movement likely to reflect on the white
population of the city as whole. The
story of a bribe being paid to the union
to call the boycott off is almost too abb
surd for extended refutation.
The story impresses me as an at
tempt to make capital to discredit the
union--an attempt which will be uni
lversally resented in San francisco.
Secretary Metcalf says that no vio-
lence was done the Japanese, but he
is careful to omit that assaults on our
pickets during the boycott were of fire.
quent occurrence. If he wished to act
! fairly with the union he Should have
told US of this alleged person who was
able to call off the boycott after being
paid $780,"
United States District Attorney Dew
lin would not discuss the report of Sec
retary Metcalf or the message Of Pres
ident Roosevelt in any way. He ex-
poets to hear from Attorney General
Moody today or tomorrow in reference
to the case to be begun in the State
Supreme Court to test the validity o1
the segregation.
A new phase has been introduced ir
the case by the discovery. made by City
and County Attorney Burke that M
official record Is obtainable tina
Michitsuki Aoki, father of Kei Keicf
Aoki. the boy selected by the United
States as the plaintiff for the case, 1.
taxpayer. The elder Aoki is a book
seller In business at 2201 Pine stree
and is supposed to pay taxes. but nt
record of the fact can be found at the
Tax Collectors office. Devlin, acting
for Moody, is likely to dispute tn,
question raised by the absence of thi:
official record. claiming that it is du.
either to clerical oversight or neglect