Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-16
Rights of State in the Matter Con-
sidered.
SCOPE OF TREATY PROVISIONS
Story Told About the Retention Of
Minister DENLY at Picking Through
Three Administrations.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

Herald.
For several years the authorities Of San
Francisco have compelled Chinese children
to attend special schools separating them
from American children up to the sixth
grade, so that the question now raised by
the Japanese Is not a new one. San Fran
! cisco, however, Is the only place where this
is done. Across the bay. In Oakland, where
| there is a large Chinese population, and at
! other cities Chinese children are admitted
| to every public or private school where
| they apply without restriction or distinc-
! ton, and this custom prevails up to the
| University of California. which Is state
| institution: but. nevertheless. not only adj
mits them. but offers inducements to Chi
nese students to come. There are large
| number in the various classes, and it is
| increasing every year. Prof. Freyer Of
| the faculty, who has spent most of his life
| in China, has an unofficial supervision over
them, and makes journey across the Pa
chic nearly every year to keep In touch
| with the parents of his students and the
| officials of the provinces from which they
come. The disposition of the rest of the
| faculty and the students generally is very
friendly to the Chinese. and the latter. al
most without exception, are at the head of
| their classes. The same may be said of
Stanford University. japanese are treated
| just like Chinese students. although there
are comparatively few of them, the educa-
| tional institutions Of japan being of such
a high standard that very few young men
leave that country except for special studies.
Above the sixth grade Chinese pupils are
admitted to the regular schools of San
Francisco, but very few attend for various
rea sons. In the first place, the circunl-
stances Of the larger number of students
compel them to go to work: secondly. many
of them are coolies. grown men, who at
tend the primary schools to get a little
knowledge of English to help them along
In their business. and do not remain longer
than is absolutely necessary; and in the
third place. the other pupils at the schools
usually make Chinese scholars very uncom-
Portable by teasing and hazing them, and
some Of the teachers have been accused of
a prejudice against them Complaints have
frequently been made on this score, but the
Chinese legation In Washington and the
government at Picking have considered it
| matter of minor Importance and have not
been disposed to raise the issue.
segregating the Chinese.
For several reasons a separation of the
Chinese children has been considered de-
sirable by the thinking men Of Chinese
birth. The school for their children is To-
Gated in the Chinese quarter, where it Is
much more convenient for the students than
the regular schools. which are situated
some distance away. 1t has always had
excellent teachers, quite as competent as
those of the regular schools. The same ia
children to self-improvement have been
provided: the same rules have been ap-
piled, SO that. from a practical standpoint,
there is nothing to complain of, although.
as matter of theory, some persons have
considered the separation a discrimination
| and violation of treaty rights. Article vii
of the Burlingame treaty reads follows:
Citizens of the United States shall
| joy all the privileges of the public educa-
! tional institutions under the control of the
government of China, and. reciprocally,
! Chinese subjects shall enjoy all the privi-
! leges OF the public educational institutions
| under the control Of the government of the
] United States which are enjoyed In the re-
! spectve countries by the citizens or sub
| jects OF the most favored nation"
| The treaty of 1880 between China and the
| United States contains the most favored
| nation clause, which places Chinese resi-
dents in this country upon the same basis
and gives them the same privileges, educa-
| tfonai and otherwise that are enjoyed by
| English. French, German and Italian resi-
| dents; and the Japanese have the same
| rights and privileges in every respect.
Rights of States.
| There is point in section Of the Bur-
! nngame treaty which the people of San
| Francisco will be likely to raise, although
| diplomatists and international lawyers here
| do not consider 1t of much Importance.
There>a are no public educational institutions
| under the control Of the government Of the
! system. Under. our Constitution the educa-
! ton Of the people Is left to the states as
| distinct political right, which cannot be re-
voked or interfered with by the federal
! authorities. 1t is held by some constitu-
uonal lawyers that a state may abolish its
public schools. or limit them or revise the
| system at any time without regard to the
| federal power. provided there is no discrim-
nation among citizens of the state;
| that any state may exclude the children of
citizens OF other states from its schools,
| provided 1t does not distinguish between
| the several states; that a state also has the
right to exclude the children Of all for
/ eigners or unnaturalized citizens. although
| 1t cannot lawfully exclude the children of
the citizens of any particular foreign ma
| ton. 1t must treat all alike. 1t is con-
tended that no treaty and no law of Con-
gress can compel the citizens of any state
| to educate the children of aliens at the ex-
pense Of their taxpayers. No treaty can
| take away from cenmunity the right to
apply the proceeds of taxation in any way
1t sees fit, nor has Congress that power.
| Furthermore 1t Is contended that any
| community has the right to classify the
students of its public schools according to
its own ideas of what is expedient. 1t can
| determine where certain children shall at
| tend school; 1t can separate them by age
| by nationality, by sex, by their standing
| In their studies and as a very learned au-
| thority asserted. by their stature or the
| color OF their eyes, although the same au-
| thortty expresses doubt whether they could
| be classified according to their religion
without violation of the Constitution. But
| every community must furnish the same ia
ciities to all these several classes and give
one class precisely as good instruction as
the other classes On the same theory, II
| the schools provided for the Japanese in
| San Francisco are Just as good as those
provided for American children, the stipu-
lations OF the treaty are fulfilled.
All these interesting questions are likely
| to come before the Supreme Court of the
United States. for the Attorney General
| has taken up the matter by direction of the
President and has instructed the district
attorney at San Francisco to proceed
against the educational authorities; and, al
| though the Chinese government has not in
terested itself in the matter and has made
no complaints the final decision will affect
the children of that colony as much as
those of the resident Japanese families
Hitherto the latter have been allowed to
attend the regular schools. 1t Is only re-
Gently that any discrimination has been
made against them. The present agitation
has been excited by the San Francisco
Chronicle. which for a-year has been shout
ing that the Japanese must CO."