The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-11-08

veloped in our relations with Japan.
A section of the Japanese people has
become injected with the idea that
Americans are unfriendly to them,
and the cordially that has been IN
broken since Perry introduced Japan
to western civilization half a century
ago is endangered. Various little in
cidents have contributed to this state
of things, but the one that has cuc
deepest has been the anti-Japanes-
agitation on the Pacific coast, which
recently eliminated in an order of the
iSan Francisco Board of Education
excluding Japanese children from thu
ordinary public schools and combining
/ them to separate schools along witt
the children of Chinese and Koreans.
OF course, it is absurd to hold a whole
nation, which has given so many
proofs Of friendship as we have given
Japan, responsible for the acts of the
politicians of single city, but popu-
tiar feeling is not bound by the rules
of logic. There are more Japanese in
San Francisco than in any other city
ION the American continent, and they
have better facilities there for max
ing their grievances known at home.
The result is that there is serious
talk in Japan of repeating the Chinese
boycott Of American goo1s. If things
should come to that pass the results
would be disastrous to San Francisco,
whose prosperity depends upon Orien-
tai trade. They would be still more
disastrous if the Japanese, exercising
that acute discrimination which was
beyond the capacity of the Chinese
masses, should confine the boycott to
San Francisco and compel the steam
er lines running to that port to trans
fer their business to Seattle.
The nominal reason for the segre-
CATION of the Japanese children in San
Francisco was that some Of them hao
trachoma. But the obvious remedy
for that would be to examine all the
children and keep out those afflicted,
whatever their race. There are many
Europeans with trachoma, but it
would be a bold Board of Education
that would propose to herd all the
children of European parentage by
themselves on that account.
The Japanese consul at San Fran
cisco protested against the segrega-
ton order and asked the board to
revoke it, but that body, on October
25, declined to grant this request and
said that its action was based on a
state law giving trustees the power
to exclude "all Children of filthy or
vicious habits, or children suffering
from contagious or infectious disease,
and also to establish separate schools
for Indian children and for children
of Mongolian or Chinese descent"
This law provided further that when
such separate schools were establish
ed, Indian. Chinese or Monaghan
children must not be admitted to any
other" The board added that it
would be glad to have the law tested
in the Federal courts. It's wish was
gratifed the next day, when Judge
Wolverton, of the United States cir,
cult court, issued an order directing
it to show cause why one of the ex,
cluded Japanese pupils should not be
reinstated. The action which led to
this order had the warm approval Of
the nation administration, which is
determined to see whether the affair
can be brought under Federal juris-
diction as question of treaty rights.
On October. 20 the matter was made
an international issued by the action
of Viscount Aoki, the Japanese am
bassador to the United States, who
protested to the state department az
Washington against the treatment Of
Japanese children at San Francisco
as a violation of rights secured by the
treaty of 1894. This treaty provides
that the citizens or subjects of each
of the two contracting powers shall
have full liberty to enter, travel, or
reside in any part of the territory Of
the other, shall enjoy full protection
of persons and property, shall have
free access to the courts, and in all
matters connected with the admins
tration of justice shall enjoy ali the
rights and privileges enjoyed by ma
tive citizens or subjects, that they
shall be on level with natives in all
matters relating to rights Of resi-
dence and travel and the disposal of
property, that they shall enjoy liberty
of conscience and worship, and the
right to bury their dead according to
their religious customs, and that they
shall not be compelled to pay any
charges or taxes other or higher than
those imposed on natives or citizens
or subjects of the most favored ma
ton
From strictly legal point of view
1t is hard to see what there is in this
agreement covering the6 case of ad-
mission to public schools at all,
not to speak Of admission to
any particular schools There
are many countries in which such
thing as a system OF free public
education does not exist. II the peo-
pie of San francisco choose to main
tain such system they do not seem
to be under any legal obligation to
extend its benefits to foreigners. And
even if they were under such an OBJ
legation the educational authorities
would surely have the right to assign
pupils at their discretion to this
school or that 1t would be rather re-
markable for international diplomacy
to be called in to decide whether a
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