The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-19
TEST SCHOOL LAW
GOVERNMENT BEGINS SUITS IN SAN
 FRANCISCO.
Test Case to Find Out if City Authori- ties Can Exclude Japs from Regular Plnces of
 Learning.

Washington. Ian is.--The United States has begun two suits in San Francisco for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the treaty with Japan giving to the Japanese equal school ad- vantages.
 One of the actions Is brought in the Supreme Court of the State Of Caiifor- mia in the name of a Japanese child for the purpose of obtaining a writ of mandamus to compel his admission to one of the public schools from which he Is excluded by the action of the Board of sEducation,
 The proceeding in the second suit Is a comprehensive bill in equity lied by the United States in the Federal Circuit Court In which the members of the Board of Education. the super intendent of schools and all of the principals of the various primary and grammar schools of San Francisco are made deendants.
 Tn both proceedings the government alleges the execution of the treaty with Japan In 1895 which provides that 'in whatever relates to the rights of residence and travel. the subjects of each party to the treaty shall enjoy in the territories of the other "the same privileges. liberties and rights as citizens or subjects of the most fay- ored nation"
 The State of California provides that every school in a district must he open to all children of school age resident within the said district and the privi- lege of such attendance is alleged to be clearly one of the said rights of residence" for Japanese residents in : that State to be enjoyed on the fQot- ing of the most favored nation. The bill alleges that the aJpanese are not in any sense Mongolians but form q separate and distinct race and 1t Is asserted that for more than twenty years and until recently the authori- ties in California have conceded that the Japanese are not included in the term Mongolian and have admitted them to all public schools.
 In it's petition. the government also sets out that Japanese pupils are al other schools than those of the pri- mary and grammar grades without dis crimination and that no such discrimi- nation is exercised against German. French, Italian or various other for eign children, So that the Japanese are not treated as the most favored nation.
 It Is claimed by the government that these acts constitute a fragrant viola tion of the treaty between ths United States and Japan; that properly con strued the law of California does not Justify them and that If 1t does, 1t null and void In the suit brought fn the State court the prayer Is that the st9tute of California be construed and that So much of 1t as refers as separ- ate schools for children of foreign par- entage may be determined to have no application to children of Japanese de- scent and further that 1t be declared that the State of California received the grants of land and appropriations of money made by the federal govern ment on the trust that the same should be used for the public schools of Cali fornia in conformity with the consti- tuition of the United States and all treaties made by it's authority that no unjust determinations should be made against the subjects of any nation with which the United States might have entered into treaty stipnlations con trary to the terms of such treaty, and also that the defendants should be en- joined from excluding the Japanese pupils from the public schools of San Francisco which they attended before the passage of the resolution of the board of education and that the defen- dants be enjofned from carrying said resolution into effect.