Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-10-04
NEARER AND NEARER
Approaches the Day for Settlement Of the
Race Question.
Columbus (Neh.) Telegram.

o'i"hi'"T N"'t''J
Nearer and nearer draws the day
OF trouble between the Americans
and the OrientalS. New evidence of
the nearing conflict was given to the
world during the past week by the
anti-l1indu riots in the State of
Washington, and the anti-Japanese
riots in British America, just north
of Washington.
In our own Southern States the
statement is often made that this is
d white man S country, and no black
man shall have any voice in the
government of the country" That
what our white brothers out on the
bank of the Pacific ocean are saying
just now. Only they 90 little fur
ther and declare that their country
is a white mans country, and that
no black Hindu nor yellow Jap or
Chinese" shall get foothold there.
No telling where the trouble will
end. The Telegram believes it will
end in war between the American
government and the Chinese and the
Japanese. The people of the Pacific
coast States are determined to drive
out the Orientals. 1t will be diff
cult task. Unknown thousands of
them are here now, and new myriadS
of them are Swarming across our bOr-
ders every day. The white and the
yellow races cannot occupy the same
territory on exact equality, no more
than can the whites and the blacks.
Pretty soon the white people in the
coast States will try by force to drive
out all the Orientals, and then the
real trouble will come. All the world
knows that England has an offensive
and defensive alliance with Japan,
and doubtless the Japanese statesmen
believe that in the event of war with
America, England would run to the
rescue of the JapS. There is no foun
datiOn for such belief. The white
British subjects in America, and es-
pecially in western Canada, are as
much opposed to the influx of the
Orientals as are the whites in the
United States. The world will never
witness England making war on
America at the call of any yellow or
black people on the earth. If free
from the strings of government, the
average American and the average
EngliShman is not very far apart.
And sometimes even government
strings will not prevent the show of
kinShip between the two peoples.
This was nicely Illustrated some fifty
years ago in Chinese waters. Eng
land and Germany sent an expedition
against the Chinese. An American
war vessel was in Chinese waters,
bearing strict instruction to take no
hand in the quarrel. One day the
Chinese fleet attacked the Germans
and the British. The captain of the
American ship saw the Chinese Civ
ing the white men the worst of it.
That was too much for his white
blood to stand. He ran up the sig
nal, blood is thicker than water,
and Immediately took a hand in the
fight. giving good aid to the Ger
mans and English. The Chinese gov
ernment protested against his ac-
tion, but instead of furnishing theI
brave captain for violating his Or
ders, the American Congress gave
him q vote of thanks and a medal.
No manner of diplomacy can pre-
vent the day of trouble between
America and the Oriental nations
And if it must come, the sooner the
better for America. Every year of
delay enables the Japanese and Chi
nese to send new thousands of their
subjects to the Philippines, the Ha-
waiian islands and to Mexico, from
which points they can cause us most
trouble in time of war. America
should not lose a day in preparing
for the struggle. And the best pre-
paratory step we can make will be to
let go the Philippines. They are too
far from home. AS long as we shall
own the islands we must defend them.
We could not successfully defend
them. They lie right at the door of
China and Japan. We can whip the
Orientals on land or sea, if the con-
test be close ut home, but no two
nations on earth are strong enough
to whip China and Japan on their
own soil or in their own waters.
The time for American laughter at
yellow Jap skins and Chinese pig
tails should give place to serious
consideration of the impending con-
f1ict.