The San Francisco call., 1907-02-25
LEGISLATURE MAY
ACT AGAINST THE
JAPANESE PUPILS
Roosevelt's Move Is Likely
to Be Blocked by Law
for Segregation
BILL GAINS SUPPORT
City Attorney Burke to
Go to Sacramento to
Urge Adoption
WOULD AMEND CODE
BILL GAINS SUPPORT
WOULD AMEND CODE

All the work achieved by the
recent conferences between Presi-
dent Roosevelt, Mayor Schrnitz
and the Board OF Education may
go for naught and the conferees
be placed in an embarrassing po-
sition if, as expected, both
branches of the Legislature sus-
pend the rules tomorrow and pass
the amendment to the Civil Code
including Japanese in the school
segregation section, which has
been pending for several weeks.
City Attorney William Burke will
leave today for Sacramento to urge
the immediate passage of the bill. He
said last night that he did not expect
any appreciable opposition to the
measure. which was held up at the
request of the California delegation in
Congress on the ground that 1t would
disarrange the Presidents conference.
The purpose of the amendment is to
dren to be put in a school separate
from white children, for the contention
has been made that the word "Mongo-
Ian as used in the code does not mean
the Japanese. If the amendment IS
adopted as planned 1t is asserted that
the Board of Education will have no.
voice in the matter, but will be forced
to make the Japanese attend the ORR
entail school which has been estab-
lished, and which is now being at
tended by the Chinese The amend
ment will be simply to insert the word
Japanese in, section 1862 of the Politi-
cal Code, which will then read in part
as follows:
Trustees shall have the power to
exclude children of filthy or vicious
habits or children suffering with con-
tagious or infectious diseases. and also
to establish separate schools for Indian
children and for children of Mongolian,
Chinese or Japanese descent When
such schools are established. Indian.
Chinese, Japanese or Mongolian chill
dren must not be admitted into any
other school"
The Oriental School having been es-
tablished, 1t will therefore be man
datory upon the Board of Education
and the Mayor to deny japanese pupils
admission to the regular schools
that the amendment will be adopted
He will urge that the rules be sus-
pended and that the bill be passed at
once in each branch of the Legislature
If his plans materialize Mayor Schmitz
and the members of the Board of Edu-
cation will find the new law in force
by the time they arrive from the East
1t is pointed out by those who have
been interesting themselves in the
question that the contention of the
Japanese that they are not MongoIians
is not backed up by good authorities,
other encyclopedias include the Jap
anese with the other peoples belong
ing to the Mongolian race. It is be-
lieved to be easier, however, to change
the law SO as to name the Japanese
among those who are to be put in
separate schools than 1t would be to
establish legally the full meaning of
the word Mongolian.
Mayor Schmitz and the School Board
will probably be home some time this
week A telegram was received from
them yesterday morning stating that
they had left New York, but 1t Is not
known how much time they will spend
en- route to this city.