The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-19
All Oriental Laborers Barred
From the United States.
AGREEMENT GIVEN OUT
Mayor Schmitz Says That 1t Is
Temporary.
President Agrees to Strive for
New Treaty.

ed laborers coming from japan are
barred from the main land of the Unit
ed States, and American laborers skill
ed and unskilled are to be excluded
from Japan.
This is the basis of the agreement
between President Roosevelt. Mr..
Root, Mayor Schmitz and the San
Francisco school board as an adjust
ment of the anti-Je paneSe agitation
brought about by the segregation of
Japanese children in the San Francisco
schools. The agreement means that the
schools Of San Francisco will be con-
Quoted in the same manner as they
adopted the resolution last October
providing for the segregation of the
japanese except that adult japanese
who are in primary grades must con-
and that Japanese children under six
teen will be admitted to classes with
white children of their own ages
While the resolution of the school
board as amended reads: Chill
dren of alien BIRTH" is is freely
admitted by Mayor Schmitz and his
associates that the resolution will ap-
ply only to the japanese children and
that change in the wording was to
make it plain to the Toxic government
that no discrimination was intended
against Japanese children.
Assistant City Attorney williams of
san Francisco who has acted as legal
adviser to Mayor Schmitz and the
board of education since negotiations
have been pending, said last night:
TO understand the exact meaning
OF the statement given out by Mayor
Schmitz it will be necessary to read
between the lines. The only CONFESS
sions we have made is to admit Japan
children to the white schools while In
return the administration has brought
about the exclusion of Japanese labor
ers from this country"
This is only a Temporary agree
ment, President Roosevelt has given us
direct and positive assurance that he
will begin negotiations with Japan for
the purpose of bringing about new
treaty that will exclude Japanese la
borers, skilled and unskilled, from con-
tinental United States"
Text of Agreement.
Mayor Schmitz's statement of the
agreement follows:
we find that the administration
and congress are entirely alive to the
situation in California and anxious to
meet the wishes of the Californfans
They are also DESTROYS of keeping on
the best possible terms with Japan
and of doing nothing which may break
the ancient friendship between that
country and the United States. 1t has
been explained to us that the form of
action taken by the school board of
San Francisco in relation to the Jap
anese school children has been COM
pletely misunderstood and miscon-
strued as an attack upon the japanese
as such and that this misunderstand-
ing and misconstruction has been and
now is one of the chief obstacles to
achieving the purpose California real
ly has in view, this purpose being to
secure by honorable and amicable
agreement with Japan the mutual ex-
clusion from the two countries of the
laborers, skilled and unskilled, of each
country. This earnest desire of tn e.
nT Na1 10 Il i
in our belief of the people of the entire
Pacific coast to check the coming of
Japan laborerS and our entire will
Hngness and desire that Japan should
similarly put stop to the going of
American laborers. skilled and un-
skilled, to Japan, springs from no mo-
tive other than to bring about COM
mercial and Industrial conditions to
the satisfaction of the two friendly ma
tions.
Events have convinced us. how
ever, that many, and probably most, of
the japanese laborers who come hith-
er are really brought over to this
country in violation of contract labor
law and that the wellbeing of our
wage workers imperatively demands
that immigration of Japan laborers
to this country, skilled and unskilled,
shall cease. There are other countries
as well as Japan to which we feel that
in all probability there will have to
be similar legislation owing to the fact
that we are convinced that the labor
ers who come here from these coun-
tries also really come in violation of
the contract labor law. We have
every reason to believe the admins
tration now shares and that congress
will share our way of looking at this
problem and that the result we desire
the cessation of the immigration of
Jpan laborers, skilled and unskilled, to
this country-will speedily be
achieved.
"A striking proof of the administra-
49,, l. t.
of the immigration bill. which will bar
out japanese coming hither by way of
Hawaii. Mexico. Canada and the canal
zone by enforcing the limitations
which Japan voluntarily puts into the
passports issued by her government
More than two-thirds of the Japanese
laborers who come hither from Ha-1
wall, Mexico and Canada, and in our
judgment almost all so coming really
reach these shores in violation of con-
tract labor laws. although such fact
would be well nigh impossible to
prove in a court of law
I'VE are satisfied from our numerous
interviews with the president that in
the event the amendment to the frnn1i-
grafton bill introduced in both houses
February 13, shall prove Intellectual for
the purpose herein mentioned and in
tended. every effort will be made by
him not only to obtain a treaty with
Japan authorizing legislation by both
Japanese and the United States to ex-
clude from each of their respective ter
ritorfes the immigration of all subjects
of the other of said nations who are
laborers skilled and unskilled but in
any event will favor such form of legis-
iation as will in the most speedy man
ner accomplish the results desired
The national government has no
purpose whatever to attempt to infringe
upon the rights of California as a SOW
ereign state, and the purpose of the
administration of the national govern
ment was merely to fulfill a bounded
duty to a friendly nation with which it
had a treaty to ascertain a matter of
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