The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1907-01-14
WOULD LET JAPAN
ENACT Her OWN
EXCLUSION
President Jordan Says 1t
Would Be a Hoodlum Act
if We Would Attempt 1t
BEST BE KIND TO
GENTLEMAN NATION

NO Congress would pass a Japanese
exclusion act. and no President would
sign one, because it would be a hood
ium act We don't care straw what
nation our friends come from. The re-
semblance is greater than the differ
ence between the American and the
Japanese. but it is right that California
should think that she would rather on
the whole that this should be an Anglo
Saxon State"
David Starr Jordan expressed himself
IN this manner and still more at length
IN discussing the Asiatic problem at
the Sunday evening meeting OF the So
cialists at Equity Hall last night.
He quoted President Roosevelt in
saying that as a general rule, 1T paid
for a nation to be a gentleman and
he was inclined to think that the rem
edy for the immigration troubles did
not lie In lawlessness, nor yet In mass
meetings denouncing Japanese as ma
ton because they did not go to the
same Sunday school we attend
He prefaced his remarks on immi-
grafton with delightful sketch or the
Japanese at home. as he had come in
contact with them in his stay in that
country, saying that they gave them
selves more than any other people TO
that they were more given to vice than
Western nations, and said:
1T is not true that we shut the Jap
anese children out of our schools be-
cause they have some peculiar Japan
csc vices that other children do not
have.
There can be no exclusion act aimed
at a gentleman nation. that IS nation
with stable government. They would
Rr1f a assured by jap
anese officials whom / know that tney
are willing to enact q law themselves
prohibiting the emigration of unskilled
laborers into this country Ihey are
willing to keep their children out or
our yard, but they do not want us 10
drive them out with our bulldogs.
1T is all rot to say that we have TO
arht with Japan to see who shall have
the mastery of the Pacific. That coun-
try will have the supremacy which mas
the best goods to SELL wrapped up In
the most attractive parcels and for sale
at the cheapest price. Trade follows
the flag when it IS on merchant yes
sci. Supremacy of battleships has moth
ing TO do with supremacy of trade, and
we don't have to kill the japanese to
get them TO trade with us The good
will of Japan is the best asset this
coast has. and ii is always bad plan
to begin a trade by hitting your Gus
toner over the head. If you find 1T
necessary to take his hat off there are
several ways to do ii rather than TO
knock IL over his eyes or to hit 1T up
from behind.
The city pays for its schools and it
has right to run them as badly as it
did fifteen years ago if it wants to. IT
NAV have the right to exclude all
aliens. but / doubt II IL has the right
to exclude the aliens of one single ma
ton. In any case, it might have been
done more gracefully.
s.It is only the hoodlums that make
the trouble, and every time boy
throws a tomato can at Japanese he
makes the question so much harder of
settlement. do not think that the
argument of permanent race difference
is so strong after all.
There are social objections to tho
class who can be exploited. Servile
labor, labor that cannot hold its head
up is always a painful thing in a body
polite We do not want great num-
bers of the poorest class of any nation
Whatever economic objections there
are to not having this labor. it would
pay the country to wait a bit in its
development rather than to admit a
servile class. But 7 am sure that the
Japanese are ready to enact law max
ing II necessary for an enligrant to
have q passport, and that no passports
shall he issued to unskilled laborers
such as we got to come to Hawaii
Doctor Jordon was listened 10 and
applauded by an audience of 200 people.