Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-16
Demand Right to Be
Naturalized in
California
Japanese Begin Case to
Test Legality of
Act
Phase of Question Which Agitated San
Francisco Some Months Ago
May Be Aired in Local
Courts

Petitions for naturalization filed yes
terday in the county court by Japanese
of Los Angeles have precipitated the
long expected and long dreaded contest
of the little yellow men to become bona
fide citizens of the United States.
Los Angeles will be compelled to fight
the question out right here on the Pa
cific coast, where not so many months
ago the question of permitting jap
anese to enter the San Francisco
schools caused a furore the country
over and resulted in the president be-
ing compelled to take a hand in order
to prevent a threatened catastrophe.
Yesterday a telephone message was
received at the naturalization Office and
papers to Japanese was made by local
attorney. A deputy county clerk an
swered the telephone and answered that
Japanese could not be naturalized. He
e in turn was corrected by another of the
clerks, and the attorney was instructed
to appear before County Clerk Keyes
to file his application.
Deputy Clerk Watson then stated
that 1t was the first time in the history
of the office that Japanese had ever at
tempted to secure the coveted natur-
alization papers and that he could not
of his own authority issue such papers
until the question came UP regularly
before the county clerk and the district
attorneys office.
Want to Test Law
"It is evidently an attempt to test
the naturalization laws" stated one of
the court house officials. Following
the trouble in San Francisco, which
proved to be somewhat of victory for
the Japanese, it is evident that they
will take another step and see now if
they cannot secure citizenship in the
country.
This is the first application we have
had We used to receive applications
from Chinese, but there is a law cover
ing the celestials, and we have our in
structions on that point. Regarding
the Japanese, Mr.. Keyes has instructed
us to send these applications to him for
personal investigation before taking
action upon them"
at cannot give an opinion off hand
of the legality of such naturalization"
said District Attorney Fredericks. Il
believe this is the first time we have
been compelled to face this point in the
Japanese would probably cause COM
plant from the Chinese and we would
have a local taste of the yellow peril"
Assistant District Attorney Hartley
Shaw. who draws most of the opinions
for the office, stated that he had filed
the proper instructions regarding just
such an attempt by the yellow men.
Attorney Shaw's Opinion
"It is my opinion that the Japanese
can be naturalized If they want to
make a fight for it." said Mr.. Shaw.
.'This is made possible by correction
of the naturalization laws made by con-
gress in 1906. Prior to that time the
law set forth that naturalization was
applicable to Aliens of the white race.
to negroes born in America or negroes
who were descendants of negroes born
in this country That clause elm
mated the Japanese from any trial for
naturalization. When the new act was
drawn that clause descriptive OF the
meaning of the law was taken out, pos
sibly for the express purpose of ad-
nitting the Japanese to this country,
but at any rate it was left out, and
that in my opinion permits the Jap
anese to enter the country as citizens.
"There is another question which has
been brought up against the Japanese
in connection with this same case and
that is whether or not Japanese IS
Mongolian. The dictionary does not
class the Japanese as Mongolians, but
rather as Malays. The supreme court
of the state holds that Japanese is a
Mongolan and therefore cannot marry
a white woman in California. Since the
federal law puts the ban on Chinese
and not on the Mongolian class and
since the restrictive clause has been
left out of the new naturalization laws,
then it is my opinion the duty of the
county clerk to issue first papers to a
Japanese If the Japanese can make the
proper application. and 1T will be up to
the courts at later date to keep out
undesirable yellow men, just as ig
norant and suspicious Austrians, Rus
slams and others have been kept out
before this time"
Many Los Angeles attorneys are in
clined to make the japanese fight hard
before allowing them to become citi-
zens of the country. 1t has been an
open question thus far, and many at
torneys have expressed their views, so
that a test case in the United States
court may be required to firmly estab-
lish the right of the Japanese to become
citizens"
Another phase of the question is the
way in which the Japanese regard 1t.
My people do not IS a rule care to
become citizens of another country"
(COntfnued ON Page Three.)