Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-18
START BATTLE
TO DETERMINE
STATES RIGHT
Segregation Suit Is
Commenced by
Government
Demands Japanese Boy
Be Admitted to
School
Federal Attorneys Bring Suit Which
VIII Be the Most important
Ever Contested In
Court
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 1.-THE first
action In what promises to be one Of
the most important legal battles in the
United States between a state of the
Union and the federal government was
taken late this afternoon when the su-
preme court of California issued an al
Tentative writ Of mandate commanding
Miss Mary A. Deane, principal of the
hedding primary school, to admit
Keikeiki Aoki, 10-year-old Japanese
boy, as pupil in her school or appear
before that court at 10 o'clock Febru-
airy IL to show cause why she did not
admit him. The order was signed by
every member Of the supreme court.
This action Of the supreme court was
In answer to the petition of United
States District Attorney Robert T.
Devlin for writ of mandate against
Miss Deane following the latters re-
fusal to admit young Aoki to her
school.
AS arranged at conference between
United States District Attorney Devlin
and the board of education, Aoki ac-
..
Richardson, foreign secretary of the
Japanese consulate here, this morning
appeared at the Redding primary
school and made formal demand for adj
mission to the school in the presence
of School Directors Aaron Altman and
Lawrence Walsh and representatives
of the United States district attorneys
office.
Refuses Boy Admission
Stating that she was acting under
the law of the state and in pursuance
of resolution passed by the board of
education that Japanese pupils cannot
attend any public school except the
oriental school for Mongolians and In
dams, Miss Deane refused the boy ad-
mittance.
Papers in the supreme court of the
state and in the federal court were at
once filed by United States District At
torney, Devlin; in the state court pc
tition In the name of Michitsuga Aoki,
father of the boy. for writ of man
date ordering the principal of the
school to admit the boy or show cause;
in the federal court bill in equity in
which all members of the board Of ed
ucation, the superintendent of schools
and all principals of primary and
grammar schools are made defendants.
Attached to the petition for a writ
of mandate is request by United
feet that the United States be made
a party to the record for the purpose
of enforcing the treaty with Japan.
Important Questions Involved
State rights, the treaty of the United
States with Japan, the validity of the
order issued by the San Francisco
board of education and the constitu-
tionality of law of the state Of Cali
fornia as well as an Interpretation of
the word Monaghan" are involved in
the two suits.
over the exclusion of the Japanese from
the schools attended by whites by the
board of education is mentioned in the
petition for a writ of mandate, and to
which is attached the signatures of
Charles j. Bonaparte, United States
attorney general, and Robert Devlin,
United States district attorney.
After reciting the age of the boy,
the fact that the Redding primary
school which he attended until exclud-
ed by the resolution of the board of
education is the nearest school to his
home, and that the oriental school is
six blocks farther away, the petition
asserts that the Aoki child, although
Japanese, is not an Indian, nor is he
Chinese or Mongolian, implying there
by that the state law requiring the
segregation of those races in the pub
lie schools does not apply to the Jap
aneSe.
The document sets forth that the
resolution passed by the board of edu-
cation including the Japanese in the
segregation with the other races is a
discrimination against the Japanese
and a denial to the latter of the rights,
privileges and liberties granted by the
state OF California to subjects of the
most favored nations, and that the
M nf
the treaty now in force between the
United states and Japan. A copy of
article of the treaty is attached to
the petition.
Make Startling Contention
A contention which heretofore has
not been mentioned In this controversy
between the state and federal govern
ments is the claim that the federal
government by land grants and appro-
prlations of money has helped to sup
port the public schools of this state as
contained in the following section of
the petition:
THAT the said United States has at
various times made grants Of land and
appropriated money to the state of
California for the support of the pub
lie or common schools of said state,
the last provision for which was made
by an act of congress, approved June
"a. 1906 all Of which various acts 1t
prays that this court will take judicial
notice of. all Of which said grants and
appropriations were made with the un-
derstanding and intent that the said
schools should be conducted In con-
formity with the constitution of the
United States and to all treaties made
under the authority OF the United
States"
The second suit Is a very compre-
(Cnntfumad A. -. -. Ut...