The San Francisco call., 1909-05-07
HELPLESS WITHOUT
LARGE WARSH|PS
Roosevelt, in Outlook Article,
Deals With the Japanese
immigration Question
Former President Pays His Re-
spects to well Meaning but
Fatuous" Peace Advocates

NEW YORK, May 6.-Former Presi-
dent Roosevelt declares in an article
In this weeks outlook that it is the
-duty of America to wait and see
whether or not Japan succeeds in pre-
venting the immigration to this coun-
try of any appreciable number of Japa-
nese OF the laboring and small trading
classes. If Japan fails. he writes,- this
government must protect itself by
treaty or legislation. but he adds
1T would be doubly incumbent upon
US 10 take the action in the way that
would provoke the least possible fric-
ton and cause the least possible hard
feeling"
POWERLESS WITHOUT NAVY
Although he asserts Americans have
the right to say what immigrants shall
come to their shores, they are powerless
to enforce that right against any ma
ton that chooses to disregard their
wishes, unless we continue to build
up and maintain a first class lighting
navy"
The professional peace advocate. he
continues, who opposed the upbuilding
of the navy. would place the United
States where it would be at the mercy
or any nation which wished to disre-
gard its desires to control immigration,
protect the Panama canal or take any
stand for International honor or right
eousness.
WELL MEANING, BUT FATUOUs
Roosevelt adds that those we'll
meaning but fatuous advocates of peace
who would try to prevent the upbuild-
ing of our navy utterly misread the
temper of their countrymen."
America would fight he says, whether
prepared or not, and "all the peace ad-
vocates could do would be to prevent
this country from being successful IN
the war"
Roosevelt is unsparing in his
praise of the Japanese He character
ICES them as "a highly civilized people
of extraordinary military, artistic and
industrial development: they are proud,
warlike and sensitive he adds, and
continues:
NOT FOR ADVANTAGE OF EITHER
81 believe that our people have what
/, personally, certainly haye--a pro-
found and hearty admiration for them;
an admiration for their great deeds
and great qualities and ungrudgihg re-
spect for the national character. But
admiration and respect are accompan
led by the firm conviction that it is not
for the advantage of either people that
emigrants from either country should
settle in mass in the other country.
The understanding between the two
countries on this point should be on
the basis of entire mutuality, and there
fore on basis which will preserve ln-
impaired the self-respect of each coun
try and permit each to feel with kindly
good viii toward the other.s
Former President Roosevelt, in his
article, SAYS that only the national gov
ernment can carry out such a. policy
effectively, adding:
FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The surest way to do harm is for
ments to pass laws which would be in
effective to obtain the real object and
yet would produce intense irritation.
THE best of all possible ways In
which to achieve the object is that
which the governments of the two
countries have now by common agree
ment adopted; for the Japanese govern
ment has on its own initiative and of
its own accord undertaken to check the
coming hither in any appreciable num-
bers of Japanese of the classes to which
I have referred. This agreement dur
ing the last year or Whereabouts has
worked so we'll that actually more Jap
anese have left the country than have
come into it, and there has, therefore,
been a. dimunition of their numbers. If
this continues. all difficulties will cease
without the need of further action,
whether by treaty or legislation