New-York tribune., 1909-02-05
PASS JAP SCHOOL BILL
fnTION By CALIFORNIA
1ROUSES PRESIDENT.
InmediafeIy Protests to Governor
Glleff-T5cO Other Measures
Defeated.

- vote Of 46 10 2S. and Governor Gillett re-
;as the following telegram from President
roosevelt this afternoon:
81 X GilIett. Governor of California:
your kind letter just received. What is the
.-,-no- that the California Legislature has passed
tiu excluding t,se japanese children from the
bI,c schoolsc This is the most offensive bill
= al and in my Judgment is clearly uncon-
.,,,utional and We should at once have to test
!, :, the courts Can il be stopped in the Leg
.sature er by veto?
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
.orsr1,or Gillett Immediately wired g reply TO
.re President and asked for an answer at once
zze refused To discuss the nature OF the message
10 Washington
ar Johnson's other bills prohibiting aliens
,-,n, heing members of boards of directors and
,ss-ricting them in residence districts, at the
e,eion Of boards of supervisors. were defeated,
- former by q vote OF II to -. The latter
,sssure failed of passage because of a tie vote.
.sa friends Of the bill being unable to muster
-be required forty-one votes. Rollcan finally
s.aas 81 10 81 after a call Of the House, and
several changed from aye to no. and vice versa.
Johnson changed his vote from aye to no, and
moved 10 reconsider tomorrow.
Walter Leeds. Of Los Angeles changed his
vote from no to aye on the school bill. and moved
10 reconsider that also.
measure the votes for the bill falling thirteen
short Of the number cast for the Drew bill.
The principal debate was upon the residential
segregation bill
MANY who voted against the land and corpora
ton measures announced that they favored seq
ragatior Of undesirable aliens because that was
effective and japanese legislation. Beardslee,
Of stockton and Transue. Eanlon. Reich and
CatteIl Of Los Angeles, spoke against II, taking
the ground that II was unconstitutional and
would interfere With the friendly negotiations
Of The federal government with japan to stop
Immigration
Shortly after the disposal Of the Johnson bills
Afr Drew moved that the vote by which his land
bill was defeated be reconsidercd. He offered
70 amend the measure by striking out section
vhich. it had been declared. violated the treaty
rights Of several nations. He declared that
IS the school b:li mad just been passed. and
1ha1 the one against which the Presi-
dent objected most strenuousy two years ago,
5he Assembly Should go a step further and pass
he land bill also
The motion was lost. the vote being 9s ayes
and IS noes This showed q gain of ten votes
for the proponents OF the bill
AIMED AT JAPANESE.
The bill passed to-day. which was one of three
snti-Japanese measures introduced by Assem-
blyman Grove L. johnson, places the japanese
IN the same classification with other Asatics,
and inserts the word Japanese" in the present
state statute providing for the segregation in
separate schools Of ''Mongolian" children.
BY this action the lower house Of the Cali
fernia Legislature has taken the step which the
Board of Education of San Francisco intended
70 take Two years ago. which was abandoned
after the board ard former Mayor Eugene L.
schmitz were called TO Washington and had sew
eral conferences with President Roosevelt.
Al that time II Was contended 10y the Jap
anese that they were not "AIongolians.' and they
resented The efforts TO place them in the same
class with the Chinese. Corcans and other Ash
atc races. The question also raised
whether under the law the segregation Of Jap
anese school children could be enforced in the
absence Of specific mention Of the word Jap
snesz"
Upon the return Of the delegation from Wash
ington the san Francisco School Board con-
'snted itself with the adoption Of a rule limit
Ag the age u pupils that would be permitted
attend the lower grades Of the public schools,
oae Of the principal objections 10 the japanese
being that adults We're attending the primary
sssdes and III daily association with white chill
crsn Of tender years
PASSAGE WAS UNEXPECTED.
The passage Of the japanese school segrega-
haR bill to-day unexpected, after. the de-
fsats yesterday Of Drew's anti-alien land bill.
Which was generally believed to foreshadow the
rejection OF ali Of the measures aimed at the
japanese. TIE defeat to-day of two anti
Japanese bills added to the surprise occasioned
. The vote On the school segregation bill. I'm
laeoiately upon learning of the Assemblys
uon. Governor Gillett called into conference
Speaker Philip Stanton and the Republican
hnTh of he gegiSl at
-at'er expressed the hope OF still being able to
u@ieas the measure in the Assembly upon re-
consideration. and Il was with this in view that
ANseSnoymsn Waiter Leeds. of Los Angeles,
ai'T rolcal changed his vote from no to
yes and gave notice that tomorrow he
sOula move 10 reconsider the vote by which the
ai1 was passed.
= WA require forty-one votes to carry Leeds's
1oa. In case ii Is adopted. it is freely pre-
eA4eo tonight that one Of the fercest battles
Tsgee in the California Legislature will
Nef IN the effort 10 Kill the bill.
TEXT OF THE BILL.
soAow!ng is the full text Of the school bill:
Sssction 1852 of the political code is hereby
IsaSeo so as TO read as follows:
Rv Rvss--tsFery school. unless otherwise provided
csflS.. must be open for the admission Of all
ars - netween SIX and twenty-one years OF
seb.., .s,eslulilg IN the district. and the board OF
pors trustees or city board Of education have
n - !" aomit adults and children not residing
1kersSe district whenever good reasons exist
.irse u, trustees shall have the power 10 eX-
Srpn -.-oren OF filthy CT vicious habits or chill
sisesssss. ss.iaef1Iig from contagious infectious
for s,ss ana also 10 establish separate schools
goiis- 1ieh children and for children OF Mon
kuch -. VI japanese or Chinese descent. When
5s'e1ate schools are established, Indian
nos - japanese MoneoIian children must
ffsf - @ernitted into any other school; provided
tn "a = cues and togns in which the kindergar-
sSos-sss peen adopted max hereafter be
chsidren - - part OF the public primary schools
cis<sas may De admitted TO such kindergarten