The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-09
WHITE, HOUSE CONFERENCE Japanese Legislation k ! Discussed. NOTHING IS GIVEN OUT Some Radical Action is Expected
 Today. z csafere.ee va. shert, s.s At It. s Cenciusien the calsfsrnians Dee
 slarea Their sfentAs Had -,--.. Been Cissed.
 

Washington. Feb. ,s- President
 Roosevelt. summoned Senator Flint and
 Representative Kahn to the White House today and with Secretary of
 State Bacon and, Assistant Secretary
 Laughlin, held another conference on
 the Japanese situation in California.
 Another statement or some radical act
 ion is expected tomorrow.
 | As the result of the conference, Presr ident Roosevelt will give to the public
 another statement for publication to-
 morrow morning. Interstate Commis-
 sioner Lane. of California, was also
 present at the conference. The conference was not long and at
 it's conclusion the CalifornianS declared that their mouths had been closed by
 the President, who had asked them to
 say nothing as he intended to make a
 statement. The State Department 0ffi- cfals also declared that they could not talk.
 :. The fact that the State Department
 was represented in the conference has | excited more, speculation than any feat
 ures and caused the belief that certain
 representations have been made by Ja- I pan as to how she regards possible | eRislation in California. 1ntimatton
 was conveyed that important, messages have been. received from AInbassador | O'Brien, our representative at Tokios l portraying the feeling there. In reply
 fo inquiries along those lines, Secretary Baccn declined to talk. 5st. | Telegram to stnnfOn.
 | To Speaker Stanton, the President
 sent the following:
 | 'T, trust there will. be no misunder- standing of the Federal governments | attitude We are zealously endeavor-
 ing to guard the interest of California | "a as.A e1.sn assk4 yaof in with the desires of our Western peo- | pie. with n friendly relation with the l Japanese, we are now carrying out a | policy, which. while meeting the inter
 est and deslres oe the Pacific slope. Is yet compatible not merely with mutual
 self-respect, but with mutual esteem and adnIiration between the Americans and Japanese.
 "Ths Japanese government Is Loyalty | and In good faith doing It's part to
 cagry out this SagrseIqent, precisely as l Is 4his g0vernment doing. This policy l aims at rnntuAlity of obligation and I behavior. tn mceofdAnUe with #, the EpurpoBeii is that ttae JApanese shall come lferss exantly as AnerieanS go to Japan.
 which. is in effect. that travellers. stu dents. persons engaging in interna- | ti0nai buslness, men who sojourn for
 pleaspre or study, and the like, shall have the freest access from one coun- ! try to the other and shall be sure of the best treatment, but that there shall | be no settlement in mass by the people | of either country In the other.
 During the last six months under this policy, more Japanese have left the country than have come in. and the total number in the United States has diminished by. over 1000. These fg- l ures are absolutely accurate and can
 not be impeached. In other words. if the present policy. is consistently fol- lowed and works as well In the future
 as 1t 1s now working. all difficulties and causes of friction will disappear, while | at the same time. each nation will re- | tain its self-respect and the good will of the other. But, such a bill as this
 accomplishes literally nothing in the line of object aimed at, and gives just and grave cause for irritation; while, | In addition. the United States govern
 ment would be obliged to Immediately
 take action in the Federal courts to | test such legislation, as we hold 1t l clearly to be 8 violation of the treaty.
 ''On this point, refer you to the numerous decisions of the United States | Supreme Court in regard to State laws
 which violate treaty obligations of the
 United States, The leglslation would accomplish nothing beneficial and l would certainly cause some mischief
 and might cause very grave mischief. l In short the policy of the admi n istra- 1 ton is to combine the maximum of ef- aciency to achieving the real object which the people of the Pacific slope have at heart, with the minimum of friction and trouble while the misguid- ed men who advocate such action as
 this against which I protest, are fol- lowing a policy which combines the very minimum of efficiency with the ma avfTr 0f nd rryfal alOh totally failing to achieve any real re-
 suit for good, yet might cause an in- hnIty of harm.
 If. in the next year or two. the ac- ton of the Federal government fails to achieve what 1t Is now achieving, then. through the further action of the
 President and Congress 1t can be made
 entirely efficient. sRn sure that the
 sound Judgment of the people of Cali
 fornia. will support you. Mir. Speaker. in your efforts. Let me repeat that
 at; present we are actually doing the very thing which the. people of Cali
 fornia wish to be done and to upset
 the arrangement under which this is
 being done. cannot do good and may do
 great harm- If. in the next year or two, the figures of immigration prove
 that the arrangement which has work ed so successfully during the last six months Ia no longer working success
 fully then there would be ground for
 grievance. and for the reversal by the national government of It's present pol
 icy. But, at present. the policy is
 working well, and until 1t works bad ly, 1t would be a grave misfortune to change 1t, and when changed 1t can
 only be changed effectively by the na- tional government.
 iSigned,) Theodore Roosevelt" Kahn Won't Talk.
 Mir. Kahn declined to discuss his in- terview with the President but if ia
 known that after his return to the Can
 itol from the conference. he suggested to his colleagues in Congress that time
 should be Rlven to Japan to test her
 ability to keep her coolie labor out of the United States. He urged that if
 there should be failure on. the part of
 Japan there would be time enough 10
 act during the approaching session of Congress.
 During the day, the entire California
 delegation in the House. with the ex- ception of Mir, MoI-achlan. met at luncheon and discussed the Japanese
 situation and it is stated upon the au- thOrity of those present, that Mir. Kahn
 was. the only member in Attendance
 who manifested an inclination to sup
 port the administration in it's attitude
 toward State action on the Japanese