The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-01-21
RUPTURE WITH JAPAN SEEMS
 VERY PROBABLE
Realtions Never Before so Near the Breaking Point As Now.
CAUSE OF COMPLAINT
 CLEARLY SET FORTH

the President to Prevent
 Hostile Legislation by V California.
 Especial from United Press)
 JAPANESE SITUATION TO DATE Washinston, Jan. 21.-Cause of the trouble--threatened passage by Call fornia Legislature of three bIils-segre- gaeinx Japanese in the public schools; preventing Japanese becoming olrec- tors in corporations; preventing own exship of real estate by Japanese 1ol more than seven years
 Developsnents = Representations by Japanese government expressing grave concern and suggesting that passage of the bills would violate immigration agreement between the two govern ments.
 Telexrams and letters from President RDcseyeit to Governor Gillette urging that official to use influence to pre- vent passage of the objectionable bills; Governor asks leaders of Legislature to kill bills and says he will veto them if passed; consideration of bills by the State Assembly delayed one week.
 President makes strong speech be- fore Methodist Missionary meeting pleading for square deaP for Japan.
 Figures given out by President show ing more Japanese have been return been coming to this disputed by Jap anese exclusion league.
 Favorable impression created in Jap- an by Presidents letter to Governor Gillette.
 En-Mayor Phelan. of San Francisco, depiores removal of battleshlp fleet from Pacific Ocean: says nation un- prepared for war now; advises com plfance with Presidents wishes.
 General staff issues report showing defencelessness of San Pedro Bay, California. and how easy it would be for an Oriental Power" to establish an impregnable basis there.
 Throughout the West there is a gen eraT tendency to accept the President s statements on their face. WeSterners believe that the President appreciates the gravity of the situation created by the Japanese industrial invasion or California as few Easterners do. They are fncensed at Congress. however, for its disinclination to support the Pres idents in his demands for bigger navy.t
 Washington. Jan. 21.-Never before have affairs approached so near to the peint ofl g. rupture of friendly relations  as they have within the past few days. This is not mere lingo talk. It repre- ser1ts accurately the view of the Ma tionsd Administration. It is known that President Roosevelt foresees the gray est consequences If the legislature of California insists on passing the antl- Japanese bills now pending.
 The report of the General Staff Of the dsfencelaesness of San Pedro Bay, California given out to-day shows how easy 1t would be for Japan to ob- tain . basis in this country in case of war. from which it would be well nigh impossible to dislodge her troops Other ports of the Pacific coast are only a little better protected and in the ab- sence of the battleship fleet on the other side of the world Japan, if she should strike quickly, (which is ap- parently a habit she has,) would in- nict dire probable injury along the whole coast line and obtain an advan- tage that would admittedly require months to overcome.
 1t is pointed out to-day that this IS California's second offence. Once be- fore. only the swish of the Big Stick prevented the enactment of similar bflls Californians in Washington gen. orally deplore the attitude taken by the more radical members of the legis- lature while. at the same time they are open in expressing their regrets that President Roosevelt did not heed their request last summer to retain the bat tleship fleet in the Pacific Ocean.
 The Presidents answer to this criti- cism is that were the fleet there now, Japan might very readily assume that the action of the legislature was con- nived at by the Federal government for the very purpose of bringing on war. The absence of the fleet is. of Itself. an assurance that the Federal government had no part in the threat ened legislation.
 The latest developments in the in ternational crisis brought a number of members of Congress hurrying to the White House to-day. Among them were Senator Beveridge, of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Representative Denby. member of the Immigration Committee of the House. While these members declined to discuss the matter for publication they did not attempt to conceal their belief that the situation was one that must be handled with great delicacy Incidentally the desirability of increas. Ing the naval program for battleships was touched upon. Administration friends in Congress are eager to con- slider last years figures for four big battleships.
 Secretary Root also conferred with The President to-day on the California situation but refused to make any comment.
 Several members of the California federation in Congress told the Presi- dent that the question was not one of theory but of fact and that while the figures of the Immigration Review might show a decreased number of Japanese immigrants, evidence existed that there had been a decided increase.
 Senator Flint coincided in the Presi- dents view that @ thorough trial should be given the proposed effort of the Japanese government to stem the tide of immigration and also to with draw Japanese Iaborers from this coun- try Senator Fulton. of Oregon. told the President that there was no doubt pf steady increase in the number of immigrants along the entire Pacific slope,
 Mayor Taylor is one of the most en- enthusiastic advocates of a fleet in the Pacific. In a statement to the United Press to-day he said: "We ought to have Pacific fleet as large as the Atlantic fleet. I'm already on record n favOring the keeping of the Atlantic ncet in Pacific waters in case the gov brnment will not build a Pacific fleet.
 ssWhen Mir. MetcaIf. then secretary If the navy was here. I asked him to