Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-15

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years ago it contained the following
declaration:
The presence of foreigners ineli-
gible to become citizens of the
United States is declared to be
dangerous to the we'll being of
the state, and the legislature
shall discourage their immigration
by all means within its power.
"Of late years our problem from an
other angle has become acute, and the
agitation has been continuous in the
last decade in reference to our agri-
cultural lands, until finally aftlrma-
tive action in an attempted solution
became imperative.
This attempted solution is found
in the action of our legislature in the
passage of the alien land bill. In the
phraseology of this bill, in those
whom it affects, in its scope, and in its
purpose, we believe we are within our
legal and our moral rights. and that
we are doing only what is imperative
~ demanded for the protection and
preservation of our state.
TELLS OBJECTIONS OFFERED.
"In this enactment we have kept
ever in mind our national good faith
as shown by existing treaties, and
our desire and anxiety have been to
act only in such fashion as would COM
mend us to our sister states and
justify us to our fellow countrymen.
THE objections to our bill are based,
first, upon the treaty obligations of
the nation, and secondly, upon the
assertion that our act is offensive and
discriminatory. The protest to our
measure as your telegram states,
comes from the representative of ia
pan. The bill that is before ME pro-
vides substantially in its first sec
! ton that all aliens eligible to citizen
ship under the laws of the United
States may acquire real property in
the same manner as citizens of the
| United States.
"The second section provides that
all aliens other than those mention
! ed in the first section may acquire
real property in the manner and the
CAbCuI anu LOl lhC pun POOCO pa
| ed by any treaty now existing be-
tween the government of the United
! States and the nation or country of
which such aliens are citizens or sub
jects, and may, in addition, lease for a
| period of three years lands for agri-
cultural purposes.
| PRESERVED TREATY RIGHTS"
Hor
les part of our law and thus have
we preserved every right that any
foreign nation, by international con-
tract, has insisted upon preserving
with our national government
THE treaty of 1911 with Japan, in
reference to the citizens and subjects
of each country, provides that they
shall have liberty to own, or lease,
or occupy houses, manufactures, ware
houses, and shops; to employ agents
of their choice; to lease land for
residential and commercial purposes,
and generally to do anything incident
| to or necessary for trade upon the
same terms as native citizens or sub
! jects, submitting themselves to the
laws and regulations there estab-
lished.'
I'VE assume that the right of Japan
csc to own real property for the pur-
pose described is absolute in our state,
and we seek TO deal only with our
agricultural lands. We embody the
treaty in our Law and we add to n
permission to lease our agricultural
lands for the period of three years.
mot OPEN TO ACCUSATION"
Where such extraordinary care
has been exercised to preserve honor
and good faith, in the words Of the
contract made by the protesting nation
with our own, and to do more by au.
thorizing leases of agricultural lands
it would seem that We ought not to be
open to any accusation of violation
OF treaty rights, or desire to intrench
on that which belongs alone to the
national government, or which might
become a matter Of international
policy.
BY the law adopted We offer nc
offense, We make no discrimination
The offense and discrimination is con
tanned, IL is claimed. il the use of the
words eligible to citizenship, and in
making a distinction between those
who are eligible to citizenship and
those who are not.
We do not mention the Japanese