The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-04-23
GOVERNOR JOHNSON DEFIANT.


reported that he had agreed TO veto
such a bill II il passed the Legisa-
tnre. ANY such idea as this, however,
is absolutely dissipated by the message
which Governor johnson sent 30 the
country on Monday night defining his
position and the position OF the Leg
islaturc with regard to that legisla.
tion. The gist Of his statement is
that California will do as it pleascs
about this. and tho National Govern
statement from the Governor also sets
forth legislation enacted in a good
many States OF the Union on precisely
the same lines that California now
proposes; and the question reasonably
and naturally arises, why should there
be such an uproar about California en-.
acting this sort of legislation when
nothing was said about other States
which did the samel The answer
would seem to be that California has
been belligerent on this question, has
been stroking Japan the wrong way
for years. and anything that California
does in supposed restriction of Japan
ese rights is more closely watched and
more keenly resented than in the case
Of any other State. Still, as Gov
ernor Johnson says. so far as the eth
les, legality, and morality OF the case
are concerned, California must be Judged
on this question precisely the same as
other States; and the State is quite
within its rights when it does nothing
more radical than other States have
done without question, and when it is
careful to keep within the provisions
of the treaties between this country
and other nations. And this is ex.
ac;ly what President Wilson in his re-
ply to Governor Johnson asks to have
done
After all, the question is not a par.
ticularly difficult one TO solve, either
in ethics or in law California is
bound. precisely the same as other
States are bound, BY treaties made in
pursuance of the Constitution by the
Government Of the United States with
foreign governments. Such treaties,
like as the Constitution itself, are
the "suprcme law Of the land - IF
any State undertakes to lcgislate so
as to cncroach upon the provisions OF
q treaty duly ratified and exchanged,
a case can easily be mado to present
to the Supreme Court of the United
States to test the question whether
the legislation does indeed violate that
treaty or not. Fortunately, our legal
machinery is expressly adapted to the
settlement of such case. The Su-
preme Court of the United States is a
tribunal of such dignity, such impair
TALLY, and such recognized standing
among all nations of the earth that
would have any reason to doubt that
exact justice would be rendered in any
given case by that court; and inasmuch
as the japanese government has an.
nounccd its intention TO bring suit
in that court TO determine the validity
Of our naturalization laws under which
naturalization is denied to Japanese, it
would be quite in line with the Jap
anese endeavor. 10 bring another suit
to invalidate any land law that might
be passed by California which Japan
may consider to he violative of Jap.
anese treaty rights in this country.
There is no occasion in any of this
international complication, in case
there should be such complication, to
indulge in any buster or to give out
any threats. A perfect remedy is cas-,
lily available TO the Japanese as n ma
ton, or to any individual japanese who
may consider himself wroneed either
by our naturalization laws or by the
prospective land legislation of Califor.
MIA. SO there is no reason why any
individual or any nation should lose
temper over the proposed legislation
Of California.
At tho same time. one cannot but
wonder what sort of an answer Gov
ernor Johnson of California would have
given had Colonel Roosevelt been Pres.
ident and had undertaken TO interfere
against the passage of such legislation
by California. as he undoubtedly would
have undertaken TO interfere. We won.
der II Governor johnson would have
taken the same defiant attitude that
he takes now. or whether he would
have quailed, as Roosevelt compelled
the school board of San Francisco to
quail, at his insistent. importupate. and
meddlesome interference with regard
10 Japanese attendance at the San
Francisco public schools 1t is posi-.
bic that Governor Johnson IS answer TO
Colonel Roosevelt would have been pre-
ciselv the same as that which he now
makes 10 President Wilson; but it is
also conceivable that his answer might
have been not only different. but in
place OF defiance would have indicated
obedience
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SEVERE ON THE HAZERs.