The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-01
WRITES ON ALIEN
LAND OWNERSHIP
Californian Tells of Prob
lens Faced in State
MOVEMENT NOT NEW
"The Yellow Peril Not Coming" He
Says. "It Is Here"-Crowding
Caucasian Laboring Men to
the Wall
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Interesting information concerning the
question of the ownership of land in Cali
fornia by aliens is given by former
resident of San Francisco, who is now 1iv-
ing in New York. He said:
Residents of states east of the Serras
have not the least conception of the con-
ditions which have arisen out on the
Pacific coast of late years, more partfcu-
larly in California as a result of Japa-
| nese immigration and settlement.
THE objection of residents of Califor-
mia and otheR Pacific coast states to CIV
ing Japanese the legal right to own
land is but one phase of a question which
is so important and far reaching as to
affect not only those states, but every
state In the union. 1t is matter which
concerns not alone the commercial In
terests Of American citizens, but possibly
may affect the future of the republic
1t Is a case of America for Americans,
not America for Japanese.
THE present outcry against the jap
anese In California is not new. 1t was
about 10 years or so ago that the danger
which threatens California more imme-
diately and the entire country indirectly
| first became apparent to residents of the
state, although Japanese immigrants had
been coming in for some years before
then to a small extent. Gradually they
began to crowd upon Caucasian residents
and interests.
I'm the country they at first hired out
as farm laborers. BY degrees they rented
| small patches of land, which they culti-
| waited, selling the produce to whites, but
| buying from Japanese only. Then they
sought to lease plots of land for farming
and other purposes and succeeded. What
ever was possible they bought from their
| fellow countrymen. They contributed
nothing to the support and welfare of
this country, but sent their American
| dollars to Japan. Like teaches, they
sucked and are still sucking all possible
| from America and give nothing in re-
| turn.
Can Live Very Cheaply
Their willingness and their ability to
| live on a few cents a day-a handful of
rice, some dried fish and tea in the ma
jority of cases satisfying their demand
| for food-make it impossible for Cauca-
slams, many of them having wives and
children to support, TO compete with them
| in the labor market. The labor unions
and other laboring interests years ago
| set up a we'll justified protest.
1.-THE labor unions realized that the
Japanese were slowly but surely crowd
! ing them into a corner where destitution
| if not starvation faced all laborng men,
union and nonunion. The exclusion act
passed many years before and aimed at
| the Chinese did not protect them from
Japanese cheap labor competition because
| by treaty with Japan the United States
permitted Japanese who came under the
guise of students to enter this country
! unhndered, with the result that shipload
after shipload of Japanese students
landed at San Francisco. thus swelling
the hordes which had preceded them.
Gradually, and in true Oriental FASH
| ion, they quietly and unostentatously
began to worm their way into the white
| body polite At the University of Call
fornia and at Stanford university Japa-
nese students applied for admission and
were accepted. Then, in pursuance of the
deep laid plan of the Japanese govern
ment to acquire a foothold for it's sub
| jects in this country, admission to the
| public schools was sought for Japanese
| children.
"Then the whites turned. In San Fran
cisco, where the Japs decided to make
| the test, the whites determnedly re-
| fused to accept japanese children as pu-
pills. The row which followed is history.
The government at Toxic protested to
| the government at Washington but in
the end it was decided that the federal
government could not interfere with the
cltys administration of its personal af-
fairs. and the Japanese abandoned their
efforts for the time being.
Unfortunately for California this
movement is not unanimous on the part
| of the whites. The reason for this is
| the sel1shness and pecuniary greed Of
those who would suffer through retalia-
| tion on the part of the Japanese govern
ment and people if California legislation
| were adopted directed against japanese
| In that state. Among this section Of
| the white residents of the state are some
! manufacturers and other business men
who have extensive commercial relations
with Japan. If Japan sought retaliation
| California exports to Japan would fall off
| to the extent of millions of dollars a
year.
"The yellow peril we have heard so
much about is not coming. 1t is here.
1t Is In the Philippines, where 1t has
| been shown that the sinking of the great
| government dock near Manila several
| years ago and the serious injury to the