The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-15
GOVERNOR JOHNSON DETERMINED
10 MAKE ALIEN LAND BILL "A LAW
TELEGRAPHS BRYAN DECISION
TO MAKE BILL LLAW-LENGTHY
EXPLANATION OF ACTION
TAKEN

Sacramento, May 14.--ExpressiDg his
determination TO sign the alien land
bill. recently passed by the legislature,
Gov. Hiram w. johnson of California
today te'errHphcd 10 Secretary sf stute
8ryan long explanation Of the action
taken by the Legislature. The message
was In answer to the request teIc-
grnpbed to the governor by Secretary
Bryan st the direction of President
Wilson that the bill be vetoed.
The governors message follows:
Hon. William j. Bryan, Secretary of
State, Washington, d. c.:
your very courteous = elegram relat-
ing to the alien land bill reached mo
late Sunday night. | take it from our
conversation and your request made to
me to withhold executive action until
opportunity was accorded for the pre-
sentations from the federal govern
ment, that your message embodies what
it was your wish and the wish of the
President to say to us before final
action.
In this response it is my design
most respectfully to present the stu
alton from our standpoint and the views
that actuated our legislature in pass
ing the bill and that impel me to sane
tion It,
Problem Little Understood
For many years a very grave prob
lem. little understood in the east, has
confronted California, problem the
seriousness of which has been recog-
nizeu by statesman in our nation and
has been viewed with apprehension by
the people of this state. When the
present constitution of California was
adopted, more than 30 years ago, it
contained the following declaration:
The presence of foreigners inelig-
ible 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 i'm
migration by all means within it's
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 affirma-
tive action in an attempted solution be-
came imperative. This attempted So
luton 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 imperatively demanded for the
protection and preservation of our
state. In this enactmenttwe have kent
ever in mind our national good faith
as evidenced by existing treaties. and
our desire and anxiety have been to
act only in such fashion as would com
mend us 10 our sister states and would
1IIStifV II IN al
Objections to Bill
THE objections to our bill are based.
first, upon the treaty obligations of
the nation; and, secondly upon the as
sertlon that our act is offensive and
discriminatory. The protest to our
measure. al your telegram states. comes
from the representative of Japan. The
bill that is now before me
The bill that is now before me pro-
vides substantially in its first section
that all aliens eligible to citizenship un-
der the laws of the United States may
acquire real property in the same manner
as citizens of the United States and the
second section provides that all aliens
other than these mentioned in the first
section may acquire real property in the
manner to the extent and for the purpose
prescribed 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 subiects and
may In ADDITION lease for a period of
three years lands for agricultural pur-
poses.
Thus. we have made existing treaties
a part OF our law and thus we have pre-
served every right that any foreign ma
"" by international contract has insisted
upon preserving with our national gov
t..4nit.,t.
Treaty With Japan
''The treaty of 1911 with Japnn in refer-
ence to the citizens and subjects of each
nro~ides that they shall have
liberty to own, or lease, or occupy houses,
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