Imperial Valley press., 1913-05-05
QABID EASTERN
~ COMMENT

- WIN Al WIG 4>CW VI N XllQC-
pendent by Hamilton Holt, on
California's anti-alien land prob
lem, which includes the follow
ing query:
"Is it right, therefore, that
We should lose the friendship
Of 50,O00,000 long-forbearing,
friendly but proud and sensitive
people, just because a selfish and
sinister element of the great
state of California has for the
moment got in the saddle and
proposes to thwart the will Of
the entire American people to
crafty its f1imsy whim of a reck-
less race prejudice? The ques-
tion is not primarily political,
but moral. It is the Golden
Rule"
You will note that no facts are
given to support the contention
that it is a sinister element in
California that favored the anti
alien legislation; that California
has been less friendly to Japan
than other states; that the evil
alleged by California has no ex-
istence; or that the people of
California are less worthy the
respect and sympathy of our na-
ton than are the people of japan.
As a matter of fact, the Pro-
gressive party, which is ''in the
saddle" is the party Immediately
responsible for this bid as it is
for the remarkable series of re-
formatory state enactments
which during the last three years
have greatly advanced public in
terests in California. But the
policy is not confined to this
party, having also been endorsed
by Democratic, Republican and
Socialist conventions. Moreover,
it has the most general endorse
ment of the people of the whole
state of any public proposal made
in recent years. Then it must be
that if the people responsible for
this measure are sinister" the
whole people of California bear
that stigma.
In another place the article
referred to tells of the friendly
acts of Japan to America and
of America to Japan, the latter
acts being primarily the extern
sion of industrial and other edu-
cational opportunities to Japa-
nese who have come here to
learn.
But the writer blindly over
looks the fact that California has
done and is doing, and is glad
to do, more in this way than any
other state in the Union. On
educational lines the only pro-
test this state ever made was
against the practice of adult JAP
anese men attending the same
schools as young girls, which was
not thought to be conducive to
good morals. The state proposed
to go so far as to maintain
schools at its own expense for
the education of these japanese
men. Was that "sinistel
1t is intimated in the article
by Mr.. Holt that California seeks
by this act to bar Japanese from
entering this state, which is not
a justifable assumption, except
in a limited sense.
Mr.. Holt refers to the fifty
million people of Japan. He
neglects to say that, with half
the population of the United
States, Japan has but one-twen-
ty-fifth of our land area. He
neglects to point out the fact
that it is an economic necessity
for millions of people to emigrate
from Japan, and that the trend
of this necessity is to make the
American Pacific coast a Japan
ese colony.
This is not merely theoretical.
1t is a matter of fact that many
agricultural valleys are being
colonized by the japanese, and
this work must go on unless
some obstacle is interposed, for
the simple reason that the stand
ard of life among the japanese
is lower than among Americans,
and for this reason we cannot
compete with them. They must
be barred at some point or the
United States lose California.
This is not hysteria. 1t is not
sinister. 1t is not the judg-
ment of those Gin the saddle"
1t is the deliberate, well formu-
lated verdict of the whole people
of California, and it implies no
i'll will for the japanese.
In fact, Californians will go
further, probably, in manifesting
their comprehension of the real
issue involved and of their
friendliness for Japan than most
sections of the country.
Many thoughtful people in this
state, conceding the necessity
that exists for the expansion of
the japanese people, would bend
the diplomacy of our nation to
help Japan solve it's own prob
lem, and would even go so far as
to surrender to Japan most of
our possessions in the Philip |
pines, simply as an act of fra
.ernity.
Everybody knows that prac-
tically all the wars of history