The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-04-21
.IAPANEEPROTEST
DECLARES BURNETT
BILL .UNJ!UST|F|ED
Big Association Of Hawaii Nip
ponese Forwards Its Memorial
To President Wilson
PROPOSED LEGISLATION
VIOLATES AGREEMENTS
--
Exclusion BY Laws Flagrant
disruption of Famous Root
Takahira Understanding 49,.

Through General Secretary NJ. Ne
goro, the japanese Association of Ha.
wall has just forwarded to President
Wilson it's protest against the passage
by congress Of the Burnett Immigra,
ton Bill, The measure was put through
the house of representatives, after Con-
gresham Burnett, father of the legis.
lation, had made bitter attack against
Asiatic Immigration, during which he
singled out the so-ealled picture brides
of Japan and charged them with be-
ing immoral and dissOlute.. ..., =. -.
The Japanese Association Of Hawaii
takes particular exception to this phase
of the CONTROVERSY aud i'm its memorial
to the President the organization asks
him TO use his constitutional power
of veto" to defeat the bill should it
be passed by the senate, where II is
pending at the present time.
The appeal, dated April Is, is made
to the President on the grounds of jus.
tice and entity, and the text Of the me.
mortal is as follows:
Text of Memorial
ii Strive have the honor to repect
fully protest against the Japanese ex
clnsion and the so-called picture bride
clauses of the Burnett Immigration Bill
which, to our regret, has passed the
house Of representatives, and is now be.
fore the senate for further considera-
ton, and most respectfully pray that
your Excellency will exert your power.
fnl inH IN tLa 80
the Bill through the senate with those
objectionable clauses, and, should they
be retained when passed, we have the
honor to pray You most earnestly to
use your constitutional power of veto.
We pray this to preserve the good nam,
Of our old country, Japan.
"In addition to this rather senti-
mental appeal, we have the honor to
call your Excellency's serious atten,
tion to the stipulations of Japan and
the United States, contained IN the
treaty Of 1911, and the Root Takahira
Understanding of 1908, both Of which
are still in full force.
The treaty of 1911 between japan
and the United States provides in its
Article l as follows viz; art. l. The
subjects OF citizens of each of the High
Contracting Parties shall have liberty
to enter, and reside in the
territories of the other to carry on
trade, Wholesale or retail, etc.
Japan Restricts Immigration
"That this treaty and this provision
give Japan the right of unlimited i'm
migration of her subjects into the ter
ritOries of the United States, with the
reciprocal right in the American citi-
IONS to immigrate into the dominions
of Japan, is patent on its face, because
no one can maintain that a man, how
ever poor he may be, cannot carry on
a retail business, for a business is re-
tail, however small and insignificant
the store it is carried on may be, if
goods are sold in retail there; and, un-
der the treaty, the United States can
not deny to Japanese the right of
entering her territories if he proposes
to carry on a retail business therein,
either independently or in partnership,
though he might intend to, and does
in fact, perform manual labor under
contract Of employment, because, un-
der the terms of the treaty, the right
to demand admission into the United
States territories depends upon the
question whether he is a business man,
either retail or Wholesale, and whether
he would do something else besides the
business of retail or wholesale, and,
for instance, as the performance of
manual labor under contract of en-
plOyment, after he is admitted, is en-
tiTely immaterial; and that this is a
true and correct Interpretation of the
treaty is shown by the fact that, in
order to prevent such Wholesale immi-
grafton the United States demanded Of
Japan and, Japan gave an assurance
that effective restriction on Japanese
immigration will be imposed by Japan
herself. This assurance was given on
February Fl, 1911, by the then Japa-
nese ambassador, Mr.. Uchida. II de-
clares that Japan will maintain the re-
strictiVe policy Of emigration of her
subjects into America, which she had
been then enforcing for three years
last preceding. If the treaty did not
mean the right of unlimited immigra-
ton of the japanese into the United
States territories, such declaration
would not have been asked by the Uni,
ted States. Therefore, the exclusion of
Japanese by the domestic laws of the
tiOn of Article of the present treaty
between Japan and the United States.
1.-THE Root -Takahira Understanding
of 1908 had been concluded by ex,
change of notes between the then ia,
panese ambassador, Baron Takahira,
and the then American secretary of
state, Hon. Elihu Root, both dated at
Washington, District of Columbia, No,
vember 80, 1908. The Understanding
contains the following stipulations,
viz: %. The policy of both govern
ments, uninfusnced by any aggressive
tendencies, is directed to the main
tenance of the existing status quo in
the region of the Pacific, =
.. Should any event occur threaten
ing the status quo above described
it remains for the two govern
ments to communicate each with the