The Cordova daily times., 1919-04-03
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1919
THE YELLOW PERIL IN
 ITS LATEST ASPECT

Spokesman of the "Yellow Peril" Viscount Ishii, Japan's ambassador to the United States, has delivered a challenge to the American people and to the world. For all his guarded language he has placed the Japanese question on basis which, if adhered to, will lead either to American sur render or war. War he gently refrains from threatening, but he tries to state the issue so that the United States must abandon what he believes to be a disguise and come out in the open.
 In the language of diplomacy he has told us that the exclusion of Japanese from the United States and the dis against the Japanese is not question of labor and immigration, but ques tion of race prejudice, and he insists that the covenant of the league of na tions. shall specifically require all na- tions, the United States included, to abandon discriminations. As mat ter of fact the present covenant does that very thing by indirection. Unless we can prove to an international tri- bunal that our Japanese question is purely a domestic problem-and that is unlikely-we bind ourselves to open up the entire controversy for trial by the league as soon as Japan can force the issue. If the league council de- cides against us we must submit or become an "outlaw nation" If the council decides against the Japanese they will withdraw from the league and bide their time until they can band the colored races of the world against the whites.
 But let us quote the ambassadors exact words:
 And now that the war for interna- tional justice is about to came to its happy termination and when the world league for the permanent peace is being contrived why should this question of race prejudice, race dis crimination and race humiliation alone remain unremedied? When re- striction or prohibition of discrimin- atory treatment of chattles and con- modities is being adequately provided for, why should this unjust and un- justifable discrimination against per sons be allowed to remain un- touched?"
 The ambassador is aware that the problem has a labor aspect and ad- mits it, but he treats it as trivial and challenges the league of nations to justify the Trace prejudice, race dis crimination and race humiliation" in- yolved.
 What shall the American people do? Shall they accept Count Ishii's state ment of the issue and admit that fun damentally it is a question, not Of labor and immigration, but of race 7 prejudice? And how can they escape making this admission if 1t is true? At any time Japan can force the issue upon us by bringing about warlike condition which will place us on trial s before the executive council of the league of nations or before court of arbitration,
 It may be argued in defense of the covenant of the league that even If the present covenant is not adopted some international means of arbitra- tion will be established, that ulti- mately the issue will come up for arbi- trament, that if we refuse to arbitrate we will be in no better plight than under the present covenant and that our final resort must be war.
 By many the "Yellow Peril" has been denounced as unreal. Especially was 1t derided in the last days of war because German propagandists had seized upon the issue to frighten us away from an alliance with Great Britain and Japan. During the war every mention of the Yellow Peril" was periodically denounced as special