Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1920-01-22

| ucSccH, tiuNN AdiNcuiiS anu SUN lcVo
as porters and household servants
Now, the two latter classifcations
have not so much worked to the det
riment of the white man as have the
former. In many districts of Califor-
mia, especially near the larger cities
there reside entire colonies of Japan
csc, engaged IN market gardening. BY
their thrift, energy, perseverance and
frugality, they are able to more in
tensivey cultivate the land than is
the white man, to garner more from
the soil, so to speak, and to sell the
products to the consumer for low
cr price Still, ownership of real es-
tate was denied to the japanese inn
migrants and their progress on the west
coast of America was proportiOnately
retarded, until the "picture bride"
method of defeating the purpose of
existing laws preventing japanese
from acquiring title to real estate
came into vouge, with the approval of
the Imperial japanese government.
BY the picture bride scheme, pic
lures of japanese women in Japan
were sent by mail to japanese men
residing in the United States. The
japanese who had emigrated to the
United States selected from among
the pictures his future wife, an agency
in Japan was notified, proxy mar
riage between the two was celebrated,
and at the same time recognized by
the japanese government. The Jap
anese woman in Japan, then, was the
wife of the Japanese man in America
and under American immigration laws
was permitted to join her husband in
America.
The purpose of the "picture bride"
scheme was sinister for it was merely
a plot to defeat America s immigration
restrictions, and to further Japan
csc interests on the west coast in fact,
to permit Japanese to become owners
of real estate.
Once the picture bride arrived and
joined her husband in California, Ore
gon or Washington, japanese inter-
ests in America were strengthened,
for rapidly there came upon the scene
japanese children, born on American
soil, and therefore presumably emit
tied to all the rights and privileges
of an American citizen, including own
ership Of land. Large tracts of land
were purchased by the elder Japanese,
in the names of these babes, yet in
their cradles, and japanese business
went forward unhampered.
Recently, however, on protests from
the United States, the japanese gov
ornment has promised to halt the
picture bride" practice, and no more
will Nipponese "picture brides" be
permitted to leave for the United
States.
But the Japanese check on "picture
Drides' has not Gained residents of
he coast, nor placated them in their
to retain American soil
ior Americans, as is evidenced by Sen
ltor Phelan s bill, which would deny
to all persons born of par
ents ineligible to become American
citizens. If such measure is enacted
)y the congress of the United States,
md is held constitutional, American
would BID forever denied
o orientals, and thus their material
progress on the east coast of the Pa
.ific would be greatly retarded.
But, does not the American consti-
ution, in its fourteenth amendment
lefine American citizenship when it
ays: GAN persons born or natural
zed in the United States and subject
o the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
# the United States and of the state
wherein they reside ~
Yet, sustaining by the courts of
grandfather clauses" in southern
tates, designed to prevent negroes
rom voting, may furnish precedent
or measure such as Senator Phelan
as introduced, to abridge the rights
f japanese born in America.