The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-01-05
WILBUR NAMED TO
DRAFT ALIEN LAW

The Anti-Asiatic Association, accord
/ ing to REORGANIZATION secretary, r.
/ f. Scott. will back the Oregon Ameri-
can Legion in its proposed initiative
measure which will prohibit alien land
ownership in the state.
"Our association" says Mr.. Scott,
will take no active part in the pro-
posed campaign, other than to revive
interest for the bill here in Hood River
county. The anti-alien movement had
its origin with our organization in
! 1919 when through discussion of repre-
sentative fruitgrowers it came into
| spontaneous being. Our American Le-
| gion Post took the matter up, and as a
result of the presentation of Oregon s
| delegation to the first national conven-
/ tion of the Legion, that body endorsed
our plans and memorialized congress
to adopt law that would prohibit a
further peaceful penetration Of Orien-
tails on the Pacific coast.
Geo. +. Wilbur. member of the exec
utive committee of the Oregon Legion,
who has been designated to draft the
proposed.initiative measure, has long
been an exponent Of legislation for
Oregon to curb japanese settlement
of fruit and truck gardening lands. In
1917, when he was joint senator from
Hood River and Wasco counties, he in
troduced bill, calling for prohibition
of control of land by aliens, either by
ownership or lease. The bill was with
drawn at that time at request of the
national government, 1t having been
pointed out that such legislation, with
America entering the great war, would
prove an embarrassment.
That the initiative measure will be
more drastic in its sweep than any law
yet proposed in Oregon, was the pre-
diction of Mr.. Wilbur, in the light of a
supreme court decision in California
affecting the anti-alien land owning
and leasing law in that state. The
court held that the law did not declare
that land held on crop-sharing basis
came under the leasing clause.
'The Japanese in California now are
re-wordng their leases so that it ap-
pears that they simply are working
the land on crop sharing basis, as
the result of that decision, asserted
Mr.. Wilbur. This has nearly wrecked
the intent of the law, so we must see
that such a Ioop-hole is not presented
in the Oregon law"
The American Legion in Oregon
made determined fight before the
legislature for an anti-Asiatic law at
the same time the bonus legislation
was in the balance.
THE Portland Chamber of Com
merce and other commercial interests
KILLED the measure in the legislature. F"
asserts Lane Goodel, commander Of
the department of Oregon, with the
result that we find it necessary to go
direct to the people. where we are
sure such merasure will have popular
approval We held off until the pres
ent in the hope that congress might
takes some steps to remedy the situa-
tion and from a desire to do nothing
which would interfere with the success
of the arms conference.
''The state legislature in Washing
ton recently adopted similar legisla-
tion, leaving Oregon as the only coast
state which is a mecca for landseeking
Japanese. From a commercial view
point it may be Improbable to bar
them at this time, but from "a moral
standpoint and looking into the well
fare of future generations, it is high
time that restrictions are made.