The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-20
PACIFI IC TRUMP PHS OVER ALIEN GLASS
Supreme Court Rules Against Japanese In Agricultural
 Land Test

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19.-The Pa cific coast states won a complete vic tory in the supreme court today in their efforts to prevent Japanese from acquiring any control over or interest in agricultural lands,
 Having a week ago sustained the validity of the alien land laws, un- der which aliens ineligible to citizen ship were prohibited from owning or leasing agricultural land, the court today took the final step to make such legislation completely effective by holding that in the construction of st oh laws the intention of the states must be carefully considered and that any transaction which would have the effect in any reason able contingency of giving such aliens any control over agricultural lands equivalent to ownership and leasing must be construed as pro- hibited.
 In testing out the alien land laws of California and Washington, at tacks were directed not only through proposed leases, IS in the two cases decided last week, but also through cropping contracts" and attempts by ineligible aliens to acquire stock in companies authorized to buy and sell agricultural lands.
 Alien Ownership Barred.
 When confronted with contract which ]. J. O'Brien proposed to make with J. InoJye, Japanese, under which the latter was to cultivate agricultural lands in Santa Clara county, Cal, an divide crops with the owner of the lard, the federal | district court for northern Calltor- mia could find nothing in the ar rangement contrary to the alien land laws The same court, however, when Raymond l.. Prick proposed to sell to M. Satow stock in corpora tion formed to own and deal in agrl- | cultural lands, decided that the own ership of the stock by an ineligible alien was prohibited. Both cases were appealed to the supreme court.
 Notwithstanding that the provi- sion in the contract which O'Brien | proposed to make would reserve to him ownership of the land, and would | give the ineligible alien no interest whatever in it, Justice Butler in de- | livering the opinion of the court, stated it's practical result would be to, give the ineligible alien the use, l control and benefit of the land for l agricultural purposes substantially l similar to that he would obtain un- l der lease. If such contracts were | permitted, he said. the population l living on farming lands might be made up largely of ineligible aliens. "We think it within the power of the state" Justice Butler announced, "to deny to ineligible aliens the privilege of the use of agricultural lands within it's borders
 Law Construction Stands.
 While constitutional and treaty | questions as bearing upon the case were considered, nothing was found by the court, Justice Butler stated, to narrow the construction of the effect of the alien land laws.
 In a short decision, by Justice Butler. the court reannounced in I the Prick case that state had the power to deny to ineligible aliens permission to own, lease, use or have the benefit of lands within it's bor- ders for agricultural purposes. The state. having the power to prohibit, he said, it may adopt such measures as are reasonably appropriate or needful to render exercise of c the i power effective"
 The state may forbid indirect as well as direct ownership and con- trol of agricultural land by ineligible i aliens, he said, being limited in the extent of it's prohibition only by the l treaty rights guaranteed ineligible | aliens. The treaty with Japan could not be interpreted, he said, as con taining any limitations to the re- 1 strictions which the states could inn pose upon the ownership or control of agricultural lands by ineligible aliens.