The Minnesota fiery cross. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1924-19??, 1924-03-14
The Color Of the Skin

lie SOiOT vi the Sk1n
The Japan Weekly Chronicle puts
the California issue clearly in a
brief paragraph. 1t says: "Appar-
emily the long fight regarding anti
alien legislation in California is
over, and the California legisla-
ture has established it's right to de-
bar practically whom it likes from
the cultivation of the land. The
japanese press naturally deplores
this outcome, but there seems to be
no paper which points out that not
only are the anti-aliens laws still
stricter in japan but that they
spread into whatever new territory
Japan acquires, such as Korea,
Formosa, and the inundated islands.
If Japan judges it necessary to
maintain these restrictions, she can
hardly blame other countries for
making similar restrictions"
Probably japanese imperialism
has had more to do with the Cali
fornia attitude than the color of the
skin or the slant of the almond eye.
Japan has been peculiarly grasping
in the matter of territorial acquisi-
ton. Her broken pledges in inter-
ndllOildl hdNC otoo naNSN 1N~i
to the fire of the anti-Japanese agi-
terly speaks rather plainly: ut
made little difference to the popular
mind that the berry-hucksters who
'ploughed CALIFORNIA; fields had lit
tie to do with Japanese imperialism.
For all that they knew, the japanese
government might be using them to
accomplish by covert means what
it was more openly doing in Korea,
Manchuria and Siberia. The re-
sponsibility therefore, for a large
share of anti-Japanese agitation in
California is due to the militarists
of Tokyo"
Wendell Phillips referred to pop
ular liberty as mama; but the
whole hearted Klansman regards 1t
as both meat and drink. Liberty
leads to defensive government.
Those who are free in patriotism are
strong to defend themselves against
the aggression of the selfish man
who would, like a vampire, drink the
blood Of the whole nation.
Too frequently the funda-
mental laws of the common
wealth are neglected by wild
legislators who are driven by
noisy groups to whom they owe
their political prestige. Inc
need of the hour is not the
emasculation of our courts, but
more accurate Interpretation OF
our laws. Less damnation OF
vested authority and more
active defense of the constitu-
tion and it's depending statutes
would act as soothingly upon
the nerve fibers of the nation as
a tablet of veronal on a man dy-
ing of insomnia.
A Better Word
The new word "scofflaw" for
which two hundred dollars was paid
by a Boston man for coined word
which would best stab the con-
science of the lawless drinker" may
be read backwards and forwards by
the average bootlegger without the
least bad effect The penal farm
is a better phrase to conjure with,
or, say, the "penitentiary." There
is an even better word than these.
II is written in fiery rubric across
the sky. 1t is the "Klan." This last
word sometimes drives bootleggers
into court where they get the sort
of stab that helps them and their
conscience most.
The attitude of many man who
thinks the Khan is ferocious crea-
ture is we'll expressed by the old
comic quatrain:
"The reason l don't like thee, Mr..
| Fell,
Is one Of two:
(a) don't know thee very we'll,
Or (b) ! do.
Students fom every college In the
United States will meet In Washing
ton early In April to consider the
student solution to the prohibition
Il TENf A a Ill