The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1924-01-23
ANTI-ALIEN LAWS
DRIVE JAPS EAST
MONTANA SHOULD BE ON GUARD
TO PREVENT JAPS FROM
GETTING FOOTHOLD

According to prominent japanese
In San Francisco, Calf, thousands,
OF Japanese farmers who are now
forbidden by a new California law to
own or lease agricultural lands or
to work them on a crop-sharing ba-
SIS, are turning toward eastern. mid.
die western and northwestern centers
OF population where they are ex-
pected to ~colonize on lands purchased
through real estate gents working
through white men in the employ of
the Japs.
In order to offset this migration of
the Japs, the state rof California is
looking to other agricultural sections
for thousands of white farmers t.
purchase, lease or work lands forced
away from Japanese tillers. Through
out the state ways of attracting
farmers are being discussed.
The United States supreme court in
several recent decisions has upheld
the California alien law. The latest
decision upholds that provision for
bidding aliens Ineligible to citizen
ship from being employed on crop
sharing contracts. This ruling is
said to have affected more than 5000
Japanese, who until this fall were
employed on California lands under
crop-sharing contracts. Tens of
thousands of highly productive acres
were involved.
Japs Find Locations
The immediate effects of the de-
cision, it was said at the consulate
and the Japanese chamber of COM
merce in San Francisco was for rep
resentatives of the Japanese to be
sent into eastern states to survey the
agricultural situation. The survey
was reported to have indicated that
many Japanese could find profitable
employment as truck gardeners in
districts surrounding the large cities
1t was also learned that in most of
these districts japanese could lease
or buy land without restriction.
For years California has been wag-
ing a fight for a white state" The
political fight has ended, the Japa-
nese have given assurance that they
will maLo No fu~+Lo. oefo,4
bat the law, but behind it all has
been left a vast and acute economic
problem of replacing Orientals on
California farms.
The big land owners of California
have been hit the hardest. The huge
estates have been the largest employ
rs of Japanese under leasehold and
crop-sharing contracts. These estates
still can employ Japanese as farm la
borers for cash wages, but the Japa-
nese is declared to be not nearly so
efficient as a laborer as on a crop.
sharing basis. Furthermore, the ia
panese themselves much prefer a pro-
prietary interest in their undertakings
now forbidden in California, but
which is possible in other state in
Guiding Montana.
In many quarters the breaking uD
and sale of big estates is forecast. If
necessary they must be sold or leas-
ed in small parcels to farmers who
can till the acreage by their W re-
sources. Often the larger farms can
not afford to hire enough day labor
ers.
Japs Had is Per Cent
In 1920 William D. Stephens, then
governor of California, reported to
federal authorities at Washington
that Japanese operated 458,056 acres
of the very best lands in California
producing crops valued at s67, las ,730.
AT that time the land cultivated by
the Japanese was 10 per cent of all