The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-01
Text Of Japanese Note

The text of the communication pre- scented to Secretary Hughes by Ambas- sador Hanihara. follows:
 "In pursuance of instructions from the government, l have the honor to present to you herewith a memorandum ting the position of Japan on the subject of the discriminatory pro visions against Japanese Which are em- bodied in section 1S GCD of the immi- grafton act of 1924 approved May 25. 1924.
 Memorandum
 The Japanese government are deep ly concerned by the enactment in the United States of an act entitled the I'm migration Act of 1924 While the measure was under discussion m Com gress they took the earliest opportunity to invite the attention of the Amer ican government to a discriminatory clause embodied in the act namely. sec tion 13 co which provides for the ex- clusion of aliens ineligible to citizen ship, in oontradistinetiOn to other classes of aliens and which Is manifest ly intended to apply to Japanese Neither the representations of the Jap anese government nor the recOmmenda tiOns of the President and the Secretary
 
 and the clause in question has now been written into the s1Stutes of the United States.
 It is. perhaps. needless to state that international discriminatiOns i'm amy form and on any subject, even if based on purely economic reasons are OP- posed to the principles of justice and fairness upon which the friendly inter course between nations must in its final analysis, depend To these very principles the doctrine of equal OppOr- tunity now widely recognized. with the unfailing support of the United States. owes its being.
 Based On Race
 Still more unweloOme are discrim- nations based on race The strong condemnation of such practice evident ly inspired the American government in 1912. in denouncing the commercial treaty between the United States and Russia. pursuant to the resolution of the House of Representatives of De cember 13, 1911, as a protest against the unfair and the unequal treatment of aliens of particular race in Russia
 Yet discrimination of a similar character is expressed by the new statute of the United States The inn migration act of 1924. considered in the light of the supreme courts inTerPre- tatiOn of the naturalization laws clear ly establishes the rule that the admis- sibility of the aliens tO the United States rests not upon individual merits or qualifications. but upon the division of race to which applicants belong
 Particularly. it appears that such recial distinction in the act is directed essentially against Japanese. since per sons of other Asiatic races are excluded under separate enactments Of prior dates. as is pointed out in the pub lished letter of the Secretary of State February x. 1924. to the chairman of the committee on immigration and naturalization of the House of Repre- sentatives
 It has been repeatedly asserted in defense of these discriminatory meas ures in the United States that persons of the Japanese race are not assimilable to the American life and ideals 1t will. however. he observed. in the first place. that few immigrants of a foreign stock may well he expected to sssimi- late themselves 10 their new surround ings within single generation
 The history of Japanese immigra- ion to the United States in any ap-