The Japanese Question.
His utterances on the Japanese question are perhaps the most sensational in the entire document. At least they have proven so, from two points of view. After paying a splendid tribute to the “little brown men” of the Orient, and advocating the adoption of naturalization laws in their behalf, he makes an attack upon the principle of state rights which has attracted more than ordinary attention. The exclusion of Japanese children from the public schools of San Francisco, which is discussed more at length elsewhere, has occupied a foremost place in the public mind for some time, and it is generally conceded to have largely resolved itself into a question of state rights, and the power of the federal government to force an observance of international treaties on the individual states, particularly where state laws alone are involved. The President demands that the civil and criminal laws of the federal government be so amended as to “enable the President to enforce the rights of aliens under treaties.”
Further along he made some nebulous threats about employing all the force of the army and navy in behalf of the Japanese, if necessary, and at once the California representatives were, themselves, up in arms. The President hastened to explain that he had been misunderstood—that he only meant to say that he would protect the Japanese from mob violence, by aid of the army and navy, if necessary, so the members from the Pacific slope are satisfied.
In the meantime the President has instructed the department of justice in California to make a test case of the state law segregating “the children of Mongolian parentage” from the whites in public schools, and it is believed that the matter will thus be settled.
The remainder of the message is devoted to the Rio conference, the situation in Cuba, Central America and Alaska, the maintenance of the navy at its present efficiency, and the approaching session of the second peace conference at the Hague.