Page:Race distinctions in American Law (IA racedistinctions00stepiala).pdf/182

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State, or does the State of California, by its police power, have a right to separate the school children by race, regardless of national treaties? These questions, however, did not have to be answered; before the crisis came, all parties seemed to have arrived at a satisfactory compromise. It was an agreement that all Japanese children not over fourteen years of age should be readmitted to the primary schools, and those over that age should be admitted to the schools of higher grade, and the Japanese coolie labor should be excluded. Thus was obviated what at one time looked like the approach of an international controversy over the separation of the races in schools.

During the last session of the California legislature, that of 1909, several bills concerning the Japanese were introduced, one of which was as follows: "Every school, unless otherwise provided by law, must be open for the admission of all children between six and twenty-one years of age residing in the district, and the Board of School Trustees or city Board of Education have power to admit adults and children not residing in the district whenever good reasons exist therefor.

"Trustees shall have the power to remove children of filthy or vicious habits or children suffering from contagious or infectious diseases, and also to establish separate schools for Indian children and for children of Mongolian or Japanese or Chinese descent.

"When such separate schools are established, Indian, Chinese, Japanese or Mongolian children must not be admitted into any other school; provided, that in cities and towns in which the kindergarten has been adopted, or may hereafter be adopted as part of the public primary schools,