The meeting came to no decision. Moore agreed that San Francisco labor leaders would go on record as favoring delay in anti-Asiatic legislation. The Democrats decided to await developments.

But the labor leaders did not go on record, although had that group of "labor leaders" controlling the destinies of the Asiatic Exclusion League done so, no surprise would have been caused. They had taken such action two years before. But labor representatives of the type of Paul Scharrenberg, editor of the Coast Seamen's Journal, took definite stand that President Moore's request should not be granted. The representatives of the Exposition at Sacramento lost ground every hour. It soon became evident their wishes would not be complied with. When the hour for the introduction of bills arrived, among the first presented were bills to bar aliens from ownership of the soil.198

These measures were readily divided into two classes:

(1) Those which were aimed at Asiatic aliens alone.

(2) Those which were aimed at all aliens, European as well as Asiatic.

Of the first class, the Birdsall-Finnegan bill was

198 "In spite of the efforts of President Moore and a committee of Exposition authorities,' said The Fresno Republican in commenting upon these measures, "three alien land bills were introduced in Sacramento yesterday. If any were to be introduced, three or a dozen might as well be, so the question of individual introducers does not become important. From their own standpoint, the Exposition committee made the mistake of going gunning for legislators with a brass band, and of seeking too strenuously to prevent even the introduction and agitation of bills. we remarked at the time, agitation is the one unsuppressable thing in our system of 'government of discussion.' And the experience of all lobbyists is that if you want a legislator to lay low,' you must pursue like tactics yourself."

As

fairly typical. This measure was destined to be the center of a long and bitter controversy, and finally to be enacted, but not until it had been amended and again. amended until it bore little resemblance to the original measure. Birdsall introduced it in the Senate; Finnegan in the Assembly.

As originally introduced, the measure provided that no alien, whether resident or non-resident of the State, who had not declared his intention under the naturalization laws of the United States of becoming a citizen of the United States, and obtaining his first papers, should hold real property.

The Larkins Bill 199 (Senate Bill 416), although

199 This bill by extraordinary series of errors came up for passage Saturday, April 19, at a time when tension over the AlienLand measures was at its ugliest. The measures were all supposed at the time to be in the safe-keeping of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But not so the Larkins bill.

About the first of April, Assembly Bill 416, an entirely innocent and unimportant measure, was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. By some error, instead of the Assembly bill being sent to the Senate, the Senate bill of that number, the Larkins bill, was reported. The Larkins bill without anybody noticing it in this way went on the Senate files. It passed second reading without being detected, which speaks eloquently of the attention given such formalities, and on April 19 came up for third reading and passage. Then it was detected.

Larkins calmly insisted that the records of the session be taken at their face. The records showed that his Alien Land bill was up for passage. He insisted that the vote be taken upon it.

In vain Larkins' colleagues urged upon him that the bill had escaped from the Committee and was really, if not technically, the property of that body. Larkins would not see it that way. He insisted upon a vote.

His colleagues were in a dilemma. If they voted against the bill, they would be on record as opposing an Alien Land bill.

If they voted for it, they would interfere with the plans being worked out for anti-alien legislation and call down upon their heads the wrath of what they know not of.

Senator Campbell finally moved that the bill be sent back to the Judiciary Committee. Larkins contested the motion, and compelled a roll-call. The motion prevailed. The vote was as follows: To return Larkins' bill to committee-Anderson, Avey, Benson, Boynton, Breed, Brown, Butler, Caminetti, Campbell, Carr, Cogswell, Curtin, Flint, Grant, Jones, Juilliard, Kehoe, Mott, Owens, Shanahan, Thompson, and Wright-22.

Against such return-Birdsall, Bryant, Cohn, and Larkins-4.

classed with the Birdsall-Finnegan measure, was more guarded in its wording. The measure provided that citizens of the United States and those who had declared their intention to become such, could hold real property in this State. Aliens were prohibited from

holding property in fee simple.

The principal measure introduced by Democrats alone was the Sanford-Shearer bill, introduced by Sanford 200 in the Senate (Senate Bill 27) and by Shearer

200 Senator Sanford had for years worried the Republican majority of the State Senate with Anti-Alien measures. Sanford was a candidate for re-election to the State Senate in 1910. One of his campaign circulars read as follows:

"During the last Legislature, Senator J. B. Sanford introduced in the Senate a bill to prevent Japanese, Chinese, Hindus and all other Asiatics from owning or leasing land in California.

"This bill, with others, was killed by the 'big stick.'

"If re-elected, Senator Sanford will again introduce this bill and use every legitimate effort in his power to secure the passage of the same.

"An American cannot own land in Japan. He cannot even lease land unless he marries a Jap woman and becomes a part of their civilization. If the Japanese think so much of the future of the little Jap as to preserve their lands for him, why should we not think enough of Young America to preserve our lands for the rising generation?

"No race of people that cannot become citizens of the United States should be allowed to gain a foothold in this country.

"Several States in the Union have Alien Land laws on their statute books. Among the first laws Oklahoma placed upon her statute books was this famous law. Senator Sanford sent to Oklahoma for a copy of it and introduced it in its original form, as it had been tested and proven constitutional.

"Statistics show that the number of Japanese, Chinese, Hindus, and Koreans in California exceeds 100,000. Further immigration should be absolutely prohibited.

"The amount of land owned, leased, rented, and controlled by Asiatics in California is becoming alarming and amounts to over 200,000 acres of our most fertile lands. The value of the crop products is over 100 millions dollars annually. The gradual encroachment of the little brown men' is fast becoming a problem. The sooner it is handled the easier will it be.

"Within the past seven years 93,000 Japs have come into this country, 50,000 of whom have become farmers and farm laborers. "Ten years from now, at the present percentage of increase, the Japs will be in absolute control of the agricultural resources of California and the white people will all be working for the Japs. Every Jap now farming in California is the representative of his male relatives in Japan. George Shimo, the 'Potato King,' controls the potato crop of California and is several times a millionaire. There are hundreds of other striking examples.

"The Democratic platform endorses the Sanford bill, and Theo

in the Assembly (Assembly Bill 113). The measure frankly provided that "no alien who is not eligible to citizenship under the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and no corporation, a majority of the capital stock of which is owned by such aliens, shall acquire title to or own land or real property in the State of California," except as hereinafter provided. The hereinafter provided, detailed the procedure under which such aliens could hold land which might be in their possession at the time the Act went into effect, and of the escheating to the State of lands which ineligible aliens might acquire after the passage of the bill.

Assembly Bill 183, introduced by Assemblyman Bradford (Democrat) quite as frankly as the SanfordShearer measure provided that "the ownership of land by aliens, other than those who are eligible to become citizens of the United States under the naturalization laws thereof, or by corporations, the majority of the capital stock of which is held by such aliens, is prohibited in this State, except where acquired by inheritance, under mortgage or in good faith in the ordinary course of justice in the collection of debts."

In the second class, applying to all aliens alike, was Assembly Bill No. 10, introduced by Cary of Fresno. This measure made no discrimination between the yellow

dore A. Bell says, that if elected Governor, he will sign such a measure if it comes to him for signature.

"Let every liberty-loving American citizen put patriotism and love of home above partisan politics and do something for young America, by voting for J. B. Sanford, Democratic and AntiMachine candidate for State Senator-Fourth District."

alien from Eastern Asia, and the white or mixed alien from Western Asia or Europe.2 201

The anti-alien measures were sent to the Judiciary Committee of the House of their origin, to be held until some solution of the problem could be worked out.

After the constitutional recess several committee

hearings were given them. At these meetings representatives of San Francisco labor organizations were heard, but while the integrity of the individual labor representatives was not questioned, the influence of labor in anti-alien legislation had clearly been weakened by the action of San Francisco labor leaders two years before in requesting the defeat in the Assembly of the anti-Asiatic land bill after it had passed the Senate. The effective support of the policy of the bills came from the farming districts where Asiatics had gained a foothold.

Men stood before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and with tears streaming down their faces, told of the occupation of the soil by Japanese, and of the retreat of the white farmers before them. There were, too, ugly suggestions of "dead-lines," beyond which Japanese would not be permitted to go,202 and of checking of hot-headed youths who threatened violence.

201 In addition to Alien Land bills, the six-years before agitation to exclude Japanese from the public schools, found faint echo in the introduction of Senate Bill 1285 (Benson) to add Japanese definitely to the list of children for whom separate schools may be established. But the measure received little attention, created no excitement, and did not get out of the committee to which it was referred.

202 "We have," said M. A. Mitchell, an Elk Grove farmer before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the night of March 19, "a dead line at Elk Grove now, beyond which the brown man cannot pass. If we are denied relief from the situation that confronts us I will not be responsible for what will surely happen."