Monday, November 14, 2022

Today -100: November 14, 1922: Of free white people, beer, and fascists


The Supreme Court unanimously rules that Japanese people aren’t “free white people” and therefore can’t become US citizens. Justice Sutherland says the Court must follow the original intent of the Framers, who intended to exclude black people and Indians from citizenship. Takao Ozawa argued that Japanese are free people and he’s pretty pale, but nope, the Court says it’s not about skin color, which can vary, that “white person” actually means, exclusively, members of the Caucasian race. This case (Ozawa v. US) upholds California’s law forbidding land ownership by people ineligible to be citizens. A separate case upholds Washington’s similar Alien Land Act.

Lady Astor is having trouble with her re-election bid because of her stance on prohibition, which is that she’d like it but realizes that the British people aren’t ready for it yet. Brewers are spending a lot of money to defeat her. “I am not trying to take away any one’s beer,” she insists.

Other movements being called fascist, or rather Fascisti, because the NYT insists on the Italian plural, include Hungarian monarchists led by former prime minister István Friedrich,
and a Czech group that wants idlers sent to prison. The Hungarian group self-identifies as fascist, not sure about the Czech.

Outgoing NY Governor Nathan Miller is going back into the practice of law, while incoming guv Al Smith will spend the rest of the year on trucking. Which sounds like a euphemism, but isn’t.

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