The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-28


oppressed man come. Let every poor man come.
Let every man who wishes 10 change his residence
come. We welcome all; frankly acknowledging
the rPP5 5su'pe
he peases on the planet. Our faith IN our
political Institutions aud In our social sys-
tenn 10 that both can endure all the strain
which such immigration VIII produce, More than
this, wo believe our civilization wll be perfected
only by gathering Into itself The patient toll the
content with moderate wages, the cunning hand,
deep religious sentiment, the roiiickine humor
aud vivid lima gination, the profound insight and
farreaching sagacity which mark tho different
races; each contributing one special trait 70 the
But such immigration 10 be safe and helpful
must be spontaneous. II must be the result OF
individual will obeying the laws OF industry and
the tendencies Of the age. Immigration Of labor
is an unmixed good. Importation Of human
freight Is an unmitigated evil.
This brings MS to the question OF importing
Chinese laborers. The Chinese are painstakihg,
Industrious thrifty, inventive, sclfrespectfa aud
law-abiding race. They have some prstensions
to democratic institutions and moral oulturc--ars
a little too much machines, but We shall soon
win be welcome and valuable addition 20 the
mosaic Of our nationality. But In order 10 that,
they must come spontaneously, of their own free
will and motion, as the Irish, Germans aud Eng
lish have done. IL the capital OF the country sets
10 work by system and wide cooperation 10 Inn
port them in masses, TO dsgorge then upon US
with unnatural rapidly, then their coming will be
a peril to our political system and disastrous
check to our social progress.
We lay IL down as o fundamental principle
never to be lost sight of-that every immigrant Of
every race must be admitted TO citizenship IL he
asks it. The right to be naturazed must not be
limited by race creed or birthplace. Secondly.
every adult here, native or naturaized must vote.
In spite of this, give US time, with only natural
amount OF immigration, and we can trust the eda-
cation and numbers Of our native voters 10 safely
absorb and make over the foreign element. Irish
and German immigration has been only ripple
on our oceans breadth. Generally speaking, Il
has been na.s Gny healthy, STIR gu, it
hurry the coming Of the Chinese I'm such masses as
will enable these money lords to control the bal
lot box by their bond servants An extended
makers wages. One thousand such Simpsons,
the associated capital Of Massachusetts, can
swamp aud overwhelm the ballot box OF that
State We hold j to be clearly within tho pro,
avert this danger. Capital Is too strong now.
The pnblic welfare demands that its political
power be crippled. Universal suffrage is adms.
sible only on condition of an educated people. We
cannot undertake to educate the whole world at
once. In detachments, millions by millions, we
can digest the whole human race.
Then as to the influence of such importation on
the laboring classes. The Chinaman will make
shoes for seventy cents q day. The average
wages for such work in Massachusetts, is two dol.
lars. What will become of the native working
competition from the Irish immigration and the
German. But it never harmed him. They came
in such natural and moderate numbers as to be
easily absorbed, without producing any i'll effect
on wages. These continued steadily to advance.
So it will be in the case of the Chinese, If he be
left to come naturally by his individual motion.
Imported In overwhelming masses by the concert
ed action of capital, he will crush the labor of
America down to pauper level, for many years
to come. ts7 t.r
Putting aside all theories, every lover Of pro-
gress must see, with profound regret. the intro
ductiOn here OF any element which will lessen
wages. The handspring Of our progress lie high
wages--wages at such q level that the working
man can spare his wife to preside over . "home,"
can command leisure, 60 to lectures, take news
paper and lift himself from the deadenng routine
Of mere toll. That dollar left after all the bills
are paid on Saturday night means education, indie
pendence, self-respect, manhood; 1t increases the
dwellings,, opens public Libraries ands crowds
them; dots the continents with cities and cob
webs it with railways. That one remaining dollar
insures progress and guarantees Astors millions
to their owner better than score of statutes. 1t
Is worth more than thousand colleges and makes
armies and police superfuous.
The importation Of Chinese labor seeks to take
that dollar from our workngman The true states.
man must regard such policy as madness. The
phianthropist must regard 1t cruel and mad too.
Even so much Of such result as will inevitably
be wrought by the natural immigration of the
Chinese is to be deplored. Every aggra-
walton Of it is to be resisted for the sake
of republicanism and civilization. If we cannot
find In the armory Of the law some effectual
weapon to prevent it our political and social
future for fifty years is dark indeed, and such a
fate as swallowed up Roman civilization is by no
means impossible.
Every one cries out for cheap labor to develop
the country Even if material or pecuniary gain
were the only requisite for social or national
progress-which, OF course, it is far from being
still it is true that unsettled lands may be opened
up too fast for profit, much moro for really pro-
md II.
less cry. for cheap labor is one Of the
great mistakes of heartless and superficial
economists. Seldom has there been graver
mistake. We assert unhestatingly that cheap
productions are an unmixed good, cheap labor Is
an ,nmitigated evil. Human progress shows it.
self in o fall of prices and a rise Of wages. Al
though labor makes one-half of the cost of pro.
ducton, still it IL true that the world gains just so
fast as prices fall and wages rise. To ensure pro-
gress the cost OF ever thing but human muscle
and brains must fall. The remuneration of these
two elements in production must rise. In William
Penn's time it took 1877 days toll to bay ton of
-four. In 1890 1875 days. labor would buy IL. In
1885 eighty days work suficed. Now, in 1870,
probably forty or fifty days. wages would buy.
ton or Hour. That fact measures and explains
the social, industrial moral and political progress
OF Pennsylvania. -
In view Of such rule we claim the right Of gov
ernmentto check any forced and unnatural inn
portaton OF labor. Against such Claim the ad-
vocate or protective tariff cannot consistently
open his mouth. If government may and should
protecta nation against pauper labor in other
lands, this surely-this immigration Of pauper
labor--i5 the most threatening danger. If you
would be consistent, Mr. Protectionist, join with
us in devisng efectual methods to avert it, If the
tree trader assails us with his objection, Has not
the laborer right to buy his coat or flour in the
cheapest market? Has not the capitalist the same
right to get his stock his labor in the cheapest
marketY" we answer, Eyes, under certain re-
srictions" To purchase the products Of the earth,
manufactured or otherwise, wherever you can
get them cheapest, is good good for the seller
and good for the purchaser. Fut this is only true
provided there Is no artificial combination, plot
OF powerful men, or classes, to flood the market
OF one land with the surplus of another. Every
individual enterprise, is healthy tendency to
average. Secondly, this restriction is to be still
more stringently enforced in the purchase of hu-
man labor; since the artificial and forced antag