Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-05-10
THE CHINESE AND THE LABOR
QUESTION.

In race, civilization, habits, education
and religion, the Chinaman is widely diff
ferent from our people. Our European
immigrants are of the same races, reli-
gion and civilization, and while they add
immensely to our power and wealth, they
do not seriously disturb the substantial
homogeneity of our population. Their
migration, therefore, benefits the country
and deserves encouragement. Not so
with the Chinese. They are likely never
to become one people with US. Were
they to dwell here for the next forty cen
turies, they would remain the same they
have been for the past forty, as distinct
from the white race as the gipsies of
Spain from the pure-blooded Spaniard.
We are destined to have large commerce
with Asia, and there will necessarily be
migration hither of limited number of
business men. Such will not interfere
with our mechanics or laborers, and will
not disturb our Social OF political sytem.
But the coolie immigration now going on
is an entirely different thing. 1t is in no
proper sense of the word, voluntary. 1t
is kind of Chinese slave labor. In
stead of an independent, self-reliant body
of freemen, it introduces ho:de of
quasi-slaves, working at half wages, by
the command of task-master.
1t is stated that the country needs cheap
labor, men who will work for low wages;
that there is scarcity of laborers, and
the Chinese supply the deficiency.
In our opinion, we, or rather our pos
terity, are more likely to suffer from re-
dundancy of population than from a
dearth of it. In thirty years hence we
will have some hundred millions of peo-
pie; in sixty years two hundred millions,
and within a century we will number
nearly four hundred millions. America
is in no danger of a scarcity of laborers.
Nor are low wages an unallOyed bless
ing to any country. The eminent think
er, Buckle, after scrutinizing the history
of the Christian centuries, came TO the
conclusion that low wages and despOtism
are inseparable. The freer the institu
tions of people, the greater is the tend
ency to fair wages. The annual produc-
ton of a country, nearly all the
result of labor, is being con-
stanuy divided into four parts: rents to
the landlord, interest to the money lender,
profit to the merchant, and wages to the
laborer. If wages be low, it must result
from small annual production, affecting
all classes, or from the unequal and unjust
distribution of fair production. Gene
rally the latter is the case, and while the
laborer gets bare subsistence, the other
classes or some of them accumulate
enormous wealth. Thus society becomes
divided into the very rich and the very
poor. That this is an unfortunate condl'
ton needs no proof; and that its tendency
is hostile to free institutions as well as the
material comfort of people is the YER
dict of all human experience. Cheap
labor may give rise to great public works
and magnificent structures; but the bene-
fit is gained at the expense of a suffering
people. The Pyramids are striking monu'
ments of the pride and ostentation Of
Kings but they are more striking evi
dences of the degraded condition of The
laboring class.