The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1871-07-12
Unfortunate John,

The lot of John Chinaman is,
indeed, q hard one. He comes
into life too numerously to begin
with, and he feels himself incon-
venicntly crowded at the very
start. As an infant he is cast
! into tho famous porcelain tower !;
or, if he escapes that. he comes
| forward in q state of wretched
squalor, lives by fighting with
starvation, suffers all the angles
Of permanent poverty, and either
consumes himself with opium eat
ing, is exported as a coolie, or
transported to communities that
! pelt him with dcnunciations or
uncompiimentary resolutions,
make game of him by stoning him
to death, refuse him as q witness,
serve him up in hateful doggerel,
twist or destroy his queue, laugh
at his color, his eyes, his Joss,
and ridicule his anxiety to be sent
home when be is dead to mingle
with the celestial dust Of has ma
tive land. YetJohnis is neat, thrifty,
Industrious, and has the genteei-
est appetite it is possible to dis
! cover. A handful of rice sustalns
him even to tatness; and upon it
his work is performed as merrily
as that singular operation with
the shopsticks which would alone
give him distinction.
IfJobn is reflective, and be uu-
doubtedly is, be must wonder why
he was ever created. There is
hardly spot on the globe where
he is permitted to fruetify. Civ
ilization rains, kicks and cuffs upon
him if he wanders abroad, and at
home his head is taken from his
shoulders with frequency that
is positively monotonous. Or, if
if spared by tho mandarin, there
is the tigery Tartar TO hunt him
from generation to generation
along the frontier. The mission
ary is present, too, who in saw,
ing his soul somehow incites
him to deeds of blood that lose
him his miserable body. He
is compelled to wallow in fumes
of opium, and decay and paralyze
himself that a lucrative trade may
be maintained. He is bundled of
by hundreds in coolie ships, and
roasts himself to death by the fire
he deliberately kindles or, escap'
ing that, be perches on guano
hcaus to sti1c to death by the
dust, or perishes miserably Of the
fcvcrs and malarias Of - sugar
plantation. His life is private:
and yet be is public talk retiring
he is yet a public misfortune and
Poor JohnI We style him hea
then, yet accept the morality Of
Confucius. We vote him bar
barous, yet his is the most civil
lied nation on earth, and has for
gotten things the world is just
learning. We borrow from him
competitive examination for civil
service, try to initiate his porce
lain, his paper, bis painting, bis
schools, his silk e; and are staggered
to find what an adept he is in ART
and science, and how much o.
both he has been practising fol
ages, while outside barbarians
were struggling with mere rudi
ments.
Johns humility, if nothing else
should insure him respect. He is
the brother Of the Sun and the
Moon, but is in nowise stuck-uI
about it. The Cincinnati butcher
cuts off his queue, and John only
picks it up to coil again about biz
head. The Labor Reformcrs hur
anathemas at him, and he nuilife'
them by keeping ste1dily at hi'
work, retorting nothing. Hi:
wages are not paid him on a raj
road, and he meekly requests
that be may be sent home, refu
sing to demonstrate as a rioter
Beaten, burned, suicided, married
to turbulent females, he yet ap
pears moro numerous than ever
Like the Utah grasshoppers ht
keeps advancing. Voted q mi
sance, he is q growing acqualnt
ancc; a thorn in the Crispins
side, be is discovered treating th'
North Adams girls to ice cream
and taking advantage of the ku
Klux law in San Francisco. Evl
IDENTIFY John, unlike Jefferson Da
Wis, or the sonorous Toombs, &C
cepts the situation. 1t really ap
pears as if we must accept him
whether for the regularly recur
ring holocaust, or to maintain th'
equilibrium of manufacturing es
Establishments, and confess that b
and his woes must exist forever.