Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1873-06-26
John Chinaman's Proposition.

is Chinease immigration. 1t boasts @
the commerce it is to have with tn
entire waterfront of Asia in fey
years, while it grumbles at the landin!
of ten or fifteen thousand Asiatics OF
American soil. 1t is hard at worl
with trans-continental railway an(
subsidized steamship line to avail it
self of the new treaty between thu
United States and Chineas Govern
ments, but wants nothing like recipro
cal advantages to be spoken about
1t takes deep satisfaction in the
thought that, under the present treaty
American steamers are crowding Chi
nease junks out of the interior waters
Of the Empire, and American inven-
tons and improvements are dispos,
sessing whole colonies of Cclestials Of
their current means of livelihood; but
when the almond-eyed bmnettes from
the populous plains Of Asia begin to
investigate the locality and character
istics Of the country from which these
revolutionary influences come, they
are met with mobs organized to brush
them back into the Pacific, and muni-
cipal regulations commanding the
rudest indignities to be visited upon
those who survive the struggle and
effect a landing. The poor. feeble
worshippers Of Joss cannot so far
comprehend how such "A style of
Christianity Is superior to their much
condemned idolatry, The San Fran
cisco Board Of Supervisors are an en-
tirely new revelation to John China.
man. They mcdde with his religion,
soothing at it but offering him i'll prac.
tice nothing that is one-half SO good.
They hamper him on the right hand,
and restrain him on the left. They
decree him q public nuisance, and ord.
er the finger of public scorn to be kept
pointing at him continually. They
abhor his personal habits, and make
an ordinance that he shall not colonize
where he does not allow himself at
least six hundred cubic feet of fresh
air. They drive him out Of the kitch-
ems of despairing housekeepers, and
afterwards license the street barbara
ans to administer to him the MARTYR
dom of St. Stephen,
Even as mild, inotiiensive laundry
man they refuse to let him alone.
They have decreed that he shall not
be allowed to carry his customers
clothes home in buck basket. but
shall drive a horse and cart whose tot
al value shall not fall under fifteen dol
lars in gold, This is pure tyranny (;
for not citizen of San Francisco but
knows that no single washing is heavy
enough to be drawn off by 4 horse, or
that the individual who is forced to
pursue the washerwoman's occupation
is too impoverished in his finances to
support an establishment on wheels.
The retirement Of cruelty in IN order
like this is but too apparent but it
belongs to the ingraine1 hatred of the
Chinese with whom we are living in
treaty relations. In the interior Of
their far-off country our steamboats,
are coming money for their owners,
The Supervisors of San Francisco,
however, had one indignity in reserve
for John Chinaman. The pigtail is to
him as the apple Of his eye, the be-
giving and end of his self-respect, the
sole symbol Of his Individuality
Hence he regards it as sacred pos
session as his life. And the Super
visors passed an order, which the May
or has wisely vetoed, that all Chinese
occupants Of the Jail and lookup should
lose this important appendage by the
shears. 1t is the elimination of the
disgrace ofpunlshment for the owner
of the unofending queue. SO John
Chinaman, in despair and disgust,
goes before the Board of Supervisors
by representative and make Il little
proposition, and one quite as broad as
his threatened pigtail is long. "We
PROPOSE" he says, looking mildly
down upon the ground, "a speedy and
perfect abrogation and repeal Of the
present treaty relations between China
and America, requiring the retirement
of all Chinese people and trade from
these United States, and the with
drawing of all American people and
trade and commercial intercourse what
ever from China. There it is, now,
in unequivocal shape. Unless we in
tend to respect the terms of our solemn
treaty, why should it be suffered to