, 1876-07-16
THE MoNGoL1AN QUESTION.

ton among their English sympathizera.
TIE MoNaoL1AN QUESTION.
The two platforms of the national politi-
cal parties contain each Mongolinn plank.
The Republican platform contents itself with
suggestion Of official inquiry into the mat
ter,-a harmless and non-committal proposal,
except so far as it may be supposed to con-
tain wrong implications and to encourage
pernicious agitation The Democratic plat
form is an outspoken bid for the support Of
the enemies ct the Chinese immigrants On
the Pacific coast There can be no doubt
that incidental evils, some of them of try
ing nature, accompany this peculiar immi-
grafton. But the same general fact though
with somewhat different specific details,
might be alleged against the Celtic and. the
German immigration
Twenty-Five years ago, widespread ex-
political party, temporarily victorious in
many of the States, urged that the country
was suffering great evils from the European
immigrants. These were charged with hay-
ing different religion (Romish) from that
of the great mass Of the native-born citizens;
with being largely ignorant and Of a low
order Of morals with working and living
cheaply, and crowding Americans out Of va
rious industrial employments with demor-
alizing politics, and usurping disproportion-
ate number of the offices and Of places filed
by official appointment and Of introducing
customs and making demands contrary to
the tine-honored observances Of ourselves
and our ancestors, especially in regard to
Sunday and the Bible The parallel between
these charges and those brought against the
Mongol immigration is noticeable. The
storm ragged with fury for two or three years,
and then went down as suddenly as it came
up. The difficulty WAS that the prescription
Of foreigners was at variance with established
American principles and incidental evils
could not be allowed to overthrow an inpor-
tant policy permanently and intelligently
adopted.
This Mongoian question must not be de-
cided in the heat Of passion, or under the
influence Of race prejudice. How unjust q
persecution may be raised against the unof-
made manifest in the antagonism of the Irish
to the colored people, which eliminated 50
cruelty in the New York City riot, during the
late Civil War. The policy Of our country,
under which it has attained to grandest de-
ve1opment, las ever been to encourage i'm
migration from all parts Of the world, ire
spective of race or religion, trusting to per-
suasiye civilizing forces to counteract Incl
dental evils. What was wanted Was labor to
subdue the wilderness, to make public i'm
provements, to create property, to work
mines, and to render manufactures pos
sible. In this way our canals and
railroads hnve been made, our pri-
vate and public buildings have been
erected, our forests have been cleared, our
prairies have been broken up, and our
thirteen States have been multiplied to
thirty eight. To resist the evil effect Of the
ignorance, superstition, unbelief, and i'm
morality which flowed in at the same time
dependence was placed chiefly on two things
universal education and perfect religious
freedom. Public schools assimilated and
provided for the intellectual elevation Of all
children; and religious freedom allowed full
scope to Christian cndeayor Of every kind,
to reach and evangelize the masses. And
tho experiment has been in good degree
successful; so that no temporary pressure in
q particular section is likely to reverse the
national policy.
The bearing Of these considerations upon
the question now raised on the Pacific Slope
is obvious. In an industrial point Of view
the Chinese immigration has been great
advantage to that section, where labor was
scarce and wnges were high, while the call
for rapid Development of the vast resources
of soil and mine Was imperative. This fact
is forcibly stated in the calm and digni6ed
memorial Of the Chinese "S Sir Companies
to the President But for the Chinese
laborers it would have been impossible to
have built the railroads and other public
works in California, and to have pushed with
needful rapidity many other important
enterprises. They point out, also, TINT these
despised Chinese pay duties annually at the
San Francisco Custom-House to the amount
of $2,ooo,0oo, and an annual poll-tax of
100000. They deny the charge that oil
the women are prostitutes, and claim that
many of them are chaste wives, while they
allege that the whites have instigated the
importation Of the prostitutes, and defeated
attempts to send them back.
Moreover, it is 10 small item that to en-
ter upon an dnti-Mongolan crusade would
be to violate specific treaty obligations, as
well as to reverse cur national policy. To
abolish that treaty would be to close China
to us, in tile act Of closing America to the