Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-22
THE CHINESE CHEAP LABOR MYTH

THE CHINESE CHEAP LABOR MYTH.
 The revival of business has shorn "Chi- nese cheap labor" of most of the terrors it had for workingmen outside of California, and since Kearney's suppression but little has been heard of it's dreadful menace there. But if there are any still apprehensive of danger to their interests from the handy and industrious Pagans some statements recently made by Colonel Bee, consnl at San Francis co, will comfort them, for he shows that the Chinese are not unduly interfering with white labor in California, and that they are not likely to for at least long time to come He reports an advance in prices for railroad and farm laborers of ten per cent. during the last two months Thirty dollars per month is now offered for such laborers and the demand largely exceeds the supply The builders of the Southern Pacific railroad across the deserts of Arizona find it impossi- ble to keep their white laborers and have or ders in with the six companies for all the Chinamen that can be sent The ''Chinese- must-go" movement seems to have acted as an advertisement for Chinese labor, and the demand for house servants is much greater
 
 the importations at present do not make pp for the losses by death. There is always a large proportion of those arriving who are not corners, but who are re- turning from China after having been on a visit home The receipts of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company from Chinese passengers last year were nearly three-quarters of of 1oI1 k1, part of it was from Chinese leaving this country. The idea that the six companies import Chinese laborers paying their fare and binding them to work out the debt, is de- nounced by the consul as false in every sense. The six companies have not paid the fare of 8 single person and do not encourage the inn migration
 Consul Bee is sure that at least six thou sand more Chinese have left the country during the year than have come into it. As to the talked-of exodus of Chinese to the Eastern States, it is declared to be a delusion The consul says: ''There have not been 15O Ckinamen who have gone from here there in the last year; no more in the last twelve months than in any one of the last three or four years, and it isn't natural to think there will be any increase. They won't go east to work on farms because the farmer there can get his white farm-hands for less than the Chinamen can get here. The same fact ap- plies to the house servants to 8 great extent. The Chinese won't go south, because the planters can't afford to pay twen- ty dollars a month, and the Chinese can get more here. Another reason why they wont go there is that the planters require their hands to wait for their pay until the crops are harvested, and in fact can't, in most cases, pay them oftener than once a year, and the Chinaman has an insuperable objection to working on such long credit. I don't think there are more than 90, GOO Chinamen in this country now, and doubt if there will ever be any more than that number
 These and other facts which might be cited show that American worhngmen have now nothing to fear from Chinese competition, and that they have been needlessly frightened. When another similar scare is started it will be well to bear the unsubstantial nature of this one in mind, and not throw stones at the Chinamen unseasonably.