Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-04-06
THE AN7I-cHINRsE BILL.

The bill recently passed by Congress
excluding the Chinese from the benefits
of our immigration and naturalization
laws, is not so difficult of Executive or
popular comprehension as 1t is irrecon-
cilable with the principles embodied in
the first Republican platform of 1856,
and reaffirned quadrennially by that
party down to 1880. In that year party
exigencies on the Pacific coast led the
National Republican convention TO an
tagonize its old-tlme creed that "all men
are created free and equal" The grow
ing opposition to the further immigration
of the Mongolians into this country has
increased to such an extent on the Pacific
coast during the last two years,
that it became patent to the leaders of
the Republican party that either the
ancient battle cry that call men are
created free and equal' or the electoral
votes of the States of the Pacific slope,
would have to be abandoned by the Re-
publican party. The passage of the anti
Chinese bill by congress left the Republi-
can leaders the alternative of choosing
between Scylla and Charybdis; and
President Arthur entertaining grave
doubts as to his ability to pilot the old
Republican ship safely through the Mes
senian straits, has stood hesitating for
the last ten days between the two horns
OF the dilemma, like the ass between two
bundles of fodder.
The veto of this bill, which was pub.
lished in the GLOBE yesterday morning,
Is rather more remarkable for the man.
ner In which all reference to its ;real
merits is avoided, than for
concise statement of the grounds on
which the President interposes his obiec-
tons to making invidious race distinc-
lions in the application of the
naturalization laws of the country. The
principle involved is not as much how
long the Chinese should be debarred the
benefits and advantages of the immigra
ton and naturalization laws of the coun-
try. as whether they should be prescribed
at all. The prescription is sought to be
justified on commercial grounds, and
the circumstance of the Mongolians being
almond eyed and yellow skinned.
The effort of the President to Disguise
the real issue by resort to clubbing
about the power of Congress to prohibit
the immigration of these people into the
United States for term of twenty wears.
is as undignified as 1t is false to the policy
and teachings of the party of which he
is presumed to be the representative
head. If the Chinese can be pro-
scribed for one day, they can be
for ten or twenty years. But such ex-
clusion antagonizes the Republican the
ory of the equality of the races before the
law. 1.-THE treaty of 1880, between Chi
ma and this country, circumscrlbes the
rights OF the Monaghan nationality un-
der the immigration and naturalization
laws of this country, it is as much anti
Republican and hostile to the organic
law of the land as would be a domestic
code of any state in the union based on
race or color.
The Mongolian's exclusion is sought in
this bill on purely race distinctions, and
the question of expediency as to the time
when the embargo on their immigration
into the United States shall be raised is
purely a side or incidental issue based on
commercial considerations. The negroes
of this country, boasting only of civil
cation dating back almost within the
memory of men q now living